The Ides of March
I've not updated in a while, but with readership being what it is, or rather isn't, that isn't much of a concern. I've bottled the all-grain ESB, which I found to have a slightly bitter edge, not a hop bitterness but a grainy bitterness possibly due to either suboptimal mash temperatures or possibly the extraction of tannins from grain husks. Still, its not bad, just not the near-divine perfection it will be after I do a few more batches and get the process down.
Other news...I've got a Cidre de Cassis, a 1.081 cider with blackcurrant juice, in secondary, and a 1.081 blackcurrant wine in the primary. Next up will be an Apfelwein, a strong pure apple cider fortified with apple juice concentrate to an original gravity of 1.110, or thereabouts.
Other news...I've got a Cidre de Cassis, a 1.081 cider with blackcurrant juice, in secondary, and a 1.081 blackcurrant wine in the primary. Next up will be an Apfelwein, a strong pure apple cider fortified with apple juice concentrate to an original gravity of 1.110, or thereabouts.
posted by SQLFunkateer at 11:01 AM
2 Comments:
Apfelwein? Given your description, it sounds a lot more like Apfelsaft---at least from what I've heard. Anyway my dear yeoman, I appreciate your scruples. In fact, I think I'm going to start calling you Scruples. Sounds kinda like a clown name doesn't it?
Nope, I beg to differ. Apfelsaft is sweet apple juice. Apfelwein is the German word for hard apple cider...fermented apple juice. Apple cider ferments fully, typically producing a beverage of 5-7% ABV, and it tends to have a dry, tart, and almost sour profile. True cider (apfelwein being an example) is as different from apfelsaft as wine is from grape juice, and beer is from unfermented wort (and believe me there is a huge difference!).
As a side note...beware the cheap manufactured "hard ciders" available. Many of them are packed with additives, preservatives, back-sweeteners, and flavourings. I kind of liked Woodchuck ciders and to a lesser extent Hornsby's, but after tasting natural, real, pure cider...I won't go back. Crisp, crackling, tart, and dry. But the fermented flavour takes some getting used to, so perhaps a back sweetened hard cider is a good first step.
AHHH but as someone who's tried a good scotch, there is a related spirit that ranks as one of my all time favourite beverages...calvados. It is a French apple brandy from Normandy. They press apples and ferment it to become hard cider, and then age it in oak like cognac. A good bottle will run $30+, mind you, but its quite a treat. Haven't had any of that in a while!
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