In his PM, WA told me that he had sent a bottle of "Raspberry Ginger TC (not enough Ginger) for the Ladies. Bottled 2/3/14, 7.6%". Well, I was not going to let Mrs Tazzymutt do all the tasting (especially at 7.6%; I need her sober to cook my dinner later, when I'm too wasted to do it).
The bottle opened with a very satisfying "pfffutt" and a small cloud of CO2; always a good sign. Pouring into a couple of small stem beer glasses proved that the colour, a gentle rose or salmon hue, was not the bottle but was real. The aroma had a gentle raspberry note that left no doubt about the fruit used in the brew while leaving me hopeful that it would not be over powering. There was a nice head, not creamy but nice and tight with small bubbles.
Now I should confess at this point that I am not a big cider drinker; one bottle a year is about all I can usually manage and that only if I have been unfortunate enough to find myself in a bar with only fizzy beer or lager available. Fruit ciders (other than apple
) that I have tried have all been so sweet that I can almost feel my teeth trying to retract into my gums in order to avoid dissolving in the sugar. So it was with some apprehension that I lifted the glass and tried a small, very small, taste. My only hope was that the ginger (which I love) might offset some of the fruitiness. I was not hopeful.The first small sip sat on my tongue for a few seconds. I could feel it fizzing but could not really detect the heavy sugars I was expecting. Sure, it was sweet, but not unpleasantly. In fact it was very comparable sweetness wise with the Brewferm Framboos that always hits the spot, ice cold on a hot day when sat by a BBQ. I could not detect the ginger at all at this point. I swallowed and suddenly the ginger appeared, leaving a warm glow in the mouth that beautifully matched the relatively subtle raspberry flavours in the mouth. Wow! I was impressed. Sweet, but not toe curlingly so and with sufficient ginger to add a gentle tickle to the back of the throat without overpowering the gentle raspberry flavours. The head lasted nicely right to the bottom of the glass and by the time I got there, Mrs T was asking me why I had not made any yet…
I reckon that counts as a win!
Thank you WA for the chance to try that. Now all I need to do is work out the details of the brew, how much ginger, how it was added, ditto the raspberries etc, etc, etc and I too could make a perfect summer afternoon cider.
Happy brewing,
Ian.
PS I also received a bottle of WA's Weiss / Saison brew. I will need to find time to try that properly as it is a full pint and Mrs T will not drink that (and would not be allowed to try
)
