27 February 2016

Summat Else Cider (Waitrose) [By @SpectreUK]


Made from a blend of Malvern cider apples this 4.5% volume Summat Else Cider was pressed and fermented at Holden's Brewery just up the road from me in Dudley. The apples are rich in tannins and flavenoids, which sounds like a couple of alien races in Star Trek that don't particularly get on, with the old Enterprise stuck in the middle plot. The blend of cider apples gives this cider a golden colour and unique flavour. The back of the bottle talks a lot about 'real' apples, perhaps rather than the plastic ones sometimes seen in furniture shops put in a bowl to make a kitchen table look more homely.
I couldn't tell what the creature on the front of the bottle was. It could be a troll or ogre, but was a little small and ogres aren't always green in folklore or wargaming. It could be a goblin or hobgoblin, but it looked a little too friendly to be either. I'd like to think it's Holden's Star Trek interpretation of either a Tannin and Flavenoid, but couldn't see Spock lurking around in the background on the label, whilst he takes scientific readings on something that's like it's been made in Blue Peter from half a washing up liquid bottle.
On opening the Summat Else bottle the lightly carbonated golden cider poured joyfully out into my waiting beer mug. There was an easygoing smell of cider apples, rather than some stronger ciders out there that slap you around the face and shout "cider" when opening. However the odour had lulled me into a false sense of security, as on first taste I noticed that this is a dry yet fruity full-bodied flavoursome cider with a strong bitterness which tickled my nose hairs. I could almost hear the mischievous creature on the front of the bottle giggle at another cider drinker duped. Yet with its mix of appley flavours and troublesome bitterness, I couldn't help but keep reaching for my beer mug to have another sip. Then my face would twist some more!
By Spectre

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