snake bites

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Benjibbad

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Messages
311
Reaction score
1
Location
Riverview, FL
I read the previous post about black and tan pairings and it got me thinking about snake bites. I already have the plans for the apfelwine I was thinking of maybe mixing it with a blue moon clone or similar wheat. Thoughts?
 
I always thought it was lager and cider. Just checked wikipedia and whoever wrote the entry thought so too. Never tried it but I've heard it ordered a few times.
 
I went to a bar once and ordered a snakebite three times...got three different drinks, one of which was a shot!

If I want Guinness and cider I ask for it by ingredient. Black Velvet is what another bar called this drink.
 
A snakebite is European light lager and apple cider. Fairly popular West Coast drink.


IMHO, EdWort's Apfelwein recipe is too dry for a proper snakebite. It's great by itself, but I think you really want a sweeter cider to counteract the crisp hit of a Euro lager (think Harp, Stella, etc.)

If you were using something sweeter, as most extract homebrews seem to be, then the Apfelwein might work better. Of course, there's really only one way to find out...


EDIT: As a side note, I've been making my cider with Nottingham ale yeast and using honey instead of dextrose to boost it. I use the Costco Kirkland juice and the whole shebang costs about $20 for the batch. It finishes a little sweeter and with more of the wet fruit up front with some complexity from the honey thrown in for good measure. I also add about two Tbsp of yeast nutrient and I find that I can have a batch kegged and drinking within 6-8 weeks.

If you're looking for a sweeter, fruitier alternative, just try switching up your yeast.
 
having experience as a bartender we always made ours with cider and a lager!! but on occation we did also have people want a dark ale instead of the lager!! in the book it does state that the proper way is cider and lager but i myself perfer the cider and guennis way!
 
I've lived in the UK in the 80's and been back a number of times since then. In the UK where the snakebite was created it was always, always, always lager and cider.

That's case closed! ;)

Correct!

At that time in the UK, snakebite had the reputation for turning people into foaming idiots and some pubs refused to serve it. I even seem to remember some pubs threatening to chuck you out simply for ordering it.

Of course the way around this was simply to order a pint of lager, drink half, buy a half pint of cider and add to remaining lager. It was popular to add blackcurrant cordial to make "diesel".
 
I've lived in the UK in the 80's and been back a number of times since then. In the UK where the snakebite was created it was always, always, always lager and cider.

That's case closed! ;)

Actually, I think everyone is right. I grew up in Southampton, England and lived there for about 30 of my 53 years. There is a lot of confusion over there about it too. In the area I grew up it is a Guinness and cider. The other side of town it is a lager and cider. That's why I went with Guinness.:)

I did a quick search, and the best answer that explains it as far as I am concerned was on wiki.answers.org "Snakebite is a mixture of Beer and (hard) cider. Made properly the beer should be lager but it is often made using stout (such as Guiness) which is more correctly known as a poor man's black velvet. (a black velvet is a mix of stout and champagne). "
 
You all stop the bickering! A snake bite is Guinness and cider (Strongbow style)

Case closed. ;)

Ok, that makes two of us that knows what the hell we are talking about! Unless you have been in a Pub in London and ordered a snakebite, then asked the drunk limey bartender soccer hoodlum what was in it(as i have, and suspect the knome has as well) then your a poser guessing. BTW if you have to reference wicapedia, just hush, you already admitted you aint got a clue what the hell your talking about and dont have a dog in this fight.

(Dot get pissed it was supposed to be funny)
 
except irish whiskey :rockin:
To mix Irish whiskey with anything other than your own digestive juices is plain wrong.
But, I always ordered it as an Irish black velvet and it came as Guinness over cider.
There was one sitting on the end of the bar for me at the Flan O'Brian every night just after 7pm when I lived in Mission Hill.
Man I miss being Norm Peterson sometimes.
 
Being that once drunk limey soccer hoodlum sitting in the corner drinking snakebite, I can confirm that it was only ever made with Cider and Lager.

Not entirely sure what was going on down south with the Guinness and Cider, but those soft southerners are well known for being, well, strange!

Black Velvet is Guinness and Champagne.

And a variation on a theme - Snakebite and Black (that's blackcurrant cordial), add a shot of Pernod, and you've got cough mixture. A specialty drink in a certain hospital in the UK...
 
Not entirely sure what was going on down south with the Guinness and Cider, but those soft southerners are well known for being, well, strange!

Black Velvet is Guinness and Champagne.

Bloody thick northerners!! How did you ever get to hear about champagne? I thought you were all too busy licking the road clean wi't tongue! ;)
 
Im gonna be mixing up some 50-50 apfelwein-english barleywine drinks this winter. Sounds really yummy to me.
 
Im gonna be mixing up some 50-50 apfelwein-english barleywine drinks this winter. Sounds really yummy to me.

I demand pictures if you consume more than 2 of those! Perhaps a timeline of them so we can all see how this beverage should be consumed in proportional moderation or avoided all together. I'm telling you....the devil resides in every bottle of apfelwein and his twin brother dwells in the bottom of every pint of barleywine. Fair warning.
 
A little off topic, I know. Snakebite By the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. :)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHd5a5UXLxA]YouTube - The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Snake Bite[/ame]
 
Back
Top