Apfelwein vs Samuel Smith

I had the opportunity to do a side by side taste test to compare my first batch of Ed Wort's Apfelwein with Samuel Smith's Organic Cider. I was very impressed with the similarities between the two. The SS was a tad sweeter than mine, and had larger bubbles, but they were really pretty close. I'm especially impressed because the Samuel Smith line of beers have been some of my favorites for the last 20 years or so. The SS Old Brewery Pale Ale is one of my ultimate favorites - wonder how my batch of Ed's Haus Pale ale will stack up? Only time will tell.


Thanks again Ed for your great recipes and willingness to share!

What kind of trees does Ed have?

Having-A-Homebrew said:

What kind of trees does Ed have?

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I don't know, but the juice comes from the top....








haha...treetop....get it?





</bad pun>

I just got to try the Samuel Smith's organic cider last night and it is one of the best beverages I have ever had! I like cider a lot though. What do the rest of you think, is Apfelwein like the Samuel Smith's? I can't wait to try my Apfelwein...

When compared to the apfelwein I made (orig recipe) the Sam Smith's cider, while VERY similar, was better tasting to my palate. It had more apple flavour & more tannins for a nice "bite" & it had better carbonation. I'll have to say that Sam Smith's is WAY over priced for what it is & I've decided I can make cider at least that good; I have 6 gallons going right now, loosely based on Ed's orig. apfelwein recipe, but significantly altered. If you'd like to try a cider that'll really turn your taste buds around, try Farnum Hill Ciders Farnum Hill Cider Their summer cider ROCKS! I can never go back to the hornsby's swill I once drank, and the farnum Hill leaves Sam Smith's in the dust as far as I'm concerned. One of these days i'll make a cider as good, or maybe even better than Farnum Hill. Regards, GF.

Freezeblade said:

I don't know, but the juice comes from the top....








haha...treetop....get it?





</bad pun>

Click to expand...

he who would pun would pick a pocket...

Thanks GF!

Anyone else...

I was a little buzzed up at a local wine tasting and went wandering through the micro isle and found SS Organic and a few others. I thought it was really good, a nice find, but definitely over priced, but the wine tasting was free so I had to drop some money at the liquor store on principal alone. I'm on my first batch of cider and I hope it turns out even in the ballpark of SS. Also, I picked up a Peach Belgian Lambic from Lindeman I think, it was great. Not overly sweet or peachy at all, I think they just secondary on top of peaches. Good carbonation. Many good finds that day.

Now, if you can clone JK Scrumpy's, THAT would be awesome... I'd trade my left-handed smoke shifter for that!

I've gotta start something new... my batches are all:

1) stalled
2) beery
3) overly dry
or
4) dwindling...

Three or four more batches and I may try some of the fancy stuff...