TechFanMD
Well-Known Member
I brewed a watermelon saison cider to try to mimic one my wife bought and liked. It had the 'pepperiness' that saisons often have, and just a hint of watermelon and a bit of sweetness.
I used grocery store apple juice (which I have a lot of experience making ciders out of). The yeast was Belle Saison (dry) and I fermented it at ~70*
This was aged about 5 months (just because it is just now hot enough to enjoy watermelon cider). I then juiced a large watermelon and got 1.5 gallons of juice and slight pulp after straining through my Wilserbrewer bag. This was added to the 5 gallons of cider, mixed well, then filtered and stabilized (I have heard watermelon juice can turn quickly, so I wanted to stabilize like a wine to prevent this).
The result is delicious, with just the right amount of sweetness and watermelon flavor. Filtering completely stripped the color, so it is champagne colored.
The input I seek: There is no 'saison essence' or 'pepperiness' to it. It wasn't there 3 months ago when I tasted it, and certainly isn't there with the watermelon added. How did the commercial brewer get the essence of saison in the cider?
I should note: I am not a huge fan of saison yeast, and have a very low taste threshold for the flavors they impart....it just isn't there.
I used grocery store apple juice (which I have a lot of experience making ciders out of). The yeast was Belle Saison (dry) and I fermented it at ~70*
This was aged about 5 months (just because it is just now hot enough to enjoy watermelon cider). I then juiced a large watermelon and got 1.5 gallons of juice and slight pulp after straining through my Wilserbrewer bag. This was added to the 5 gallons of cider, mixed well, then filtered and stabilized (I have heard watermelon juice can turn quickly, so I wanted to stabilize like a wine to prevent this).
The result is delicious, with just the right amount of sweetness and watermelon flavor. Filtering completely stripped the color, so it is champagne colored.
The input I seek: There is no 'saison essence' or 'pepperiness' to it. It wasn't there 3 months ago when I tasted it, and certainly isn't there with the watermelon added. How did the commercial brewer get the essence of saison in the cider?
I should note: I am not a huge fan of saison yeast, and have a very low taste threshold for the flavors they impart....it just isn't there.