blending cider and beer

[GeneDaniels1963]

last night I had a little cider left in a bottle, so I mixed it with a fresh Genuess stout. It was really good. It tasted better than the graffs I have made.

Got me to thinking, why couldn't I brew a dark stout, then mix with cider at bottling time. What do you think?

 

[dmtaylor]

Indeed you can. I might suggest using the identical yeast for both, otherwise strange things can happen with priming and carbonation when you bottle. I recently experienced this with a 3-way split batch, where I tried 3 different yeasts, then thought they tasted best all together, but after priming and carbonation the bottles are not quite but almost gushers, very very high carbonation. This happens because when different yeasts are used, one will eat leftover sugars that the others did not eat. As for which yeast to use, any Irish or Scottish yeast should be ideal for both beer and cider.

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

Good point about the yeast, I had not thought of that.

 

[bmd2k1]

last night I had a little cider left in a bottle, so I mixed it with a fresh Genuess stout. It was really good. It tasted better than the graffs I have made.

Got me to thinking, why couldn't I brew a dark stout, then mix with cider at bottling time. What do you think?

Pretty sure that's called a Snakebite!

Cheers

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

Snakebite, never heard of it. But then again I am not much of a bar guy. I just enjoy my homebrews at home.

 

[_BullDog_]

Or bottle separately and mix at drinking time

 

[AzOr]

Or if you are a beer brewer, make 4 gallons of Kolsch and add a gallon of apple juice to the fermentor.
I’m drinking this now from my keg. It’s delicious.

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

Ive tried fermenting them together, making a Graf. But the mixed seems like a better result. Is it possible mixing after fermentation is a better way to preserve both tastes? Or is it simply that the Guiness is a better base to mix my cider with?