Cider and Beer, Together Forever
A sales manager at Fort George married a sales rep at Finnriver Cider and a collaboration was born. Shady Grove is a bizarre beverage. Itβs half beer, half cider. The beer is a barrel aged Flanders-esque ale. The cider is made from black cherries as well as gala, pink lady, and granny smith apples, and also aged in wine barrels.Β
It sounds pretty strange, but beer and cider have been combined before. In parts of the United Kingdom, a βsnakebiteβ is a blend of lager and cider -- with or without a dash of blackcurrant cordial. We tried a snakebite themed beer before -- it was pretty awful.Β
Shady Grove is actually super tasty. It tastes nothing like a sour beer with fruit added, nor an unholy blend of boozes. Shady Grove tastes like a whole new style of beer. It smells of heavenly homemade cranberry sauce. The flavor kicks in with sharp cherry acidity before bringing in hints of malt and delicate, floral apples. The finish is almost crisp, like biting into the pink flesh of a ripe apple. Itβs fizzy and lively where most Flanderses end up thick and syrupy.Β
Who knew that two vastly different beverages could live together in such harmony. Iβm intrigued. Iβm going to chase down some more hybrids and weβll see how well they stack up.
