Mock-cider beer

[Catoshy]

My brother comes home from college this christmas, which is like 6 months away- but I'm impatient. At least for experimenting. He doesn't like beer. He doesn't dislike it either but is apathetic to it. He think its bitter and tastes not as good as other things he likes to drink for various other reasons. He *does* like cider, but I like beer and sessions strength when I can help it; and the problem with cider is that to get session strength you have 2 options (as far as I know enlighten me if I'm wrong);

Kill the fermentation before it finishes
-or-
dilute the juice with something else before (or after) fermentation

Since cider already has all the sugar already in the juice, there is no way to tweak it (as it seems to me) without watering it down, or adding substitutes for the lost taste. then there is sweet cider, but I do not like sweet cider at all (although this is my brothers favorite kind of cider), in fact I find it quite unpleasant since it still tastes like apple juice but now with some alcohol taste in it and just doesn't taste good. So I thought I might have a solution - make a beer that tastes like cider.

First I must say that I am quite inexperienced with cider, and don't know what tastes I am trying to emulate. I assume it tastes sour and fruity, and maybe tannic like wine, but beyond that I cannot say since other than that awful sweet cider stuff I made I have never had cider.

I do know a bit about beer brewing, but I have not been as scientific and meticulous about it as I assume many on this forum have been (nor am I as experienced). I was thinking something along the lines of wheat malt with some medium caramel malt with no hops. Thoughts?

 

[ebbelwoi]

I've found a mix of cider and hefeweizen to be pleasant and sessionable. The hefeweizen yeast really made a difference, to me.

The problem with sessioning a cider is the sorbitol. Sorbitol is used at higher concentrations as a laxative. Everyone's got a different threshold, but sooner or later, it'll hit you, and you'll have diarrhea for the rest of the night. I discovered my limit is about two liters, or about a six-pack.

Check out the cider forum and look into what they call backsweetening. A lot of people use artificial sweeteners. Others stabilize (basically paralyze the yeast) and then sweeten with sugar, or backsweeten with the original juice.

Also look for "graf/graff", which is a bit of an odd name for a cider/malt brew.

 

[Miraculix]

There is a drink called snake bite, a mix of beer and cider and black currant juice, just a dash.

That is actually really nice to drink. Maybe you ferment those three?

 

[madscientist451]

Make a regular strength cider, about 5% and brew a low ABV beer maybe 2-3%, and blend them to tste when they are done.

 

[Catoshy]

Everyone's got a different threshold, but sooner or later, it'll hit you, and you'll have diarrhea for the rest of the night. I discovered my limit is about two liters, or about a six-pack.

>Drinking a gallon of anything, much less an alcoholic beverage.

Wew man.