secret recipe

Something a little lighter today, after stouts and heavy ales.  A cider normally makes me think of fall, but a red fruit cider has summer written all over it.  Bulmers has visited my table before, but Sabores del Mundo has a cider selection like I haven't seen elsewhere.  Not only regular apple and pear, but all kinds of fruit blends.  I do like those red fruits, cherry, strawberry, etc., crushed red berries fit the bill.  I'm a little irked that they don't specify what berries anywhere, but I guess they're the regular ones.

It's rosy ruby red and fizzy, like cherry and raspberry lambics, but the smell is much sweeter.  There's just a touch of lime in the scent, adding a slightly sour balance.  Like many ciders, it starts out sweet and moves down into a pleasant sour flavor, although there's a sort of bubble gum taste in there too.  Fortunately, it stays more sharp than gummy, a refreshing bite in the heat of the August afternoon.  It may be the hot pink color, but it seems to me that a kind of cinnamon scent develops with a little time and warming.  It's not quite Kopparberg's Strawberry and Lime, but it's light and summery.  A fine drink for the shade and to keep a heated conversation cool.

Supplier: Sabores del Mundo
Price: €4.70

Beermas Day 1

On the first day of Beermas I poured out for me
A pear cider fresh off the tree

Oh, the first day and I'm already cheating!  Cider is not beer!  It's in the same family, though, and damned if I can find a beer that has anything to do with partridges.  Bulmers is a fairly common cider producer, to be found in bars and larger supermarkets, but I needed something with pears.  Lindemann has peaches and pineapples, of all things, but no pear lambic.  Not in the stores I frequent at least.  Still, I'm not dissatisfied with a pear cider, even if it feels like a more summery drink than is probably warranted at the moment.

It has a dry and slightly sharp scent, kind of like a Spanish cider.  It's sweet at first, though, not dry or champagne-like, but a little sour does creep out just before the drink goes down.  It's not as sweet as regular apple cider, and not as cloying as they can be, but it is a fresh and clean taste.  Probably would be better if I had been running around shopping today, but hah!  Santa's already come.  I guess considering where I am, I should be preparing for the Magi too.

Supplier: Más que Cervezas
Price: €2.99