Summers Medium Cider

Formerly brewed at Summers Cider
Style: Cider
Halmore, Berkeley, England

Aroma is lambic-esque, i.e stinky cheeses. farmyard, dirty diapers, public toilets, very interesting. I looked forward to what lay ahead, but was slightly dissapointed by the lack of character in the flavour and body, some rotten apples and cirus and quite sour, but a bit dissapointing given the aroma.

This was the 2003 CAMRA Supreme Champion Cider. It wasn't even the best cider I've had in the past week, but this is still enormously rewarding as a drinking experience. The aroma is obnoxiously challenging, like a fine gueuze. There is one layer of lovely apples in the aroma, but other layers of revoltingly attractive aromas, such as "barnyard", "a Porta Potty on a hot summer day", and "diarrhea". Drier than I thought it would be, this is slightly acidic but in control there. A thin, hazy yellow, it produced some tacky, chalky sensations on the palate. Challenging, rewarding, and interesting, though not necessarily the most refreshing cider I've ever had. (gravity cask, 2003 Chelmsford Beer Festival)