3 Sons Keeve

3 Sons have made a name for themselves by continually amping up the flavour with each release. Now this is technically not even released, yet they are pushing it even further. 

Keeving might be the hardest cider-making technique to master. It’s so tough I’m not going to try and explain it, but here is a basic guide. The goal is they try and starve the yeast of nutrients to kill it off before the yeast eats up all the sugars leaving behind a naturally sweeter cider. They have gone with the wild yeasts which only adds to that challenge. 

Now this is a pre-release bottle I am tasting. That’s why there is no label on the bottle. This is the label to keep an eye out for in the shops. 

The Nose 

The best way I can describe this is to take a Herefordshire cider and multiply it with a Normandy cider. You can smell this one coming a mile away. It’s got the desirable horse blanket scents usually found in western regions of France, then there are a few sulphury notes outweighed by earthy mushrooms and golden hay. There isn’t a hint of sweetness but there is a note of vanilla.  

The Taste 

Whatever you were expecting from the scent forget it, the taste is nothing like the scent. It’s so juicy it’s basically chewy, like an apple, vanilla and berry bubble gum with that keeved cider sweetness. it is crying out for a salty food match. That keeving technique gives it a thick mouth feel coupled with a low amount of fizz, giving plenty of contact on your taste buds. The notes of vanilla and oak add only to the mouthfeel. 

Final Thoughts on 3 Sons Keeved Cider 

This tastes great and should win a lot of fans going on the taste alone. The combination of the mouth feel and big juicy apple vibes is a winner. The real challenge here is the scent. If you like it that’s great. but it really is challenging. As I said earlier that is probably not a fair assessment because this is basically a pre-release version that I have since found out it has been treated to tame the scent. This is one for the cider connoisseur Hopefully I’ll get to try it again soon. 

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