In this real cider review it’s all about wild yeast, open fermentation and unfiltered cider . This is as raw as cider gets. The guys over on the west coast at Custard & Co have made a Scrumpy. Some say scrumpy cider is the pinnacle of traditional cider making, others get the impression that is gut rot cider and is best avoided, not the case here. The Custard & Co Scrumpy are heavily influenced by the British cider making styles and techniques. The head cider maker trained in the UK where scrumpy is more common than on the Aussie cider market.

The term cider maker here is a bit of a loose term. He’s more of a cider Shepard. Rounding up the apples from local orchards included their own on-site orchard. Once the apples are juiced then the its all up the to wild yeast. Living naturally in the cider house, dominate strains build up over the years. Here where the real a shepherd’s skills come into play, by creating the conditions for the yeast. The juice is open fermented, this is not normally done as it leaves the gate open for the wolves to get in (bad bacteria, dust and other impurities). With great care the yeast and be steered into right direction of the desired flavour.

Some ciders are filtered. This cleans out any sediment from the bottom of the bottle. The down side of this is that it removes flavour. Custard & Co haven’t filtered this one, leaving it with the full flavour and cloudiness.

The Nose

Have you ever been punched in the nose? Prepare yourself for this punch in the face of cherry, stone fruits and cooked apple.

The Taste

First thing you notice is that this is a cloudy still cider. Being open fermented and not bottle conditioned there is nothing to hold in the CO2 in suspension, the taste is similar to the Custard & Co original cider.
The taste here is big and complex. Its sweet, it’s full of bitter-sweet and bitter-sharp tones. You get the cherry flavour that sort of reminds of a cherry cough syrup, coming in at 6% probably helps that as well.

Final Thoughts on Custard & Co Scrumpy

I wasn’t ready for this punch in the face, the flavour here is so intense. It is comparatively sweet but that sweetness stands in the back ground to the bitterness and the sharpness. It’s just raw undiluted flavour.  Last week I questioned what the Hogan’s Dry would be like if it wasn’t watered down, I think this is the level of intensity that could have been achieved.

Product Custard & Co Scrumpy Apple Cider
Company Custard & Co
Sweetness Sweet
Alc/Vol 6%
Website custardco.com.au
Country of Origin Australia
Region Donnybrook, Western Australia

 

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