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Bière de Cidre

    Style: Sour beer / cider hybrid
    Producer: Gotlands Bryggeri
    Origin: Sweden
    Size: 75cl
    Alcohol: 5.2%
    Price: 79kr
    Systembolaget: 37474

    Even though this was a cider tasting, I thought I would slip this strange beer into the selection as it contained apples and thought it would be of interest to the guests. Gotlands Bryggeri was formed in 1995 and is part of the Spendrups group of breweries. Best known for their Bulldog series of beers, they also produce Gotlands Bitter, which is made from the leftovers of their beer production. This is a hybrid brewed with apple must from Halfvede Musteri and was first released in April 2022. Would the cider lovers like a beer that was part apple must? Luckily, most enjoyed it!

    This poured with an opaque golden body and a thick white head that held for a considerable amount of time. The aroma was light, with hints of Granny smith apples and grass on the nose. Upon sipping, the acidic apples came to the forefront but were not overpowering and were balanced nicely with the biscuit and cracker tones of the malt. Like the aroma, the taste was rather light and it subsided quickly after swallowing. The carbonation was high, and helped raise the profile of the beer slightly. Drying on the palate, it was quickly forgotten by the taste buds until the next sip.

    It felt like this beer lacked depth, with neither the beer nor apple side surpassing adequate. It was easy to drink though, and I have a feeling this could pair really nicely with food such as pork sausages or pate. Most guests agreed that it was nice, but didn’t excel. This isn’t a beer I would go searching for again, but it was nice to try something different.