Robin Shepard
Among the special beer treats coming onto store shelves this time of year are apple ales. One Barrel Brewing has been developing one over the past few years by blending cider with lighter-bodied beers. Its Apple Ale is now available for the first time in bottles.
What is it? Apple Ale from One Barrel Brewing.
Style: Apple ales can be made via a variety of techniques, resulting in a range of sweet to sour notes. A common method is to merely add apple juice to the wort and ferment it all together with ale yeast. Belgian lambic-styles, such as Pomme, from Lindemans, involve fermentation with yeast strains that can add assertive sourness and tartness.
One Barrel’s Apple Ale is a combination of hard apple cider and beer. It’s made by taking the brewery’s own hard cider, made with champagne yeast, and blending it with the brewery’s Commuter Kölsch. Generally, apple ales are golden to amber in color and often range in alcohol from 4 to 6 percent ABV.
Background: One Barrel Brewing owner Peter Gentry started playing around making ciders in his Atwood Avenue brewpub a couple of years ago. He’s made a variety of dry, tart and sweet ciders and tried blending them with his house beers. He credits feedback from customers as helping him determine what works best. “I started making cider mimosas for Sundays in the taproom and went from there,” says Gentry.
To make Apple Ale, Gentry uses Washington state apples. If the beer catches on, he’d like to eventually use Wisconsin-grown apples. He blends two parts cider to one part Commuter Kölsch, one of the brewery’s most popular beers. It’s a light-bodied golden ale made with pilsner malt, white wheat and a combination of Czech Saaz and German Hallertau hops. One Barrel Apple Ale finishes around 6 percent ABV. This year Gentry decided to bottle it in four-packs that are now on shelves in Madison. Bottling takes place at Octopi Brewing in Waunakee.
Apple Ale sells in four-packs for around $12/each. In One Barrel’s Madison taproom it sells for $6/glass.
Tasting notes:
- Aroma: Light fruity apple.
- Appearance: Hazy, yellow-golden color. A medium, off-white, bubbly head.
- Texture: Light-bodied and bubbly. The sour notes lend crispness.
- Taste: Light sour apple throughout. Hints of malt and grain are in the background if you look hard enough.
- Finish/Aftertaste: Lingering crisp apple with dryness, somewhat reminiscent of Champagne.
Glassware: A wine glass or champagne flute will focus the fruity aroma and display the beer’s Champagne-like effervescence.
Pairs well with: mild buttery cheeses, raisins and roasted nuts combined on a platter for mixing and matching. However, don’t try too hard with assertive food flavors because it’s easy to overwhelm the fruitiness and mild Kölsch qualities. This beer shines as a pre-meal beer with a sour apple crispness that will stimulate the appetite.
The Verdict: One Barrel’s Apple Ale emphasizes its hard cider side with crisp dry sourness. If you concentrate hard enough, you’ll still find the background Kölsch, only way in the back. If you’re a single-minded cider fan or a Kölsch purist, this likely won’t be your thing; if you want a cider, or a Kölsch, this product comes off light on both counts. Yet together, it works. I like this apple ale for not being overly sour or tart. It’s approachable, bubbly and refreshing. While Gentry’s choice of the Kölsch style as the background beer allows the apple to shine, I’d still like to have just a little more beer flavor for balance.
