57 / 60
ROUSES.COM
55
HARD SODAS
inspires boozing up childhood
soft drinks — root BEER
and ginger ALE. In fact, that
indicates that originally, long
ago, these beverages actually
were developed to be fermented
and have alcohol. But Henry’s
and Coney Island have both
expanded beyond those two
beverages, putting out Henry’s
Hard Orange and Coney Island
Orange CreamAle.What might
the next flavor be?
It’s also easy to understand the appeal
of these hard sodas — the flavors are
imprinted on consumers from a young age.
For more childhood sense memories, try a
hard root beer with ice cream or in a grown
up root beer float.
For some of these malternative beverages,
the taste or burn of the alcohol is barely
noticeable, if noticed at all. So be sure to
keep it far away from the regular sweet stuff
to avoid confusion! Unlike, for example,
a hard lemonade, the hard sodas actually
taste almost exactly like the non-alcoholic
versions. Especially in the case
of hard root beer.
Another trend that has been
growing steadily over the past
few years is hard cider. Unlike
hard sodas, alcoholic ciders have
been around for centuries, since
the fermentation of apples and
apple juice is pretty easy to achieve. It has
a long tradition in England, and although
imports like Magner’s and Strongbow have
been around in America for years, it’s only
recently sparked the imagination of brewers
in the United States.
Strongbow is still available, now produced
by Heineken, in Gold Apple and Honey
Apple flavors. The Gold is the flagship,
standard cider, and the Honey has, well,
honey added to it. AB-Inbev’s Stella Artois
also makes a cider overseas, Cidre, that’s
available in the United States.
The CrispinCidery (owned byMillerCoors)
actually has several pear ciders on the
market, officially called “perry” by the
British. Crispin offers The Pacific Pear
and Blackberry Pear, in addition to its
classic Apple cider. The cidery also plays
around a lot with different yeasts and fruits,
especially in its Artisanal series. If you’re a
fan of ciders, it might be worth keeping an
eye out for them.
Two very popular American cider brands
are Angry Orchard (made by Boston Beer
Company) and Woodchuck (made by
Vermont Cider Co). Not only does Angry
Orchard make Crisp Apple and Green
Apple ciders, but it’s unique in that it offers
a cider with hops called Hop’n Mad. Hop’n
Mad uses both Strisselspalt and Galaxy hops,
in a post-fermentation process called dry-
hopping. Dry-hopping releases the floral
and tropical aromas and flavors of the hops
without producing bitterness. Keep an eye
out also for Angry Orchard’s seasonal ciders
— Cinnful Apple made with cinnamon for
the fall and winter, and Summer Honey for
spring and summer time.
Woodchuck Cider has been making cider in
Vermont since 1991, and although it’s gone
through some ups and downs and various
international partnerships, it is in
prime position to enjoy the cider
boom of the last few years. Their
very first cider was Woodchuck
Amber, but they added the tart
and tangy Granny Smith Apple
as customers asked for more
Hard root beer pairs perfectly with pork
ribs, burgers and fries and vanilla ice cream
for a grown-up version of a root beer float.
variety. Woodchuck offers a pear as well,
Woodchuck Pear.
One advantage of hard ciders is that they
serve an often neglected but quickly growing
population of the gluten free. Whether due
to illness or other health concerns, ciders
provide a great alternative to beer, when
hanging out at the pub or bar
with some friends. However,
hard root beer is often made
with barley, so it is not a gluten
free alternative. Check the
ingredients carefully of any hard
soda — but you’re almost always
safe with cider.
And just like regular, alcohol-free sodas,
hard sodas are full of sugar. How long until
the diet soda versions come out, I wonder.
Hard Diet Cola or Diet 7-Up. You can go
straight from the gym to the bar for a night
out on the town without guilt!
Are hard sodas just a fad or will they
continue to win hearts, minds, and market
share? Are they designed to fill a nostalgic
sugar craving? Ciders have definitely already
stood the test of time (one of the first
recorded fermentations of apple juice was in
Rome in 55 B.C.), but can they stand up
beyond the fruit lovers and gluten free, to
embrace the growing craft beer market?
Bayou Bootlegger
Bayou Bootleggers namesake is inspired by pirate Jean Lafitte, the Gulf
Coast’s original bayou bootlegger .