Home Brew Review-- Hopped Porter Cider or "Graf" (Oh bother).

Last night after a long drive to see a close friend who's wife went to a vineyard for a night with her friends, we opened one of my home brewed Hopped Porter Cider bombs (yes, I know, it's what some beer-Sci-Fi-Horror geekanoids are calling "Graf" on the internet (see the link footnote) based on a Stephen King's "Dark Tower", but I like names that include the beer style being mixed with cider to make ghoulish "Graf", that like, literally describe the beverage... here... man). 

Please do volunteer for that conversation after trying to ordering "Graf" at your local Craft Brewery that's blasting heavy metal with the staff that appears to be working for beer rations.  Be sure to explain the part about Dark Tower by Stephen King.*

Nevertheless, this was a "Graf" batch that I made in October after boiling out a 5 gallon pot of malted porter style barley I had laying around for the purpose, and adding several rounds of hops, and dry hopping the whole thing with what I had left with hops I also had lying around for years-- in ziplocks in the fridge. 

The wort was mixed with fresh pressed Apple must from a NY State vineyard.

It was outstanding. It came out much better than I thought, everything about it was why one should take the time, effort and expense to home brew. It was thicker than any cider (and did not give me a headache like EVERY cider), it was just slightly malty, almost imperceptible in fact, it smelled fresh and great, and hoppy but sweet, not cheezy and sour.  It was lingering on the palate in a good way, sightly bitter after the gulp.  The head was clean and lovely.  

Love this stuff-- it's simple to make too.  Boil malted porter for 40 mins, add hops at lower heat for another 15 mins, let cool, add hops on top of the must, and mix in an organic apple cider, which can cool it down enough to reach the 90s... 90F which is when you can add Nottingham yeast as I did, or something similar-- Saison, or even EC1118, a white wine yeast that would not make me mad at you.   Wait 10 days and put in bottles (use PET plastic-- no BPA to keep it really simple, which I did not do-- I bottled mine with American flag caps and the very fancy label you can see in the photo here. 

I only got one photo, because me and my chum were talking, laughing and drinking this and a few wine-- including one I made last October too...  a great mix of 3 grapes I'll post about when I get some photos (he thought it was still too young and acidic).


*See also:

https://youtu.be/KLbRBl6p4Ec