Beer/Cider mix - anyone tried this?

[snowcapt]

Hello All -
I was drinking one of my hard ciders yesterday, and it was a pretty dry and tart. I started thinking that this type of flavor might be nice in a beer - maybe like a biere de garde with a dry apple finish. Has anyone played around with mixing beer and cider? If so, did you add apple juice to your fermentation with your wort, or did you ferment the beer and cider separately and blend? I have heard New Glarus makes a hybrid like this, but unfortunately we can't get New Glarus in MI. Any info, be it something you've actually done or just theorized is welcome

-Adam
Primary: summer wheat(attempted Oberon clone)
Secondary: berliner weisse, Jamil's Oud Bruin
Bottled: cream ale, hard cider

Guinness floated on cider= Snakebite, where I come from. YUM!

[dmtaylor]

Adam, yes, a starter is always a very good idea, if not an absolute requirement.

[AdamWiz]

The mash is resting as we speak!!!!!!!The smoke malt smells tasty.You're right-just like bacon. I hit the 150 degree mash temp perfectly. I didn't make a starter, so I just got another vial of the Belgian wit and I'll pitch 2. Now to go check how well my temp. has been holding.......

[snowcapt]

soooo?

[AdamWiz]

Temperature held well, the mash was still at 148-150 degrees after 30 min. I heated my sparge water to about 185, but after pouring it in, I measured the temp. at only about 162. I added about another half gallon of some near-boiling water I had going to get the temp. up to about 167-168. I stirred well again and let the mash rest for another 15 minuites or so. After my 2nd runoff, I had almost 3 gallons for my total boil volume.(6 lbs. grain, mashed in with about 1.8 gallons water, grain absorbed a little over half a gallon to yield 1.25 gallons for my first runoff - sparged with about 1.7 gallons water for a total runoff of just under 3 gallons). Since I was boiling a bit more than I had calculated for, I cut down just a tiny bit on the 60 min. hop addition. My efficiency was not great, pre-boil gravity was about 1.060 (had anticipated about 1.068). Something like 65%. Not bad for my first all grain, I guess. By the way, how do you calculate your efficiency? I am just going on the discrepency between my recipe calculator's projection and my actual gravity. All in all, my first mash went pretty well. Next time I will have to heat my sparge water a little higher to get the temp. I want without adding extra water.

[snowcapt]

this might help...
http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12-5.html

[AdamWiz]

It turns out that my estimates were off, I had the batch and boil volumes entered wrong into the recipe calculator. I was calculating for a boil volume of 2.25 gallons, but I actually ended up with about 3 gallons. With the correct volumes entered in, my anticipated gravity should have been about 1.064. So my efficiency (using the method from "How To Brew") was actually close to 80%

[Steelers&Beer]

cider with a guiness float is a "Priest's Collar"
cider/guiness 50 /50 is a "Poor man's black velvet"

love cider but more than 2 destroys my stomach, this getting old shit blows!