Mulled Cider Ale

Mulled beer has been around for a very long time, way back before refrigeration was a glimmer in humanity's proverbial eye. This version combines the dry sweetness of mulled apple cider with whole-toasted spices, pomegranates, thyme, spiced rum and beer to make the ultimate fall beverage.

Between the warmth from the spices, the booziness from the rum/beer and the heat, this beverage will warm you right down to your toes during the colder seasons. Now I know mulled beer is an acquired taste and there's a reason why cold, carbonated beers are so tasty. Heating up beer gets rid of the carbonation which is used to give body to the drink. The heating process also tends to bring out more booziness in the beer. To counter this, I've used a nice thick apple cider to help with the body and with the addition of maple syrup for sweetness, some fruitiness from the pomegranate seeds and a sprig of thyme, the extra booziness is masked completely. Leaving you with an incredibly tasty mulled drink.

The first step is to mull the apple cider. I like to toast a variety of whole spices on the stove top. With cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and star anise, you’ve got fall spices all covered. As soon as you can start to smell their lovely aroma, add apple cider and pomegranate seeds.

This mulled beverage has 2 key liquid components: the apple cider and the beer. The apple cider I purchase from a local farm, however a grocery store version will work just as well, as will a homemade version if you have a favourite recipe to use! Choose an unsweetened, un-spiced apple cider as we will be adding those components in the recipe. To sweeten the mulled beverage, add some maple syrup; the sweetness will help balance the booziness of the heated up beer and rum. I like to think of this as Mulled Cider-beer Canadian edition due to the maple syrup. I tend to use this ingredient a lot as a sweetener as it adds a nice subtle maple flavour rather than just pure sweetness. The apple cider should be simmered for 15-20 minutes, enough time for the spices to become infused throughout.

The final and arguably MOST important part of this recipe is the addition of alcohol! How can you expect the drink to warm you all the way through without it. Since this drink is a combination of mulled cider and beer (Mulled cideer? Beerder? Any other name suggestions folks?) the beer used is just as important as the apple cider. My preferred choice is a local spiced craft beer. I choose Foliage Autumn Ale, a spiced beer with cinnamon and ginger, it has a lovely orange colour reminiscent of pumpkins and fall leaves. Pick something similar from your own regional local craft breweries. Full disclosure, the majority of my beer recipes will use Bobcaygeon Brewing Company beers due to my life partner being their brewmaster, no bias here!

When the apple cider has been mulled for 15-20 minutes add the spiced beer. Adding the cold or room temperature beer will drop the overall temperature of the mixture. Next, you will bring the temperature back up, but not too high!

Ethanol, the alcohol in beer, cider, wine, liquor, etc. that makes us feel so nice and tingly, has a boiling point of about 78°C (172°F). This means that if you get your mixture to 78°C or higher, you’ll start evaporating off your alcohol. Furthermore, the longer and hotter you keep the mix, the more aromatic compounds you’ll boil off..

Once the mixture has finished heating up, which should take no longer than 5 minutes, remove from the stove top and add your preferred brand of spiced dark rum. This recipe makes approximately 4-5 full mugs. The final percentage of alcohol in each mug depends on the beer used. For example, Foliage has an ABV (Alcohol by Volume) of 5.4% bringing the final ABV of each mug to just under 5% ABV.

When pouring the beverage into the mugs, feel free to use a small, wire sieve, typically used for tea to strain and catch the extra spices. Garnish with a sprig of thyme and a few pomegranate seeds if desired. Besides looking pretty, the sprig of thyme makes a real difference to the taste. By seeping the thyme at the end, an earthy flavour is released that will help mask the booziness, making this a very approachable drink.

This mulled cider ale has a beautiful complexity to the flavour with no ingredient overpowering the others. With booziness, spices, subtle fruitiness from the pomegranates, sweetness from the maple syrup and that final dose of earthiness, every sip is an adventure. All around one delicious warm drink to enjoy during the colder weather.