How not to be mistaken when choosing mead and cider

Mead

Mead is one of the traditional Russian drinks, for the preparation of which honey, hops or yeast and water are used. The taste of mead depends on the choice of spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, red peppers, almonds) and berries (juniper, rose hips, currants, blueberries, strawberries). Veliky Novgorod, Suzdal, Tver, Kolomna near Moscow are famous for their mead.

The strength of the drink varies from 5 to 9% and depends not on the amount of alcohol, but on the aging time.

In the old days, mead was prepared without the use of yeast by long fermentation of natural ingredients. It was poured into a barrel, the lid was tarred. The exposure time took from 5 to 60 years. If the tar still seeped through the lid, then it was possible to find out that the mead was spoiled only after a long time.

In Russia, there are no uniform rules for the production of mead, there is only GOST R 52700-2006 for the production of low-alcohol drinks, which determines the maximum general requirements for the indicators of finished products. Each manufacturer prepares mead according to its specifications, but everyone is obliged to use natural components of honey, hops, spices, and not food additives that imitate them.

The alcoholic component of the drink should be obtained by fermentation of the wort, and not with the help of alcohol added to the finished drink. Otherwise, such a product can no longer be called mead.

How to choose a quality mead

Look at the label. The name should indicate that this is mead. It is good if GOST R 52700-2006 is mentioned, but this is an optional requirement.

Take a close look at the composition. Only natural ingredients should be indicated there: honey, hops, yeast, berries and spices. High-quality mead does not require preservatives and carbon dioxide, since gas saturation occurs during fermentation. Should not be in the composition and other alcohol, such as vodka.

Look at the light on the bottle. The color can be different, it depends on the berries and spices used in the preparation process. But in all cases, the liquid must be clear.

How to drink mead

Traditionally, mead was used as an aperitif: it was consumed in small sips before meals. Today it can be drunk with almost any food except for fish, which interrupts the aroma of mead with its smell.

In the cold season, it is allowed to heat the mead to 35–40 ° С. It is better to drink it chilled in summer.

How to make mead at home

For those who like to do everything with their own hands and want to be 100% sure of the quality of mead, we will tell you how to cook it at home.

Cider

Cider is a low-alcohol drink made from apples, the strength of which varies from 1, 2 to 6%. Color, aroma and taste may vary slightly depending on the manufacturing characteristics. Cider, like wine, is divided into dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet varieties, can be carbonated and non-carbonated. Traditionally, cider is brewed in Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain. It is also popular in the Baltics and Scandinavia.

There is a legend that the first cider was made when Charlemagne sat on a bag of overripe apples. The crushed apples eventually fermented. But in fact, cider has been brewed since the days of Ancient Rome, which is why it became widespread in Europe - the former Roman colonies.

In Russia, the tradition of cider brewing is poorly developed, and not least because of the lack of raw materials.

Ordinary apples are not suitable for the production of cider, since they contain too little tannin, a special tannin that gives the cider a tart taste. We need special varieties of apples that taste like wild ones.

There is also a pear cider called poiret, or perry. Poiret strength varies from 5 to 8%. For its preparation, pears and a small amount of apples are used (about ¹⁄₄ of the total). The taste of such cider, unlike apple cider, will be sweeter.

How to choose a quality cider

In accordance with the requirements of GOST 31820-2015, cider must be transparent, without sediment and foreign inclusions.

The composition of cider can include apples and pears, concentrated fruit juices, sugar, yeast, water, citric and sorbic acid, carbon dioxide. Ideally, the composition should contain only natural ingredients and be free of yeast. With traditional technology, cider is fermented naturally without the use of yeast.

Be sure to find out exactly where the cider is made. In the UK and a number of other countries, requirements for the composition of cider are spelled out at the legislative level. In Russia, it can also be prepared on the basis of concentrated juices. GOST 31820 gives this right to manufacturers.

The strength of the cider cannot exceed 6%. Everything above is already fruity wines.

Foreign-made ciders can have a slight sediment as they are not filtered. In foreign sideries, you can often see that the floors are covered with sawdust so that the visitors can splash the sediment from the glass onto the floor.

How to drink cider

In France, cider is drunk from tall wine or champagne glasses so that the carbon dioxide bubbles are exhaled as slowly as possible. In the UK and Germany, cider is served in beer mugs.

In Spain and France, it is believed that cider should be poured from a great height so that more bubbles are released from the drink and a foam is formed. This drink should be drunk immediately. The glass is filled to ¹⁄₄ or ¹⁄₃ and refilled as needed.

Cider goes well with pancakes, cheese, grilled meats, seafood. You need to drink it chilled.

How to check the authenticity of an excise stamp

Since March 1, 2013, mead and cider are excisable goods, which means that containers with these drinks must be sealed with an excise stamp.

We will not provide a complete list of criteria that must be met by this excise stamp, since without special equipment the ordinary buyer still does not recognize some of the signs. Those interested can see the information on the Rosalkogolregulirovanie website.

The barcode of the brand encodes information about the alcoholic beverage - manufacturer, volume, date of issue, strength. These data are entered by the manufacturer or importer into the state EGAIS system. When alcoholic beverages arrive at retail, the seller must scan the code. The data will go to the database of Rosalkogolregulirovanie. This way you can track the movement of each bottle from the moment of its production to the sale in a particular store.

An ordinary buyer can check the legality of alcoholic beverages and the data of the excise stamp on the official portal of the alcohol market.

how to choose a cider: a single portal of the alcohol market

Checking excise stamps on the site sometimes does not work well, so it is better to install an app for checking excise taxes on your smartphone. You will need to enter your contact information and full name, since through the application you can not only check the stamps, but also send complaints about the sale of counterfeit products to government agencies. The complaint will not be considered without your contact details.