Beer: Blood Amulet
Brewery: B. Nektar Meadery (Ferndale, MI)
Style: Cider – Other Fruit
6.2% ABV / N/A IBU

“Blood Amulet” sounds like the most metal thing ever, but a quick check of Metal Archives yields exactly zero Blood Amulets past or present. Someone needs to get on these before metal festivals come back so we can see Blood Amulet tear up the stage before Incantation. Until then, there’s Blood Amulet, a fall/winter-themed cider from a curious meadery in Michigan that happens to specialize in cider.

Nektar’s cider has a wider distribution footprint, so I’ve yet to sample any of their mead, but their ciders all walk a delicate tightrope act between sweet and dry. That’s right where we want to be with small-batch cider, especially for those of us that grew -up on overly-sweet Woodchuck or are turned off on the Euro tradition of bone-dry cider. Both of the B. Nektar ciders I’d tried before—the honey and cherry spiked Zombie Killer and the tea-infused and spiced the Dude’s Rug—were winners. Plus, the 500ml bottle size is perfect for splitting and the necro label art is eye-catching.

Blood Amulet is comparatively straightforward in its presentation. It’s a hard cider with a fresh-pressed Michigan apple base, as well as raspberry and cranberry. There’s a floral hint from the raspberry, but Blood Amulet really presents more as a cranberry apple cider, with a punchy tartness that clings to the tip of your tongue and top of your palette. It would be easy to mistake this for a spiked version of Canada Dry’s cranberry ginger ale. I did, and it definitely got a little buzzed. But this is a delightful way to do it.

For more info, check out B. Nektar Meadery here.