It tasted like someone put a bunch of pears in a wooden box and then set fire to the box. When the pears were soft and squishy from the heat, they mashed the pears down into a jar and left them to ferment, being sure to leave a few bits of charcoal from the box in the mix. Then, later, when suitably alcoholic, the remaining pear and charcoal ferment was strained and put into a keg and then sold to unsuspecting cider drinkers in order to disgust them.