This past weekend, I celebrated my tenth wedding anniversary with my husband and best friend. I thought it only fitting that the first review I post after this momentous celebration was a Woodchuck cider because that's the only cider that's been with us not only for the ten years we've been married, but most of them before that. I'd say the first ciders we ever shared were Woodchuck and Farnum Hill.
I'm sure most folks who drink cider are aware of Woodchuck because of either their long history or extensive distribution. But visit the website and see what's new here: http://www.woodchuck.com/
I've reviewed enough different Woodchuckciders, that I don't need to delay this review long enough to go through all of them (but they are all tagged Woodchuck if you want to track them down). I'll just share three select previous reviews.
Most recently, I reviewed Woodchuck's Hot Cha Cha: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/03/cider-review-woodchucks-hot-cha-cha-cha.html
The first time I had a smoked cider it was Woodchuck's Cellar Series Smoked Apple:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/12/cider-review-woodchuck-cellar-series.html
A cider that only comes around for a few months of the year is Woodhuck's Belgian White, a cider inspired by Belgian beer making traditions:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/10/cider-review-woodchuck-belgian-white.html
But today isn't about those lovely ciders from the past, its about a new cider Woodchuck just released in 2016: Daychaser. Here's how the website introduces it.
Day chaser celebrates those adventure seekers that never let a minute slip by. This sessionable cider combines bitter and sweet apples to deliver a semi-dry cider that is not too sweet and leaves you thirsty for another. Get the most out of every day and reward yourself as you welcome the night.To interpret, I think Woodhcuk is going for a sessionable middle-of-the-road cider that's good for as a sidekick to your plans rather than a centerpiece. There are a few other tidbits to shape our expectations. On Woodchuck's visual scale, this cider is placed between dry and semi-dry, but nearer to semi-dry. In terms of flavor, we are asked to expect, "Ripe apple fruit, low to moderate acidity, light tannin." Nice framing, let's see how this translates from copy to glass.
Aromas: bread, apple, peach
Interesting, this smell just exactly like my homemade cider bread. So, I guess I can draw bread, yeast, and apple out of that. It also smells a bit peachy.
Sweetness/dryness: sweet
As is often the case a semi-dry on the label translates to a sweet in my perception. Its a fruity sweetness, but there is no getting around it.
Flavors and drinking experience: medium acidity, quite fruity, drinkable
The Day chaser is reasonably balanced with medium bubble and a flavor that somehow comes across as ripe and golden. The cider offers up a sweet fruity finish. It has medium low tannins, but not zero tannins. I quite like what they add to the cider. The Day chaser's moderate acidity helps make it truly a sessionable cider. I'd not call it particularly extreme or exciting, but oh so drinkable.
I had it with blue corn chips and medium roasted pepper salsa and it totally worked. Pair this cider with any number of activities; take it canoeing, enjoy a bottle while touching up something outside that needs to be painted. It definitely fulfills the role Woodchuck designed it for, bringing some fresh balanced apple to any cider-friendly activity.