One surprise I found when reading on the website is that they use Washington state apples. That's pretty far to go for mostly dessert apple varieties, but there are a lot of apples up there.
For a little background about Rhinegeist, I went to the website, "Our name, Rhinegeist, translates to "Ghost of the Rhine" and refers to our place in the historic Over-the-Rhine Brewery District in Cincinnati. Built within the skeleton of the old Moerlein bottling plant (1895), we brew batches of beer that sing with flavor." Let's hope their ciders sing as well!
If you want to read more about Cidergeist ciders and see some pictures, find them here:
http://www.rhinegeist.com/ciders/
Appearance: hazy, deep harvest moon color, poured with a head
This looks almost like bubbled bronze in the glass. Lots of sparkling action; the cider even poured with a head. That vanished quickly, but I caught it in the picture.
Aromas: fresh apples, stone, candy
This smells like fresh apples crushed between stones. Thesre's a secondary note that smells more candied, perhaps like candied pineapple and dried pear
Sweetness/dryness: Semi-sweet
This is pleasantly semi-sweet with a real fruit character. I would not call it semi-dry.
Flavors and drinking experience: fruit, fizz, balance
Fascinatingly, the Cidergeist Semi-dry tastes slightly of watermelon and cucumber. I was surprised that the level of fizz is medium; the appearance of so many bubbles made me expect something more intensely fizzy. Medium acidity and nice balance. As expected, there aren't many tannins to speak of. The finish of this cider transforms interestingly; it shrinks somehow and yet the acid remains for one little moment of farewell.
Today, I'm sharing my review of Cidergeist's Semi-Dry Hard Cider.
This is what Cidergeist has to say about their Semi-dry, "Cider fermented to amplify the fragrance and essence of the apples whilst achieving a delightful, lip-smacking dryness." zI can add that the cider has 6.2% ABV and is available year round. The kind folks at Cidergeist sent me a mixed six pack of cans of this and their hopped cider, so I'll be reviewing that one soon.
Appearance: hazy, deep harvest moon color, poured with a head
This looks almost like bubbled bronze in the glass. Lots of sparkling action; the cider even poured with a head. That vanished quickly, but I caught it in the picture.
Aromas: fresh apples, stone, candy
This smells like fresh apples crushed between stones. Thesre's a secondary note that smells more candied, perhaps like candied pineapple and dried pear
Sweetness/dryness: Semi-sweet
This is pleasantly semi-sweet with a real fruit character. I would not call it semi-dry.
Flavors and drinking experience: fruit, fizz, balance
Fascinatingly, the Cidergeist Semi-dry tastes slightly of watermelon and cucumber. I was surprised that the level of fizz is medium; the appearance of so many bubbles made me expect something more intensely fizzy. Medium acidity and nice balance. As expected, there aren't many tannins to speak of. The finish of this cider transforms interestingly; it shrinks somehow and yet the acid remains for one little moment of farewell.
I had this first in a can and a few days later had one poured into a goblet. The glassware made a huge difference. The goblet caught the aroma much more. As much as I love the convenience of cans, I got a lot more flavor out of the goblet. And I'll choose flavor over convenience almost every time.
My recommendation is to free this cider from its can and drink it in such a way that you can really enjoy its aromas and flavors. The fruit be free!
My recommendation is to free this cider from its can and drink it in such a way that you can really enjoy its aromas and flavors. The fruit be free!