This is my
first review of a anything by Stem Ciders. They are based out of
Denver, Colorado and have operated since the start of 2014. I first
ran across their beverages at Cider Summit Chicago 2017. I was
pleased to stay in touch and get a few review samples this month.
You can learn all about Stem Ciders on their website here: http://stemciders.com/
This
is Stem Cider's Pear Apple Cider and it could have fit into my Very Perry May,
but I'm glad to have a canned pear-apple blend for this #pickcider
for the 4th of July series.
Made
with Bartlett pears from Colorado's Western Slope. Rich golden hue,
caramel and fresh fruit on the nose with a surprisingly tart finish
5.3% ABV Released April 2017. Suggested pairings include, “pork
chops and apple sauce, spicy thai, lobster rolls” But we'll see if
my sense of vegetable oriented pairings matches up.
Appearance:
brilliant, few visible bubbles, deep roasty gold
This
cider has a deep roasted quality to its goldenness. It reminds me of
English or French ciders in color. I don't see many bubbles, but it
is brilliant.
Aromas:
cooked apple and pear, yeast, custard
The
scents are rich,
oxidized, and dusty. The cider smells sweet, warm, and rich. These
aren't characteristics I associate very much with pear ciders, so I'm
curious. The creamy custard smell is most intriguing.
sweetness/dryness:
sweet
This
cider drinks sweetly but remains complex and dessert like. The
fruitness and sweetness taste all natural to me.
Flavors
and drinking experience: rich, fruity, high acid, bubbly
Richness
and mouthfeel are a pair of interconnected qualities that can make or
break a cider, and the Pear Apple by Stem Ciders offers up a
delightful experience in those crucial characteristics. Mind you,
part of what makes the richness so enjoyable is that it's balanced by
high acid. The contrast is not artificially extreme, just dynamic and
buoyed up with medium to high fine bubbles.
I
found this cider deeply enjoyable.
Its
fruity but not in a raw fruit salad way. Instead it reminds me of a
fruit tart drizzled with caramel. This apple pear blend, just oozes
dessert, while still being sharp in a spectacularly nice way.
My
recommended pairings for this cider include summer thunderstorms,
chilled grain salad with cheddar, corn, tomato, and avocado, Twin
Peaks, or caramel shorbread cookies. I've not gotten to try it with
lobster roll, but give me a chance and I will! What this list is
attempting to demonstrate is a certain flexibility that I suspect
this cider is capable of providing.