Cider Review: Urban Tree Cidery's Sweet Heat Haze

From spring flowers back to spring showers; that’s the refrain in my head. Some years it feels like we nearly skip over spring straight into early Summer, but this year our cool rainy days are interspersed with amazing blue-sky loveliness. Things are green and mild and springy, so I’m grateful. I may not be grilling veggies every week, but that season will come soon.

Today I’m reviewing Urban Tree Cidery’s Sweet Heat Haze. I chose this one to look ahead to summery days for canned ciders to be consumed outside. Urban Tree Cidery is a cider producer working in Atlanta, Georgia. The apples are grown in the mountainous region of the state. In the city, the cidery has a taproom and event space!

Urban Tree Cidery’s Harvest Apple appeared on the blog back in March: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/03/cider-review-urban-tree-hard-cider.html

Visit Urban Tree Hard Cider here to learn about all of the ciders: https://www.urbantreecidery.com/

Today’s review is the Sweet Heat Haze. This is a cider with ginger and habanero!

Here’s The Sweet Heat Haze's official description. 

Medium bodied and perfectly balanced between a refreshing sweet zest and a subtle robust zing.

- Double Gold 2019 Seattle Cider Awards

- Gold 2019 Great Lakes Cider & Perry Competition (GLINTCAP)

I love that the company includes the awards this cider has won! From the can, I can also see that the ABV is 6.5%.

Appearance: hazy, intense butterscotch color, few visible bubbles

The Sweet Heat Haze does  bring just a bit of haze with its nod towards opacity. The cider’s color is warm and intense; it reminds me of butterscotch. I see some bubbles in the glass but not many.

Aromas: spicy peppers, melon, mango, ginger, roasted apple, and honey

This cider not only smells spicy but sniffing it get one a distinct curling prickling sensation in the nose from the spice. There are also notes of melon, honey, ginger and roasted apple. I love the vibrancy of these smells.

Sweetness/Dryness: Sweet

This is a sweet cider, and with its other characteristics that’s necessary. Keep reading to find out more.

Flavors and drinking experience: ginger, zest, high acid, spicy finish

Readers, this cider is spicy, but it’s more than just spicy. The Sweet heat Haze brings high acidity, sweetness, spice and lots of fruity notes to create a powerful and balanced whole. I love how fruity the ginger notes are and how zesty ginger melds with the habanero. The Sweet Heat Haze develops its flavor over time, finishing with a very spicy kick at the finish. Something in the herby and fruity combination reminds me of sweet red peppers as well as ginger. Apple isn’t the point of this cider, but the interplay of flavors is fun and oh-so-drinkable.

I enjoyed this with a simple picnic style dinner of cut raw veggies, a few hummuses and some cheese. Nothing could be simpler, but it was a delicious series of pairings. Each veggie, cheese, and hummus had something to say with this balanced yet complex cider. Yum!