I took my lunch break outside today. That may not sound like much, but it was a first of 2022: something to celebrate. This isn’t a weather blog, but cider is so connected to both seasons and food that I have to reflect on the conditions that most directly influence my cider choices. This week’s cider choice was inspired by an impromptu gathering of friends who all needed to share some tales of recent misadventure. We had early evening sun, snacks, and a highly necessary time for unwinding. My beverage of choice was Stormalong Cider’s Unfiltered: highly appropriate for this gathering!
Stormalong cider is a Massachusetts cidery now selling cider to a few states. I give lots more background in the early Stormalong appearances in the blog. I recommend checking out a few of those.
My Stormalong reviews give a fairly thorough but not fully exhaustive picture of the cidery’s offerings. Here’s the list.
White Mountain Magic: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2022/02/cider-review-stormalong-ciders-white.html
Bittersweet Symphonie: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/10/cider-review-stormalongs-bittersweet.html
Wicked Little Wickson: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/08/cider-review-stormalongs-wicked-little.html
Winesap: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/04/cider-review-stormalong-ciders-winesap.html
Happy Holidays: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/11/cider-review-stormalong-ciders-happy.html
Esopus Spitzenburg: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/08/cider-review-ravens-moon-craft-ciders.html
Ashmead’s Kernel: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/07/cider-review-brannland-just-cider-and.html
Peariful: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/05/cider-review-left-foot-charleys-fortis.html
Legendary Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/12/cider-review-stormalongs-legendary-dry.html
Kingston Black: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/08/cider-reviews-ninepin-light-cider.html
Light of the Sun: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/08/cider-review-descendant-cider-company.html
Mass Appeal: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/12/cider-review-prospect-ciderworks.html
Boston Heirloom: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/01/cider-review-stormalong-ciders-boston.html
Visit Stormalong Cider online to see current releases and learn more about this Massachusetts cidery: http://stormalong.com/.
The folks at Stormalong were kind enough to send me some review samples of the new Unfiltered cider. The review is not biased by the sharing, but I do appreciate it. So much of my access to ciders comes from brands choosing to seek me out; I couldn’t do this without them.
Here’s how Stormalong describes the Unfiltered.
Unfiltered hard cider made with a blend of 100% high-quality, fresh pressed, locally sourced apples. Reminiscent of farmstand cider pressed and sold at harvest, it’s crisp, refreshing, with a savory balance of tart and sweet.
Alcohol 4.50%
Appearance: hazy, bubbly, creamy butter yellow
This cider reminds me of butter or yellow cake batter. The unfiltered nature of the drink affects how I perceive the color for sure. There are also plenty of big hearty bubbles in my glass.
Aromas: ripe apples, bananas, tropical fruit, unfermented apple juice
The Unfiltered cider smells vividly of ripe apples and bananas. There’s a juicy and tropical feel to its notes. And everything I smell, I smell it with glorious intensity. There’s nothing shy about this cider.
Sweetness/dryness: sweet
Oh hello sweet cider! Stormalong has created an unambiguously sweet cider in the Unfiltered. The sweetness contributes to every element of the experience, so you’ll read more about it in the next section.
Flavors and drinking experience: apple juice, peaches, medium to low acidity, petillant
The first characteristic I notice about Stormalong’s Unfiltered is its thick, full mouthfeel. This cider feels sweet, rich, and tropical like a mango lassi. It’s a bit on the sticky side like one too. Fans of fruit smoothies and farm-stand fresh apple cider will rejoice at how much this cider tastes like unfermented apple juice right at harvest time.
There’s also some Peachy notes in this medium to low acid cider. The Unfiltered is more petillant than fully sparkling, which adds to the full mouthfeel effect. It tastes as vivid and bold as it smelled and is very autumnal as well. So many of the Unfiltered’s characteristics go together to paint a portrait of lush sweet freshness. The low ABV, sweetness, petillance, and mouthfeel are all reminiscent of unfermented cider from the farm. This unfiltered cider was a super easy-going companion for some equally unfiltered sharing with friends; plus it paired fantastically with salty crunchy snacks.
