Cider Review: Portland Cider Co.'s Imperial Abbey Apple Cider

Another whirlwind of holiday and birthday fun has come and gone. This past week has been full of movies, food, friends, family, dice rolling, and yes, cider. When a mysterious cider package arrives when your house is filled with family, of course you have to open up it up and show everything off. Portland Cider Co. was kind enough to surprise me with a cider arrival just before Thanksgiving! 

What I know about Portland Cider Co. is that this company is wild for flavor combinations and experimentation. The company uses Northwest apples but a whole slew of additional flavor elements. Over the years, I’ve tasted their take on peach, pineapple, pumpkin, and more.

I’ve reviewed a slew of Portland Cider Co.’s offering in the past decade. Here’s the rundown.

Bloody Hell: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/07/cider-review-portland-cider-cos-bloody.html

Lemon-Lime Ciderade: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/06/cider-review-portland-cider-companys.html

Crangerine: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/12/cider-review-portland-cider-companys.html

Razzberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/06/cider-review-once-upon-tree-wild-flight.html

Peach Berry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/04/cider-review-portland-cider-companys.html

Kinda Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/05/cider-review-portland-cider-company.html

Pineapple: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/cider-review-portland-cider-company.html

Cranberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/03/cider-review-seed-stone-cidery-heritage.html

Pumpkin Spice: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/10/cider-review-portland-cider-co-pumpkin.html

Pineapple Rose: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/07/cider-reviews-portland-cider-cos.html

Get the full scoop online from Portland Cider Co. directly. Here’s a link to the cidery website: https://www.portlandcider.com/home

My review today is for Portland Cider Co.’s Imperial Abbey Apple. Here’s how the cidery describes this release.

Juicy & bright Belgian-inspired Northwest Apple Cider

Expertly crafted by our cider makers in a unique Belgian-style cider, Abbey Apple showcases Northwest apples fermented with Belgian ale yeast. The result is a smooth, full-bodied cider with a bright, juicy finish. 8.4% ABV

Tasting Notes

Juicy, bright, subtle banana and clove, tropical aromas, unique finish.

Food Pairings

Shepherd’s pie, dark chocolate cake, spicy thai basil chicken, roasted vegetables

Ingredients

NW apples

Belgian ale yeast 

Always Gluten Free

Appearance: shining, mild warm straw, no visible bubbles

This is a lovely cider with a gentle warm straw hue. I don’t see any haze or bubbles. It’s brilliant and almost still in appearance. I do expect that I’ll find bubbles once I taste the cider.

Aromas: yeast, cheddar, bread, candied sugar, apple

The Imperial Abbey Apple Cider smells yeasty a little cheddar funk. This is undoubtedly the Belgian Beer style coming through. The aroma initially reminds me of bread but also of dark candied sugar. It’s fascinating! I do get some apple notes, but the are secondary to the yeast character.

Sweetness/Dryness: Semi-sweet

This cider is semi-sweet, but it’s also got some bitterness that add complexity.

Flavors and drinking experience: Bittersweet, belgian-beer influenced, full bodied, high acid

This is a cider for beer lovers, specifically for Belgian beer lovers! The Imperial Abbey Ale’s taste is notably bittersweet with a fun balance of these two elements. The Belgian ale yeast profile is prominent. The cider comes across petilliant and full bodied with that heavy imperial ABV.

There’s plenty of malic acid and apple present, but neither are as powerful as the yeast flavors. I find it pleasingly complex. This would be a perfect pairing for a hot plate of fish and chips. 

As we head into the darker days and longer nights approaching the northern hemisphere’s Winter Solstice, don’t forget to give yourself quiet cozy time to hibernate! 

Cider Cans Crush It: Rootstock Ciderworks Belgium and Shacksbury Cider Citrus Spritz

Summer is here (at least for those of us in the Northern hemisphere). We are surrounded by thunderstorms, farmers’ markets, and long summer evenings. Hopefully, we’re spending more time outside too. I know I’m spending more time walking dogs, taking hikes, and doing yard work; this changes the ciders that appeal to me. Perhaps I’m not the only one. That means this month I want to highlight all the many kinds of ciders we find now in cans! 

There’s just something especially satisfying about the sound of cracking open a can of cider outside. And it’s not just one type of cider that can give us this thrill. Ciders from sweet to dry, from tradition to wildly innovative all have started to appear in cans. Cider cans crush it, so that’s my theme for the month of June. I hope you enjoy reading about some of the many many many ciders in cans.

My first featured can is the Rootstock Ciderworks Belgian. I was lucky enough to get to try this at a Memorial Day birthday party. The whole theme of the party was cider and cheese tasting, so a few of this month’s reviews were sampled and considered that day. It was tremendous fun not just to taste and consider on my own or with one cider companion but to take notes alongside a group of ten or so intrepid tasters. Thanks so much to the Birthday Captain for that whole day.

A bit about Rootstock Ciderworks: this cidery grew out of a multi-generational orchard and fruit farm in upstate New York. It is located near Lake Ontario and near Rochester, New York. The cidery was founded in 2012, so it’s a year or so older than this blog. The company prides themselves on not only using local fruit but also striving to for sustainability by making multiple uses of materials wherever possible and using green solar energy.  

I have previously reviewed the Rootstock Ciderworks Hopped Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/10/cider-review-rootstock-ciderworks.html

You can read more about the company and all of the ciders here: https://rootstockciderworks.com/

This is Rootstock Ciderworks’ official description of the Belgian Cider.

Rootstock Belgian is a limited release cider designed to suit all your spring time cider drinking needs. This Ben Davis heavy cider was fermented using a traditional Belgian beer yeast. Fresh peach, and apple blossom aromas accompany pleasant minerality and apple flavor that make this cider one that is not to be missed. 7.6%ABV.

Appearance: Transparent, straw, few bubbles

This cider looks almost still when poured. The color looks a familiar shade of straw, and it’s totally brilliant.

Aromas: grain, fresh apples, grass

Yep! That’s a Belgian-beer influenced style! I can smell grain predominantly, but also fresh wet apples and a hint of green grass. This shows lots of yeast character.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-dry

This is a middle of the road semi-dry cider, but it might perceive as fully dy to some folks because of the pronounced yeast characteristics.

Flavors and drinking experience: citrus, white grape, yeast

This is so refreshing! I want to shout it out at full volume that this cider is perfect for hot days. The flavors make it super crisp, approachable, and thirst quenching! Virtually all of the characteristics of the style I noticed on the aromas were still present in the flavors of the cider. I could taste mild citrus, white grape, fresh apple, lots of yeast, but primarily lots of bread and grain characteristics. 

This is likely a cider best suited to folks who want the Belian style or for beer drinkers who want to try a cider. This is a great example of it’s style; there aren’t many ciders going for the witte-inspired profile right now, but this is a great one. I had mine at a cider birthday party, but I think my next one will be on the porch right after I’ve finished mowing my yard. 

Last time I’ll say it, but I feel I must. This is a very solid  and very tasty version of this style.

The next canned cider I’m covering is another adventurous one, this time by Shacksbury. I’ve wanted to explore the Shacksbury Spritzes as soon as I learned about them. This line of ciders has a lower ABV for sessionability, a very approachable set of flavors, and a super-cute can design.

I’ve written about Shacksbury a few times before, but the company has developed since then. Based out of Vergennes, Vermont, Shacksbury ferments a huge variety of apples in several different styles. They are often inspired the world’s different regional cider styles. The company creates limited editions and often creates collaboratively. 

I reviewed the Shacksbury Classic: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/cider-review-shacksbury-original.html

And I visited an orchard Shacksbury partners with as part of my Vermont cider tour: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-3.html

Read about the company and their ciders here: http://www.shacksbury.com/

Shacksbury now has a Vermont tasting room in Vergennes!

Today, I’m trying the Citrus Spritz; Here’s all the information from Shacksbury on the Citrus Spritz, including apple sources and fun pairing suggestions.

CITRUS SPRITZ CANS
Dry, light and refreshing with a vibrant citrus nose
Apples grown at Sunrise Orchards in Cornwall, Vermont
Tincture (citrus and rose) produced by Alice & the Magician in Burlington, Vermont
2016 harvest
Slow cool fermentation
Pairs with tapas, oysters, brunch, lawn games
Serving temperature: cold
12oz cans, 3.8% ABV
Residual sugars - 3 g/can
Produced and canned by Shacksbury Cider in Vergennes, Vermont

Appearance: hazy, bubbly peach

The color is a lovely shade of peach and the cider decidedly hazy. I can see lots of exciting bubbles, but there’s no way I could read through this cider. 

Aromas: rose, ginger, orange, apple

This cider has a really appealing set of aromas. I can smell rose first but that is is followed quickly by ginger, orange and apple notes. It all plays well together and seems light a delicate punch.

Sweetness/dryness: semi-sweet

It was tough for me to describe the level of sweetness because of the complex interplay of flavors. It doesn’t tastes particularly sweet or dry, but it tastes like so much more. The sweetness it has is very natural and not too sticky. Very pleasing!

Flavors and drinking experience: fruity, approachable, 

All of the Rose and orange and ginger from the nose of the cider remain present in its flavors. The spritz has a light body, as I expected from the name and from the ABV. This cider is so so pleasing! I like it’s semi-dry/semi-sweet herby, fruity, delicacy. Though the acidity is present, it feels very mild and balanced. 

I had this cider with some salmon, and a fun salad with candied pecans, strawberries, shredded carrot and Stilton cheese over a mix of my dad’s homegrown lettuces. 

Cider Review: Citizen Cider's Wit's Up

Spring has finally truly and beautifully arrived. I've seen more crocus in the last two days than I may have ever seen in one season before. Yesterday, I took a walk in the sunshine between work and supper. I know this sounds like a small thing, but I enjoyed it tremendously. I could even feel hints of the summer to come in the color of the light and the sun's warmth on my black t-shirt. 

I'm not going to attempt to rush Spring. It just got here, and I love this transient ever-changing season. I'm starting to think ahead just a little though. That's what led me to reach for a cider that recently came to me as a review sample from Citizen Cider. They shared the Wit's Up as a fun summer cider, though it is available year round. 

A little about Citizen Cider: this cider company has grown quickly and really made a name for themselves in their home state of Vermont. The cidery was founded in 2010 by three friends: Justin Heilenbach, Bryan Holmes and Kris Nelson. They each came from a different career background and brought a unique skill set to the cidery, and the results have been striking. They work with multiple Vermont orchards, including Happy Valley Orchard in Middlebury.

You can learn more about them on their website here: http://www.citizencider.com/

Or learn about new releases and local events even faster by following them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citizencider/

I have reviewed a couple of ciders by Citizen Cider before. 

My first was the bRose in 2014: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/02/cider-review-citizen-cider-brose.html

And more recently, I reviewed their Barrel Aged: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/02/cider-review-citizen-ciders-barrel-aged.html

Citizen was also a major stop on Day 2 of my Vermont Cider tour this past fall: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-2.html


Today, I am looking to the future and sharing my thoughts on Wit's Up. Here's how Citizen Cider describes it:

There are ciders for the people, and there are ciders for the people who make the cider for the people. Wit’s Up is a classic cider maker’s cider. Drawing on the old and new traditions of cider making, it starts like an ale and finishes like the dry, sessionable craft cider that it is. It’s cider for today, it’s cider for what we believe the future of cider to be. Come, enjoy the future with us and drink Wit’s Up. 5.9ABV.

Interestingly, Citizen also offers some suggested pairings for this cider: "Bratwurst, brioche, roasted chicken, root vegetables." But I have a bowl of vegetarian Chick'n & Dumplings, and I'll be curious to taste how that goes.  

Appearance: hazy, lots of bubbles, temporary mousse

The Wit's Up pours with a head that doesn't stick around. I'd call the cider hazy in terms of clarity. It has lots of visible bubbles. The color is warm straw. 

Aromas: apple, grain, lemon, pepper

Wit's Up smells sweet and lemony with a hint of peppery spice and maybe grains.

Dryness/sweetness: dry

This cider tastes much drier than it smells. I always find this characteristic interesting, and I wonder how it happens. 

Flavors and drinking experience: cool, savory, grainy, dominated by yeast characteristics

Part of why this cider might be promoted for summer is that it actually tastes cooling. I'm not referring to the temperature of the beverage, but some associative quality that makes it connote coolness. It tastes like a beer yeast, lemon, but not much apple at least not very much like unfermented apple.

The Wit's Up reminds me nicely of a summery beer, making it a supremely session-oriented cider. The description of ale style is completely accurate. I do get some fun mildly sour notes along with black pepper, tropical fruit, and pears.

Though this cider totally gluten free, it tastes positively wheaty, like toasted grain.

This is the cider that should convince anyone that yeast matters for flavor. There's a popular line of belief that a cider's flavor is all apples all the time, but this can disprove that. Citizen makes lots of ciders with a similar blend of apples and for this cider it is the yeast that makes it different. And it does.

Many characteristics point to a relatively clean fermentation. The Wit's Up reminds me of summer and baseball. Gosh it makes me want a veggie dog. I cannot get over how much I am reminded of the good parts of a bright summer heffe weisen or lambic. I'm not a beer person, but this is a happy place of commonality between cider and beer for me. I look forward to sharing one with my super beer-nerd dad.

Its a thinky but not too challenging cider. Its a lot of fun. Lastly, be forewarned, this is burpy! Enjoy!

Cider Review: Rev Nat's Hallelujah Hopricot (Pt 2 of the Hops+Apricot Cider Showdown)

Alrighty, now that we Americans have celebrated our independence and many fireworks have dazzled and barbeques sizzled, we return to the Hops + Apricot Cider Showdown with Pt 2:  Rev Nat's Hallelujah Hopricot! In Pt 1, I reviewed Cider Creek Hard Cider's Cascade Hopricot and found it delightfully different. Can the irreverent Rev. Nat's Hard Cider wow me as well? East coast and west coast ciders with their very different apples tackle the same flavor combinations with both hops and apricot.

This encounter with Rev Nat's Hallelujah Hopricot is my first review of any of their ciders. Rev Nat's Hard Cider is based out of Portland Oregon, where they produce cider and have a very active tap room. Though I've met the cidermaker himself and followed his progress online, I want to see how he presents the company on the website (http://reverendnatshardcider.com).

Strong writing and a passionate voice characterize the brand identity on Rev. Nat's Hard Cider's website. It is a bombastic yet personable tone filled with giant claims and major statments. I find it engaging and persuasive. This one comment though seems to sum up so much of Rev. Nat's story: 

Permeating all these experiments was a desire to make ciders that no one else will make. I would cook a dish, eat at a restaurant, drink a beer or a cocktail, or peruse the farmer’s market, and be unable to contain my excitement for flavors. After making cider for nearly a decade, I concluded that, while apple-only ciders define cider for most of my fellow countrymen, my passion was in creative flavor combinations making cider in the spirit of craft beer geeks.

Let's tease out a few key things to note here. The company plans on focusing on flavor and additive experimentation. Different is the goal. Craft beer is a major inspiration. Good to know. I won't expect traditional or even necessarily apple focused. It sounds like Rev. Nat uses apples as a base and a medium, but doesn't view them in the same way as most cider makers.

Here's the official description of the Hallelujah Hopricot:

This is my flagship cider, the cider I love to love. The making of Hallelujah Hopricot starts with classic American apples as a Belgian wit-style cider steeped with coriander, bitter orange peel and paradise grains, fermented with a Belgian saison ale yeast. On top of that rich base, I add pure apricot juice and finish with Oregon-grown Cascade and (whenever I can get them) Amarillo hops. A fresh and fruity concoction not dulled by sweeteness, THIS OFF-DRY CIDER IS MY BEST-SELLER, AND FOR GOOD REASON.

Wow, there's a lot going into this cider. The mention of paradise grains confused me at first because of cider's usual gluten free fame, but I looked up the ingredient and learned some cool stuff. It appears that paradise grains are actually part of the ginger family and not grains at all. Celiacs can rejoice! (You can read more about paradise grains here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aframomum_melegueta). But yes, stuff to look for includes, ginger, spice, orange, interesting yeasts, plus the apricot and hops.

Appearance: hazy, deep color, foam at first but dissipates.

Aromas: Hops, pine, grapefruit, lemon, spices

Oh my goodness, this cider smells like hops. Super hoppy smells and not much apple or apricot. Instead, I get notes of soap, pine, grapefruit, lemon, and rosemary. Those are completely distinct. There's a secondary spice that really wakes up the nostrils. No apple smell at all, but perhaps I shouldn't expect one.

Dryess: Dry

I imagine that this is off dry  by the numbers, based on the official description, but when you combine bitterness and acid with off dry, it perceives as completely dry. That's how it comes across to me.

Flavors and drinking experience: super tart, bitter, HOPS, little bit of fruit

The first impression I get is one of tartness. Secondarily I get citrus bitterness. No apple at all and almost no apricot. The hops dominate to an extreme degree. The pine flavor is the mid-palate experience and it resolves into pleasantly bitter grapefruit/hops. Really this cider is hops from start to finish. I like it, but, wow, this is hopped cider taken to its perhaps illogical conclusion. No sweetness. No tannin. Lots of acid. It is extremely lively, which is not a surprise given its acid and the high level of carbonation. In some ways this is like an extremely dry lemon herbal sparkling water. But much more exciting than that sounds.

Whoa whoa whoa, I finally tasted the apricot! It shows up late to party, once I'm well into the finish, barely there at all. But what's there is nice. Better fashionably late than absent!

 
 This absolutely achieves what it sets out to do. It is boldly experimental. It uses cider as a starting place more than a finishing point. I quite enjoyed it, accompanying a light summer soup with tomatoes, zucchini and corn. It is aggressively adventurous and good, but less cidery than many other ciders, even other hopped or fruited ciders.

Cider Review: Bad Seed's Belgian Abbey Hard Cider

 

Though the Hudson Valley cider scene is physically close to us here in the Finger Lakes, I've felt surprised by the relative separateness of our cider scenes. Nonetheless, I always try to pick up these ciders when I see them for sale. Hence, my review of Bad Seed's Belgian Abbey Hard Cider.

The last time I reviewed a Bad Seed cider it was their IPC (India Pale Cider) back in September of 2013. You can read the review here: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/08/cider-review-bad-seed-ipc-india-pale.html Theyve come a long way since then and even longer since Bad Seed was started by two friends in 2011. Now they even have website: http://www.badseedhardcider.com/ in addition to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Badseedcider.

In reading Bad Seed's website, the most fascinating writing I found says, "We seek to advance the craft cider industry through mixing both old and new cider techniques and craft beer influences. Making ciders from 100% fresh pressed apples grown by us on a 6th generation family farm with no Alchemy used, after all this is cider not science. You wont find the endless list of chemicals, artificial sweeteners, and excuses on our label because we don't use them." Alchemy, eh? I hadn't known that was a major issue in the industry, but what a fascinating idea.

This is what Bad Seed says about their own Belgian Abbey Hard Cider: "If Belgian Monks only found this the higher purpose of the apple, Crafted from apples grown in the Hudson Valley , fermented with a Belgian abbey beer yeast, unfiltered and bottle conditioned. Tart, tangy, Dry and a little off beat like a Bad seed should be." This cider has a very middle of the road 6.3% ABV, making it nice and easy with meals.

 
Appearance: Hazy bubbly lemon sorbet color

Aromas: beery, yeasty, citrusy

First and foremost, this cider smells like beer. Behind the intense beer smells, I can also detect some citrus and maybe maybe a hint of apple. Mostly though the yeast choice makes itself clear in the aromas of the Belgian Abbey Hard Cider.

Sweetness: Dry

Absolutely bone dry. Both from the copy on the website and the dryness of this cider, I'm confident saying that the Belgian Abbey Hard Cider has been bottle conditioned.

Flavors and Drinking experience: beer-like, bitter, bubbly

Unsurprisingly based on the aromas, this cider tastes very beer-like to me, mind you I don't usually drink beer. Somehow though, the bitterness and citrus notes just say beer to me. The Belgian Abbey is very bubbly too, but not very appley. This isn't a problem; ciders don't have to be very fruity or appley and this one is not. As I drink on, it seems almost burly and definitely burpy. I can taste hints of something savory: celery, fennel and pepper. And I get a consistent minerality. The only true fruit note is grapefruit pith. Very interesting. This cider is definitely low in tannins, medium low acid, and no sweetness.

My impression is that it is so dominated by the yeast choice that if you like that you'll like the cider and if you don't, you won't. The Belgian Abbey even pours with a lot of yeast at the bottom if the bottle when compared to other bottle conditioned ciders.

This cider made a great match with vegetarian chicken dumpling soup. I would always choose to pair the Belgian Abbey Hard Cider with salty food. Its combination of citrusy notes, extreme bubbliness, and bitter beery edge complement salt and heft extremely well. With food, I liked this one a lot, but I think it needs food: at least for me.