Cider Cans Crush It: AeppelTreow Blackbird Berried Cider and Farmhaus Cider Co. Classic

My last post for Cider Cans Crush It has arrived. I don't even feel like I've scratched the surface of what kinds of cider can now be found in cans. Yes, the eight I picked are all very different from one another, but I know have at least this many more that highlight other facets of the cider world in cans. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I do want to show off these last two ciders in the series!

Today we're starting with AeppelTreow's Blackbird Berried Cider. This is far from my first AeppelTreow review. The cidermaker, Charles, is a friend of mine within the cider world. He regularly does trainings on fermentation and on perceiving flaws in cider from a scientific view. The whole community of cidermakers and drinkers has a lot to thank Charles for. So, I'm always happy to review any samples from AeppelTreow.

Here are my previous reviews of AeppelTreow Ciders:

Orchard Oriole Perry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/05/very-perry-may-aeppeltreows-orchard.html

Appley Brut: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/09/cider-review-appeltreow-winerys-appley.html

Sparkling Perry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/05/very-perry-may-pt-1-aeppeltreow.html

Kinglet Bitter: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/09/cider-review-appletreow-kinglet-bitter.html

Barnswallow Draft Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/03/cider-review-appeltreow-barnswallow.html

You can read about many of the ciders, fruit wines, and spirits on the AeppelTreow website: http://aeppeltreow.com/ and also now http://appletrue.com

The canned line is AeppelTreow's Songbird Ciders. Blackbird Berried Cider. The ABV is 5.5%. I'll share what I saw on the can itself.

AeppelTreow Songbird Ciders are crafted in small batches from apples grown by farmers we know. They are named for the birds that live in and around the orchard.

Blackbird is our American-style berry-flavored cider, blended with the juices of black currants and elderberries. It's a little sweet and a bunch tart.

At AeppelTreow we are Apple True

Respect the land

Savor the fruit

Deliver unique flavors

Make it the hard way

Appearance: brilliant, some bubbles, mulberry

I'll call the color mulberry because it's to red to be purely purple and to purple to be purely a dark red. Though the color is dark, the cider is brilliant and shows of a host of bubbles. This one is too pretty to leave in the can! Transport it to your drinking destination, but then put this beauty in a glass!

Aromas: black currant, black berry, dusty, citric acid

The cider smells like citric acid, black currants, and dark fruity berries in general. The fermentation notes come across subtly in a very tantalizing way. It's mouth watering.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-sweet

I find this cider approachably semi-sweet. Though I tend to prefer dry ciders, I can enjoy the sweeter side of life when done well and with good balance. This is just such a cider. I like how the malic acid and citric acid keep that sweetness from getting out of control.

The cider tastes a little sticky and a bit foxy and oh so summery. I love the dark and foresty notes. The Blackbird is grippy due to black currant juice. They offer up pleasantly fruity tannins. The cider has undeniably high acid but low level bubble that keeps it from getting harsh.

This cider is very drinkable, even dangerously drinkable. Full bodied, coats but doesn’t clog. I am a big fan of the Blackbird's pert acidic finish. I find the whole experience lusciously balanced. I had this cider with homemade vegetable burritos, and it was perfect.

Farmhaus Cider Co. Classic

This company is the product of the fifth generation of a Michigan farming family. The current endeavor was founded in 2015 near Grand Rapids in Hudsonville. They even have a Cidergarten and tasting room now! I met the founders Megan and John at a cider event years ago, and I've been watching their progress and rooting for them. So, I'm happy to finally be reviewing the cider. This is a review sample shared with me.

Find out all about the company on the website: http://farmhauscider.com/

In the "About" page, there's a hilarious section dedicated to haters, even giving them a specail email address for negative feedback. I think that's so clever.

The Farmhaus Classic cider's official description follows.

Fresh. Bright. Halbbitter.

A semi-sweet cider with a fruity last and sweet aroma created using local apples and fermented in a Germanic style, giving it superior drinkability. Most often compared to a riesling or Moscato, this cider pairs well with soft & creamy cheeses, chicken dishes and your favorite pizza

Appearance: straw, transparent, very bubbly

This cider looks so bubbly! My sparkle-loving taste buds are now actively anticipating this one! I'd call the color straw and the clarity transparent.

Aromas: Stony, fresh apples, dust

I didn't get a lot of smell from the can, but I detected more aromas once I poured the classic into a glass. I can smell stones, dust, and fresh apples. These are very traditional aromas for a cider of this type.

Sweetness/dryness: right on the line between semi-sweet and semi-dry

This cider perceives as semi-dry, but only just barely. It's right on that semi-sweet/semi-dry line, but because the acid is on the higher side, I'll call it semi-sweet. The sweetness that's there is very apple-y.

Flavor and drinking experience: citrus, high acid, balanced

Like many modern ciders, the flavors are all driven by the high acidity in the Classic. It's fruity but tastes more like citrus than like pomme or stone fruits. My first impression was how very much the cider reminds me of fresh-squeezed orange juice. The cider comes across as reasonably balanced even with that high-ish acidity.

There are no tannins to speak of but it has some excellent refreshing qualities. I appreciate the nice strong bubble level. I'm always a sucker for strongly sparkling ciders. All the flavors combine to create a crisp, sessionable drinking experience. The cider has a light body and a clean finish.

One of the most interesting things I noticed about it is a floral finish and pear-like aftertaste. I had this cider with homemade popcorn and good conversation. It was a simple pairing for an approachable cider, and I enjoyed the experience.

This may be the last week of Cider Cans Crush it for June, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop covering canned ciders. What I learned in focusing on them for 4 weeks is that there really is an amazing breadth to this format. I want to keep exploring it and showcasing all the different kinds of ciders that people are canning these days. Cans really are perfect for Summer, and I have a feeling we have a lot more hot weather coming! Cheers!

#PickCider Review: Nine Pin Ciderworks Peach Tea

Last post before the 4th of July! I hope you have you plans made for how to celebrate the most picnic, cookout, fun, food, and firework's holiday in America's calendar year. I hope you've thought about how you'll #pickcider as part of this awesome occasion. Here's one last review of a new release seasonal cider that's just tailor made for summer parties. 

One of the coolest things about Nine Pin is their amazing range of specialty and seasonal ciders. Looking at the website just now, I counted 17 available ciders. That's impressive, and even more so once I tasted several of these and found out how good they are. 

You can read the whole list and find out much more here at their site:

http://www.ninepincider.com

I couldn't finish up my series of #PickCider reviews without Nine Pin Ciderworks' summer seaonsal release: Peach Tea. They were kind enough to share some samples with me just in time!

Here are my previous reviews of Nine Pin Ciders:

I first reviewed their Signature Blend: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

Ginger: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

Blueberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-blueberry.html

Though not a review, Nine Pine Ciderworks is part of my cider event calendar every winter, and this is the writeup when they launched the annual Gathering of the Farm Cideries, which is an amazing event every year in Albany: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/02/my-cider-event-calendar-cider-and-beer.html

Official description: 

Peach Tea is Nine Pin’s take on a classic summer drink. This cider, crafted from a farmhouse blend of New York apples from Kinderhook, N.Y.-based Samascott Orchards, is cold-infused with a custom peach tea blend from Short and Stout. The infusion of these ingredients creates a bright, refreshingly tart, and delicious peach cider. Peach Tea pairs well with sunsets and warm summer nights.

I got some amazing pairing recommendations from Alejandro for this cider including tire swings and puppies. It was charming, and I'm curious to see if I'll agree. The ABV is a middle of the road 6.2%.

Appearance: transparent, very few visible bubbles, warm apricot color

One of my co-tasters said that the cider's appearance reminded her of the warm orange tones of peaches, and I think that's completely fair. I found it reminiscent of dried apricots.

Aromas: Peach! More peach!

This smells completely like peaches and unfermented peach juice. I can envision the drips of peach juice running down my chin when I smell this. Its almost mind boggling.

Sweetness/dryness: Sweet

This is a sweet and juicy cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: peach, hints of tea, bit of creaminess

Rather like the aromas, I was surprised by how very juicy the Peach Tea is! The cider tastes a tiny bit creamy as well. To be more specific, its a sweet sort of juicy- not very tea like, to me One out of three tasters, one could pick it up clearly, and guided the rest of us to noticing a bit of tea. Maybe the tannins mid palate were from the tea, but I found my impresions of tea growing as the taste matured. It comes out mostly on the finish - as a sustained note.

Something else, we all noticed about the Peach Tea cider is that the drinking exeperience is light and not very boozy to the tastebuds. Somehow the balance sweet and fruity with high acid stayed very friendly. The cider is easy drinking and not punishing or sharp at any moment of the taste journey. Maybe it is as cider for warm nights and cuddling puppies.

For us it was an evening on the porch with chevre and strawberry short cake and good conversation. There are endless ways to #pickcider but it is always best with good company.

Cider Review: Nine Pin Cider Blueberry

I know that summer is on its way out: grass has gone to seed, spiders are going web-crazy, and insects will my mellow evening with songs. Or, more realistically, because all of the college students have come back. This is nature's reminder for me to drink fruity summery ciders while I can. These go so well with hanging out on my screen porch and eating all of the summer vegetables.

Hence, Nine Pin Ciderworks Blueberry. Which I feel super excited about right now while blueberries are actually in season in upstate New York.

You can read all about Nine Pin Ciderworks in Albany, New York on their Facebook page. If you live in the area, I'd especially recommend checking it out because Ninepin keeps a busy social calendar and their events are super fun.
https://www.facebook.com/ninepincider

I've reviewed a few Nine Pin Ciderworks Ciders before.

My first taste of Nine Pin Cider, the Signature Blend:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

Here's my review of their very tasty Ginger: 
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

But today is all about Nine Pin Ciderworks Blueberry!
Here's how Ninepin introduces it, "This is a blend of apples co-fermented with blueberries from Indian Ladder Farms. It has a dry, complex, and integrated flavor and is rose in color" This cider comes in with a nice round 6.0% ABV.

Appearance: brilliant, bubbly, blush

What a fun color! This cider looks a blushing pink or even delicately  lilac. It's brilliant such that we have no trouble seeing hundreds of very active bubbles in the glass.

Aromas: Very little aroma, dust and mineral, no apple

Even when poured into one of my mini-widemouth jars, I don't get a lot of scent from this cider. What I do smell reminds me of earth and dust and wet limestone more than fruit. Hrm. Interesting. Perhaps this will fall more to the tart and dry side of the spectrum.

Sweetness to Dryness: Semi-Sweet

Nope, I wasn't getting all in the smell that comes across in the drink.  This is a very melded fruity sweetness and decidedly a semi-sweet.

Flavors and drinking experience: tart, green apples, blueberry, clean

I can taste just the tiniest bitterness but tons of tart malic and citric acid. It creates a very pleasant salivary reaction. Rather like very tart and nearly sour green grapes. I'm loving the strong carbonation, which is predictable for me. Love those bubbles. In this semi-sweet cider, the blueberry fully melds with apple. I can totally see the co-fermentation described in Ninepin's description. Even if I hadn't read it, I would have guessed that the blueberries were added early in fermentation. Not a long or complex finish but brilliantly clean from start through finish.

I had this cider with homemade fisherman's pie and the pairing was incredible! Of course this acidity of this cider goes with a rich pie crust, creamy liquid, tender fish, and piles of vegetables.  I'll also recommend this as cider in sips. Big gulps don't show off its best characteristics. 

Ninepin Cider makes a number of limited runs with different styles and additions, and I consistently enjoy them. So, if you like cider adventures, check out these seasonals!