Cider Review: Wild State Cider's Classic Dry

I’m writing from my bed where I’m stuck with Covid. This is the weekend that I’m grateful to have some sets of cider review notes saved from earlier tasting sessions. For a long while, I was lucky enough to avoid the dread illness, but my luck ran out. I hope the congestion clears and that I’ll return to full sensing form soon. This is one reason why I try to keep a few sets of notes in reserve at all times. Now I’ll just write and feel envious of past and future selves that get to enjoy ciders like Wild State’s Classic Dry. 

Wild State Cider comes to us from Duluth, Minnesota. The cidery was kind enough to send me several samples for review a while back. I’ve reviewed a few Wild State Ciders, and I’ve included more background in the earlier reviews. Here’s the full list. 

Peach Basil: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2022/04/cider-review-wild-state-ciders-peach.html

Semi-dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/10/cider-review-wild-state-ciders-semi-dry.html

Triple Berry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/11/cider-review-wild-states-triple-berry.html

I recommend visiting Wild State Cider’s website to learn about the full cider lineup and the taproom: https://www.wildstatecider.com/ciders

Here’s how Wild State describes the Classic Dry. It’s not a ton of info, but it highlights what the cidery wants us to know about this cider.

The champagne of ciders. Perfectly dry with 0g of sugar. Only 170 calories and 2g carbs. 6.9% ABV

Appearance: hazy, applesauce color, bubbly

The color of the Classic Dry reminds me of applesauce; it's warm in tone but mellow and hazy. There are drifts of bubbles resting in the bottom of the glass.

Aromas: minerals, salt, fresh green apple, sulphites 

Wild State’s Classic Dry smells initially of minerals and fresh apples. Specifically I smell the green apple malic acid note along with some hint of saltiness and sulphites.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry

It is dry! I’m always curious when a cider bills itself as fully dry. Many drinkers don’t want fully dry; they prefer off dry described as dry. Not Wild State though, when they say dry, they mean it! 

Flavors and drinking experience: Austere, high acid, bracing, tannic

Wow! This is highly unusual for a canned cider. Not only is the Classic Dry actually dry, it’s bringing high acid and some tannins to the table as well. I find the cider more austere than fruit-forward, but it’s wonderfully bracing.

Because of the combination of acid, dryness, and tannins, the whole experience feels angular, almost sharp. The bubbles are plentiful and powerful too. This is a great way to wake up your mouth! I find it tremendously refreshing and very different from most of what I find in cans. 

Fingers crossed that by next week, I’ll be back up to the usual cider shenanigans. Be well, friends!

Cider Review: Milk & Honey Ciders' Fauna

I write with my eyes full of sunset tonight. It’s coming earlier, but I’m glad to pay that price in order to have a few more weeks of mornings with even just the barest hint of light. I need it to get up and feel like there is a universe outside of my bed. Other folks feel the evening’s loss more keenly, I know it. I’ll take the gratitude though. In any case, I like plenty of quiet dark evenings at home with good food and good cider. This review is from just such a night; I’m trying Fauna by Milk and Honey Ciders.

This week’s cider is my first from Milk & Honey Ciders. This is a cidery out of St. Joseph, Minnesota. I’m so excited to try the Fauna. This cider was shared with me in a trade, so many thanks to everyone in my cider trading communities! You know who you are.

I recommend visiting the cidery online: http://www.milkandhoneyciders.com/. 

Here’s how Milk and Honey describe the Fauna:

Inside you will find an elite group of apples capable of a truly great cider. Tannic apples for depth and body. Sharps for bright fruity-vinous character. Interesting Heirlooms for aromatics. Every year the apples may change depending upon the whims of the orchard, but they will always impress. Let the apples shine.

Alcohol 6.90%

Appearance: hazy, warm straw, bubbly

The Fauna seems like a tremendously active cider. I can see tiny bubbles racing for the surface through the mild haze and warm straw color. It pours with a little bubble, but the mousse dissipates quickly.

Aromas: Malic acid, minerality, rock candy, fresh apple

This cider is brimming over with interesting scents! The first smell I notice is rock candy & malic acid in the attack, followed by something funky and more deeply minerally. Overall, it’s an austere set of smells that concludes with a sense of cold, sharpened apple.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry

This is a nice dry cider. It’s neither harsh nor deceptively fruit forward.  

Flavors and drinking experience: high acid, pineapple, mild tannins, bitterness on the finish

The Fauna taste well-balanced and admirably restrained. Yes, the cider has high acid, but it’s balanced by also being very mildly tannic with a low, bitter finish. I appreciate the fruity acids that remind me of pineapple. The flavors are light and immediate for the most part. I do insist that the cider be poured from its serving container. Drinking from the bottle robs the experience of its best parts, so use a glass. I also love the Fauna’s small but pervasive bubbles. They enliven the experience in a big way.

I enjoyed my cider while I was perusing a game book before playing some table-top role play awesomeness with faraway friends. I'm sure no one is surprised by that level of nerdiness, but I have to own up. I think it would also go well with a hearty minestrone soup and good bread.  

Cider Review: Wild State Cider's Apple Pie

I try to stay seasonal most of the time here; I usually drink cider based on the conditions around me, and it's a big part of  how I observe the world around me. Sometimes though, I just get a craving for something a bit out-of-step. Thus, I reached for a mulled cider recently. I’m happy to share my thoughts on Wilde State Cider’s Apple Pie.

Wild State Cider comes to us from Duluth, Minnesota. It was founded by Adam Ruhland and Andrew Price in 2018. The cidery has a taproom with a full slate of ongoing events including: trivia, bingo, yoga, and a local market. I love seeing events that break out of the expected rotation of local musicians. 

This is my fourth review of anything by Wild State Cider. Here are my earlier reviews. All of these were kindly shared with me for review by the cidery. Many thanks!

Peach Basil: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2022/04/cider-review-wild-state-ciders-peach.html

Semi-dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/10/cider-review-wild-state-ciders-semi-dry.html

Triple Berry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/11/cider-review-wild-states-triple-berry.html

You can visit Wild State’s page online to find out about the ciders and the taproom: https://www.wildstatecider.com/ciders

Here’s Apple Pie’s official description, short and sweet, “A holiday special, be sure to bring some home to share! The name explains it all. Yum.” 5.9% ABV.

Appearance: Brilliant, light straw, few bubbles

This looks like a completely refreshing summer sipper. The color, clarity, and bubbles are just classic.

Aromas: Cinnamon, all spice, apple

This cider goes emphatically strong on its cinnamon aroma, but I also detect a fair big of all-spice, and a background whisper of apple.

Dryness/sweetness: Off-dry

It's a surprise to find a cider with mulling spices this far on the dry side of things. It’s not austere or bone dry, but it’s far closer to dry than sweet. What sweetness is there does feel completely natural. 

Flavors and drinking experience: lots of spices, medium bubble,  bitter

My hopes were more than satisfied by this spicy off-dry treat. The Apple Pie cider has a medium  level of sparkle and lots of spices. The Apple Pie cider is off-dry and tastes buttered and bitter. It reminded us of an apple hand pie.

Cider Review: Wild State Cider's Peach Basil

I woke up this morning with muscles sore from doing yard work, and I spent my lunch break moving flower volunteers between beds. We waited a long time for the warm and busy days of Spring here in upstate New York, but they’ve arrived. Sure, it might snow on Wednesday, but right now everything is blooming. This change in season calls for a change of ciders, and my cellar is ready. Today, I’m sharing my notes on Wild State Cider’s Peach Basil.

Wild State Cider comes to us from Duluth, Minnesota. I recommend checking out the cidery’s about page to learn more about this cidery and its founders: https://www.wildstatecider.com/copy-of-about

I’ve reviewed just two Wild State Ciders before. Find the links below.

Semi-dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/10/cider-review-wild-state-ciders-semi-dry.html

Triple Berry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/11/cider-review-wild-states-triple-berry.html

Wild State’s website has lots more info about ciders and the taproom: https://www.wildstatecider.com/ciders

Peach Basil has a short official description from what I can find, “The sweetness of peach balanced with the strength of basil. Best friends now. 6.3% ABV”

Appearance: intense tea, slight haze, visible bubbles

The color reminds me of green tea, freshly steeped with just a hint of haze. I can see plenty of active bubbles playing in the depths of my glass.

Aromas: Peach, mint, basil

The Peach Basil smells mostly like I expected, with a strong presence of both  peach and basil. What I didn’t expect is the powerful undercurrent of mint that’s steadily wrapped in the mix as well. It all comes across as pleasantly bitter, herbaceous, and inviting.

Sweetness/dryness: sweet

This isn’t a dry cider. Basil has a bitterness to it that I expect to be counter-acted with a certain amount of fruity sweetness, which is why pairing it with Peach is a very logical and appealing choice. I like my savory and sweet together, so why not sweet with my bitter?

Flavors and drinking experience: medium acidity, full body, peach, basil, petillant

The first thing that I notice about Wild State’s Peach Basil is that the acidity is medium rather than high. The choice works well, but its one that surprised me, as I associate acid as another counter-balance for sweet and an element that strikes me as harmonious with peach. What a medium level of acidity does is make more room for lushness and body. Wild State’s Peach Basil does bring that Medium-full body and nice bubble. 

The bitter and herbal elements that I noticed in the Peach Basil’s aromas maintain their prominence in the cider’s flavors. I appreciate how effortlessly the bitter balances out the sweet. The beverage does not offer much apple but the fruity and herbal melange is very pleasant.

I had my cider with a light pasta with sauce and veggie sausage dish, and it totally worked.

Cider Review: Wild State's Triple Berry

I always greet November with both sighs and smiles. No upcoming holiday can hold a candle to Halloween and all the spooky fun it entails, plus this is frequently the month when the weather around here goes from being cute and quaint to rather more glum. To the contrary, November is my birthday month. This year is a big one. And pairing ciders for the Thanksgiving holiday feast is always a treat, but it’s still a bit early to get excited for that. 

Today’s cider is my second sip from Wild State cider. I chose it to go with my last Halloween hurrah: a double-feature of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and "Snoop and Martha's Very Tasty Halloween." We stayed in, hoping for trick-or-treaters, but alas we got none. Still, we enjoyed some candy, and I wanted a fruity cider as accompaniment. Voila!

I started with the Semi-dry recently. You’ll find more background info on the company there: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/10/cider-review-wild-state-ciders-semi-dry.html

You can also visit Wild State online and learn lots more there: https://www.wildstatecider.com/ciders

Here’s what Wild State says about the Triple Berry.

“This blend of fresh locally sourced berries is the ultimate in refreshing, sunny drinks. A perfectly balanced fruit forward semi-dry to sip all summer and beyond

Triple Berry was crafted with fresh blueberries and raspberries from Blue Vista Farm in Bayfield, WI and strawberries from Uffda Organics in Wrenshall, MN.”

The cider is listed at 6.3% ABV and does not describe what apples go into this blend. 

Appearance: brilliant, watermelon pink, few visible bubbles 

This is such a fun color. I love how the Triple berry looks fresh, ripe and fun.the color reminds me of watermelon. I wish I was taking the pictures with natural light, but drinking cider at 7pm these days is just dark! The cider is brilliant with very few visible bubbles. 

Aromas: ripe apple, raspberry, and strawberry

The Triple Berry smells like ripe apple, raspberry and strawberry. I appreciate how strong the berry notes are. What I’m getting makes me think of the fresh soft texture of berries.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-dry

While the Triple Berry is semi dry rather than semi-sweet, it is on the sweeter and fruitier side of semi-dry. The sweetness that’s here comes across as very jammy berry sweetness. 

Flavors and drinking experience: high acid, blueberry, lots of fruit, low bubble, tannic

The Triple Berry cider brings high acid as a first taste impression. I also notice how the cider’s crisp and tannic qualities are pleasantly contrasted by just a bit of jammy sweetness. The whole package is fun! In terms of texture the cider sparkles at a medium low level and has medium mouthfeel. 

I tried it from my glass and from the can to see what would change. I can taste more blueberry notes from the can whereas raspberry and strawberry dominate from the glass. The cider makes a great pairing with milk chocolate candy like: Cookies and Cream Twix, Peanut Brownie Snickers, and Miniature Reese’s Cups. While these are not foods I pair with cider regularly, I appreciate having something light, tarty and fruity with the creamy mildness of milk chocolate. 

Cider Review: Wild State Cider's Semi-Dry

We’re almost a month into Fall here in the Northern Hemisphere, but sunny days with highs in the 70s are still occasionally surprising us. Since so much of the summer was cool and rainy, I’m not going to complain overmuch. These sunny days are tremendously pleasant, and I find them perfect for enjoying a cider on my porch. That’s exactly what I did with Wild State Cider’s Semi-Dry.

Wild State Cider comes from Minnesota. The cidery is based in Duluth with a spot that hosts both production and a tap room. You can visit the cidery seven days a week. The company takes its identity from the notion of wildness. The founders Adam Ruhland and Andrew Price both make a point to speak about their connections with nature in their professional bios on the Wild State website. And the company’s most prominent slogan is “Naturally good cider” going on to emphasize what they do not add to their cider: concentrate, sweeteners, sorbates, and interestingly, compromises. It’s a clear vision, and I’m excited to see how that translates to taste.

I’m starting with the Semi-dry as it’s one of the flagship ciders. It was shared with me for review, so my thanks to the folks at Wild State! This is my first Wild State Cider review.

Read more for yourself online here: https://www.wildstatecider.com/ciders

Here’s how Wild State describes the Semi-dry online, “This is where it all started - a crisp cider with champagne vibes. 6.4% ABV, 165 calories and only 3g sugar.” And I was able to find just a bit more description elsewhere online, “Our original cider, Semi Dry is a staple in the taproom. Light floral, crisp, hint of spice.” 

Appearance: brilliant, goldenrod, bubbly

The color reminds me of the goldenrod blooms that I’m still seeing in the edge of gardens and forests. The cider is brilliant and bubbly with a medium intensity of color.

Aromas: mineral, ripe apple, anticipating tannins

I’m tantalized by the limestone mineral aroma, it’s slightly bitter. I get instant acids and tannins on the smell. It’s not exactly that I smell them directly, but something about what I smell leads me to expect them. I wish I could articulate that better. What I do smell are notes of  sun-warmed apples. It’s approachable and appealing. 

Sweetness/dryness: off dry

Wild State says semi-dry, and it's legitimately off-dry. Nice work. I am very used to hearing that a cider is quite a bit drier than what I taste. I appreciate that it doesn't have the usual commercial inflation of dryness.

Flavors and drinking experience: high acid, high tannins, spruce, woody 

Oooh, complex! The Semi-dry tastes bitter but pleasant! The whole experience feels full and low in the mouth. The cider brings a different acid profile than I'm used to. These acids are present and blend with carbonation effortlessly, but are not the bright pointed malic notes that I taste most either in canned ciders or the more austere sharp acids of northeastern dry ciders.

I taste no sourness; the Semi-dry is beautifully clean in its fermentation. There are woody notes and a little spruce too. The cider has a very nice filling mouthfeel and a clean, tannic finish. 

I paired this cider with veggie pizza and it cuts through fats like a knife. What a wonderful pairing for anything cheesy. I cannot recommend that enough! This is a lovely cider, and I’m excited to taste the rest of what Wild State makes!

Cider Review: Number 12 Cider House's Chestnut Semi-Dry

Good morning! This is my last review before CiderCon 2018 in Baltimore. I want to taste a cider I got to know because of CiderCon last year. I ran into one of the owners, and he shared a bottle of their newest cider with me: The Chestnut Semi-Dry.

Number 12 Cider House is based in Buffalo, Minnesota and has been making ciders since 2011. They have a tap room and three year round cider styles.

Read about the company on the website: http://www.number12ciderhouse.com/home.html

Or find them on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/number12ciderhouse/

I've reviewed a few ciders by Number 12 Cider House before.

I first reviewed the Sparkling Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/06/cider-review-number-12-cider-house.html

It made it into my Top 10 Favorite Ciders of 2016 as number 4: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/12/my-10-favorite-ciders-of-2016.html

The Black Currant Dry was one of my cider recommendations for Thanksgiving in 2016:

My suggestions: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/pick-cider-for-thanksgiving-and-my.html

My description of the experience: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/happy-to-pickcider-for-thanksgiving.html

Today, I'm sharing my thoughts on their Chestnut Semi-dry Cider.

The official description reads, “Number 12 Chestnut Semi-Dry combines 5 local apple varieties with toasted French Oak. It features the Chestnut Crabapple, developed and introduced by the University of Minnesota in 1946. Hints of orchard honey and crisp apple come alive against a light sparkle and subtle tannins. This cider is approachable, balanced and delicious!” ABV 7.4%

I love crab apples, and I've really enjoyed everything by Number12 Cider House I've had before, so I am doubly curious about this cider.

Appearance: tea, hazy, many bubbles

The Number 12 Cider House Chestnut Semi-Dry looks like a spicy fruity tea. Mine poured hazy with some sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

Aromas: homemade applesauce, barrel,

Oh wow! As soon as I popped open this cider, I knew I was in for a treat. The aromas greeted me enthusiastically, giving me a few of my favorite anticipatory clues. When a cider smells like homemade applesauce smell and barrel, I start to expect some level of tannic presence and some acidity. We'll see if I'm right. 

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-dry

The Chesnut Semi-dry does exactly what it promises in terms of sweetness/dryness. This is a textbook semi-dry cider. There's enough sweetness to open up the taste profile, but most of the flavors come from other qualities within this cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: Overripe apples, peach flesh, pear, acid

The Chestnut Semi-Dry introduces itself with a lovely roll of overripe cider apples. There are tons of other pomme fruit flavors including fleshy pear and peach notes. Though its very fruity and even juicy, the off dry to semi-dry character of the cider keeps things in shape. All of the fruits taste transformed by fermentation rather than exactly like fresh fruit from the orchard. The flavors strike me as mature and well-balanced.

I can definitely taste what the oak spirals bring to the picture and that's warm barnwood notes. There's also lots of crab apple character, bringing some seriously fun acid into the tasting experience. My tasting companion described it as fresh, clean, and crisp. The acid levels are high, perhaps affecting how I perceive the sweetness of the cider.

The mouthfeel is pleasurably middle of the road: neither zippily light nor profoundly weighty. What weight it has comes from the higher than average ABV. That can affect mouthfeel very directly. I don't taste any fermentation flaws; this cider is clean and appealing. I don't get any funk, sourness, or farmy notes. At the same time though, the cleanliness isn't sterility or over-simplicity. The use of both crab apples and wood-aging techniques makes this a cider worth real consideration.

I had mine with a simple winter supper that included asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes followed by two episodes of West World (yes, I know I'm super behind in the world of television). It would also go well with a hard-core aged cheddar and a new album. Whatever you do, don't rush. This is a cider that deserves some time and space to just enjoy. 

Cider Review: Wyndfall Artisan Cyder Root River American Session Style Cider

I've been saving some really fun stuff for the summer, and not just canned ciders or hopped ciders. Those are fantastic, and you'll see more of them from me regularly, but summer brings out my inner fruit monster. I really enjoy my fruit blended ciders most with lighter summer foods or relaxing on my porch.

Today I'm trying my first Wyndfall Artisan Cyder. These folks are apple growers and cider makers in Minnesota. Today I'm reviewing their  Root River American Session Style Cider: something I got to take home from CiderCon. I've been waiting a while, but now just as raspberries are ripe here, I wanted to taste a raspberry cider.

Here's what I read about the cidery and orchard from the bottle itself. I think it gets at their identity very clearly, "Our cyders are produced with sustainably grown fruit on the family orchard in the blufflands of southeast Minnesota. Heritage variety apples add complexity and flavor you won't find in other ciders. Growing apples naturally can be challenging, but what you get in the bottle is simple: the purest cyder, the terroir of the Upper Mississippi River Valley"

Find out some more on the website: http://www.wyndfallcyder.com/

or on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/wyndfallcyder/

"As for this particular cider, this is how the folks at Wyndfall describe it, Refreshingly tart, a forward fruitiness is balanced with a light sweetness to be everything a sweet Cyder should be, and nothing more." 6% ABV

Appearance: many warm hues, brilliant, few visible  bubbles

The cider is brilliant and its colors myriad: pink, orange, salmon copper, and rose gold.

Aromas: Raspberry, cherry, tart fruits, apple

This cider smells  very directly of raspberry,  with other bright tart fruit aromas like pie cherries and green apples.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-sweet

This cider is described as sweet on the label, and I'm used to sweetness being undersold. This was the opposite. There's a ton of acid, so the sweetness is definitely kept in check and works well at this level.

Flavors and drinking experience: very sparkly, semi-sweet, high acid, fruity

Ooh neat, I love how the Root River tastes cold and just sweet enough. ( I am completely for real when I say this tastes semi-sweet, tops.) That's certainly due to the high acid which give it a bright and zesty character that's not painfully zingy.

The Root River entertains with a good level of sparkle. The cider finishes up with one nice warm note at the end: perhaps cinnamon? I get lots and lot of raspberry. But that's not the only fruit presence, apple and grapefruit show up too. Flavors also include a little hint of wood. 

I find the Root River exceedingly drinkable, while not lacking depth or interest. There's an herbaceous aura here—something almost resembling salad greens. What a fun, tasty, and interesting take on the raspberry cider.

I paired mine with creamy carrot soup, perfect for summer. I like a very fruity cider with a chilled or creamy vegetable soup. Usually, I add lots of curry spices to my carrot soups, but this was mostly carrots, caramelized onion, and coconut milk. This treat and this pairing were worth the wait.

Very Perry May Pt 1: Aeppeltreow, Cidrerie du Vulcain, and Crispin

Happy May, cider lovers! Welcome to Very Perry May. 

This month I'll be reviewing fermented beverages that all include pear. Because tasting perry is less familiar to me than cider, I'm aiming to include a few different perries each week and cover more range. I welcome all comments! Be a part of Very Perry May and let me know what you know about cider's mysterious cousin.

I have occasionally reviewed a perry or cider with pears along and along, but this is the first in-depth exploration I've done of perry on this blog.

From July 2013, my review of Fox Barrel's Pacific Pear: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/07/and-now-for-something-completely.html

More recently, Angry Orchard's Knotty Pear: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/06/cider-review-angry-orchards-knotty-pear.html

A blend of apples and pears in South Hill Cider's 2014 Packbasket: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/04/cider-review-south-hill-ciders-2014.html

Blackberries and pear juice together in Fox Barrel's Blackberry Pear: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/08/perry-review-fox-barrel-blackberry-pear.html

And my only previous experience with quince is from this quince, pear, apple blend Querry?: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/07/last-review-before-big-move-cider.html

I want to start of my Very Perry May right, so this is Aeppeltreow Winery's Perry. (Full disclosure, this bottle was a gift I received at CiderCon from the cidermaker.)

Website: http://aeppeltreow.com/

Official Description: "This Perry is semi-sweet, creamy, fruity, and intensly floral. It is made using the Méthode Champenoise, with Comice and Bosc pears, and a splash of Bartlett Brandy."

Appearance: daffodil yellow, brilliant, lots of large bubbles

I was surprised by how bright this cider is. The color simply shines up from the glass. Its brilliant and the bubbles are large, numerous, and easy to see.

Aromas: melon, pear, tropical fruit

These aromas aren't as different from cider aromas as I would have expected. I definitely smell melon, pear, and tropical fruit, something also smells boozy and rich. I'm getting some hints of banana and caramel also.

Sweetness/dryness: semi-sweet

As the description promises, this perry is semi-sweet. 

Flavors and drinking experience: medium acid, tropical, clean, bubbly.

 I can taste medium levels of acid and some tannic presence. The fermentation is clean and the body is nicely boosted by the sweetness.

Cidrerie du Vulcain La transparente Demi-sec Quince Perry Apple (Swiss)

Importer Website: http://www.beckywasserman.com/domaines/cidrerie-du-vulcain/#.WQZkF2nyt0w

Official description (from the importer):

Varieties: Transparente de Croncels, Reinette de Champagne, Pomme Raisin, and Rose de Berne.
Terroir: Deep molasse over Valais schist, or moraine gravel mixed with brown clay soil.
Agriculture: Foraged, untreated, high-branched (1.8 to 2m) trees.
Cider-making: Indigenous yeast partial fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Two to three light filtrations ensure that the desired residual sugar levels are attained. Natural prise de mousse in bottle. Low sulfur additions (about 20mg/l) before bottling.
Sweetness: Labelled as demi-sec, tastes near-dry. Approximately 40 g/l.

Perry/quince/cider is the bottom beverage pictured.

When visiting Wassail, I was offered Cidrerie du Vulcain La transparente Demi-sec, which is a blend of Quince Pear and Apple from Switzerland

Website: http://www.beckywasserman.com/domaines/cidrerie-du-vulcain/#.WQZkF2nyt0w 

Appearance: Lovely warm color like apricot mixed with toasted wheat, mousse

This cider had a head when first poured, and it lasted longer than I expected. The color was a lovely shade as if toasted wheat was gently blended with apricot.

Aromas: powdery, sweet, quince and apple

I could sense the quince more in aroma than the pear. The smell is sweet and inviting with something slightly powdery and floral in the aroma.

Sweetness/dryness: semi-sweet

This is a mildly sweet cider with lots of fruit. 

Flavors and drinking experience: warm, medium acid, marshmallow

The pear flavors play mostly in the background, but its sweetness is unmistakable. Warm flavor. Medium acid, virtually no tannin. I think this would be so so good with buttery buttery pound cake. The flavors blends well through cream. I noticed green grape flavors after a sip or two. The highlight might be the mild natural marshmallow finish.

The last perry I wanted to introduce today is Crispin's Venus Reigns. I found this at a local bottle shop and the fact that the perry is aged in wine barrels intrigued me.

Website: https://www.crispincider.com/

Official Description: 

The gift of the Golden Pear. 

To distract the gods while he stole fire for mortal man, Prometheus threw a Golden Pear into the courtyard of Olympus with the inscription, “For the most beautiful goddess”.  

This coveted pear was awarded to Venus, goddess of love, sensuality, and beauty. A goddess of nature, revered at springtime, the bringer of joy to gods and mortals.  

Venus Reigns caresses your lips with purity and charm. A soaring achievement of elegance and simplicity. Colfax golden pear wine aged to full maturity in specially selected red wine casks, nished with a gentle kiss of honey.  

Before pouring, give a solid bottoms-up tilt and swirl to disperse sediment evenly and best enjoy the complex aroma and bouquet.  

Best enjoyed at cellar temperature, 50/55F. With or without 1 or 2 ice cubes.

Appearance: saffron, brilliant, lots of bubbles

I actually expected more color from the wine barrels here, so I was suprised by the saffron color. The cider is brilliant with lots of bubbles. 

Aromas: pear, apple, berry, boozy

All sorts of stone fruits and berry notes show up in the aromas. Specifically, I can smell blueberry and blackberry. There's also bourbon presence or general booze barrel like rum, or port. Distantly the cider does show glimpses of banana and cherry; all the fruit aromas were  ripe. This isn't the ethereal delicacy I expect from perry.

Sweetness/dryness: Sweet

This perry is sweet, but also bitter. Folks who usually only like sweet might be confused by the combination. 

Flavors and drinking experience: sweet, bitter, smoky, minerally

Wow, this perry is sweet! Wow, this perry is bitter! Both of these surprises are true along with  medium-high tannins and nearly no acid. There are flavors that remind me of raisins, stone, mineral, acrid. It's a dessert perry unto itself but don't pair it with sweet desserts (Did not go well with dark chocolate cake). 

The perry plays out a long lingering finish that creeps deeper on the tongue. I can connect that to the more familiar perry flavor of lychee that I associate with Sorbitol, but some of the sweetness is barrel related. There's also smoke and char going on. Venus Reigns offers up a full dynamic, big, taste but a thin mouthfeel. Its hard to imagine this being someone's favorite, but it is certainly interesting. I appreciate the level and style of bubbles: small and active. Perry people: is this what you've been missing? 

Fascinating. I don't know anything quite like it.

That's our start on perries; they are already demonstrably a flexible beverage. I look forward to tasting and sharing more next week.

Pick Cider for Thanksgiving! And my Birthday!

I am so excited to share food and cider with my husband, my mom, and two of my very dear friends this year. Everyone is coming to my house. And how did I get this lucky? By having my birthday on Thanksgiving. Yep! I find that folks are plenty amenable when you get to double up on holidays like that. So consider all of these choices picked to go with a vegetarian Thanksgiving Feast that is also my Birthday Dinner!

I like to start with a welcome glass of cider when someone either walks in the door for Thanksgiving or when the emerge from the kitchen into our part-time dining room. This is the cider that comes before introductions, before sitting down at the table, before anything really.

Eden Sparkling Dry

Yes, this is a known choice. I have reviewed a previous iteration of it before: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/06/cider-review-eden-sparkling-dry-cider.html And it was my #4 cider of 2015. But its just so so good! And it really is the perfect cider to stimulate both conversation and appetite.

Find out more about all of Eden Specialty Ciders here: https://www.edenicedcider.com/

Here's the description of the Sparkling Dry.

Champagne-style cider made from heirloom and bittersweet apple varieties grown in Vermont. 50% of the blend is the famous cider apple 'Kingston Black'. It is naturally sparkling and clean - we hand-disgorge the yeast from every bottle! Goes well with oysters, seafood and vegetable dishes.

My choice to go with something known at the beginning of Thanksgiving is far from arbitrary. This is the only known choice of the four, but it guarantees that the meal will start deliciously. I know this cider doesn't need food to balance it out. The Eden Sparkling Dry can stand on its own.

I have chosen two ciders for the main event as it were. They can be taken as an either/or recommendation if you have a strong preference for sparkling or still cider. Alternatively, You can have some of both. I'm always a big fan of choose both rather than either.

Number 12 Cider House Black Currant Dry

I reviewed the Number 12 Cider House Sparkling Dry this Summer: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/06/cider-review-number-12-cider-house.html

And you can learn more about all of their ciders here: http://www.number12ciderhouse.com/

Here's the description:

Number 12 Black Currant Dry begins with aromatic notes of jam and rich black currant followed by a crisp, dry cider finish. Once considered the “forbidden fruit” due to a 100 year ban, the black currant is now experiencing a resurgence in America’s conscience. It pairs beautifully with locally grown apples by providing a tannic structure needed for depth and complexity. This is the cider that will change your perspective.

Here's why I'm choosing the Black Currant Dry. There will be plenty of creaminess at my Thanksgiving table. I want at least one dry bubbly option, but one with enough flavor that the food will overpower it completely. The currants should add pleasant tannins and acid. This would also be great for folks who have the traditional turkey as a main dish, but at my house it will be pair with something vegetarian along with sides of dressing, pumpkin mac and cheese, green bean casserole, and Alex's fabulous mashed potatoes.

Also on the table...Good Life Cider's Hickok Dry Still Cider

My previous review of a Good Life Cider is of their Barrel Rye: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/12/cider-review-good-life-ciders-barrel-rye.html

Here's the Good Life Cider's page (on the Finger Lakes Cider House website) http://www.fingerlakesciderhouse.com/good-life-cider/

The official description reads simply, "Still and dry Aromas of damp earth and dark fruit. Pair this cider with the good life." The ABV of this cider comes in at 8.5%.

This is specifically to off set my other favorite Thanksgiving recipe: cranberry relish. I want a still dry cider with some rich mellowness because my cranberry relish is tart and raw. I use the food processor to blend cranberries, eating apples, oranges, and pecans and this year I will skip the maple syrup to sweeten and instead borrow just a little from my last course cider. 

And with dessert...Slyboro Ice Harvest Cider

I got to visit Slyboro on the way back from our Vermont Cider Tour this summer. Previously, I reviewed the Black Currant cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/07/cider-review-slyboros-black-currant.html 

And back in the early days of the blog, I reviewed a now sold out cider, the Old Sin: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/06/cider-review-slyboro-ciders-old-sin.html

Slyboro's website can be found at: http://www.slyboro.com/

To share the official description: 

Fresh, artfully blended apple cider is pressed in the depths of our North Country winter and tucked outside to freeze. At the first thaw, a rich apple essence is drawn and slowly fermented till summers end. The resulting ambrosia is redolent of tropical fruits and warm baked apple with hints of spice. For dessert, as an aperitif & very special occasions. Serve slightly chilled. 11% alc/vol 11.5% residual sugar. 375ml

Here's the mystery though, will dessert be traditional pumpkin pie, the glorious looking cranberry curd recipe I found online, or a birthday cake? I think this cider would accompany all three beautifully as I tend to prefer desserts that emphasize richness over sweetness. I want most of the sweetness to come from this enticing ice cider. 

And if you're planning on serving or drinking cider for Thanksgiving, share your choices on Twitter with #pickcider! 

Cider Review: Number 12 Cider House Sparkling Dry Cider

Summer officially begins here with the solstice, but summer feels like it has been here far longer. Upstate isn't known for dry rainless stretches and 90 degree days, but we have them. Orchardists, my thoughts are with you. Personally though, I've been curious about expanding my notions of the right ciders for warm weather. Since Number 12 Cider House from Buffalo, Minnesota sent me two bottles of their cider, I thought I'd try one with a porch picnic last week to see how that works.

The identity that I see in Number 12 Cider House is very oriented towards quality. The name comes from their twelfth formulation of their cider, from back in 2011. They kept experimenting in order to develop a cider they loved. I know that sounds obvious and perhaps even universal, but it isn't. Many brands present heritage or regional identity or apple growing rather than focusing on the taste and quality of their cider. I appreciate that companies share their own set of values and priorities, but I admit I get extra excited when the final fermented beverage takes center stage.

The charming website has more information here: http://www.number12ciderhouse.com/

Usually, I turn to hopped ciders for warm weather, but I chilled and served a bottle of Sparkling Dry Cider in hopes it would be refreshing for a picnic on my porch. Here's what Number 12 Cider House says about this cider.          

Number 12 Sparkling Dry is a truly dry, English style cider with a slightly tart finish. It has just the right amount of dry and tart, with an appley bouquet and a champagne-like sparkle. Sparkling Dry is blended with over 10 varieties of apples, picked and pressed and fermented to goodness. It is the culmination of 17 years of experimentation. And we're ready to share.

 This cider has an ABV of 7.4%. I'm curious to see what this Minnesota cider inspired by English ciders will actually taste like!

Appearance: brilliant, active visible bubbles, old gold

As the picture shows, this is a lovely cider with lots of active bubbles and fantastic brilliance. It looks like a champagne in a deep gold color. Very heartening.  It pours with a lacy mouse of bubbles and at the tale end of the bottle a good bit of cloudy sediment. 

Aromas: fermented fruit, caramel, yeast

The Sparking Dry smells fermented first and foremost. I can scent yeasty ripe apples and dust maturity. Everything about the smell points to mellowness, richness, and ripeness. The smell is appley but not like fresh fruit. I can also smell a bit of caramel. 

Dryness/sweetness: Decidedly dry.

Finally! They said dry and dry it is.

Flavors and drinking experience: citrus, sharp, rich, tannic

Wow! The first thing I notice about this cider is how it stimulates a salivary response. This cider has a lot going on. It is both high acidity and high tannincs. It tastes dark, and rich yet firm and sharp. The first hit of flavor is bitter, fruity and astringent at once. The acid lingers and creeps up tongue to salivary glands. I get a curling sensation below my ears! Wow! 

I just keep noticing the acidity plus tannins over and over. I love how the cider cuts through fatty food. In terms of mouthfeel, there's lots of sparkle, this cider is bottle conditioned for certain. I find it very wine like as well as being influenced by english cider making. There's just a little gentle funk, but not enough to scare anyone.  I like how this cider tastes spicy, with  a bit of black pepper flavor. In terms of fruit, I get lemon, quince, and crabapple. One of my tasting companions thought it tasted like a sharp and tart apple peel. Everyone found it *Very* good. 

For this porch picnic, we had cous cous with sun dried tomatoes, caramelized Vidalia onion, roasted red peppers and feta cheese. The cider worked well with this, as well as a veggie loaded green salad with avocado. Try your own pairings, but keep it simple so that this complex cider can get the attention it deserves.