Cider Review: Woodchuck / Farnum Hill's Odd Crush and the Cider Lab's Empire Blanc

Now that I’ve moved to upstate NY, I wait for summer every year, thinking about it, looking forward to it, worrying it will somehow never arrive. And yet, that doesn’t mean I’m prepared once it comes. This year that means I didn’t manage to keep deer out of my raised vegetable beds, and I’ve already gotten sunburned twice. I have no good excuse, but I do bring a glass of water and a glass or can of cider with me into the shade while I wait for long summer evenings to walk and wander. 

Just this past Friday, I got a very exciting delivery to my workplace. I’d heard about a collaboration between Woodchuck and Farnum Hill. I know both of these companies; I like both;  both were pivotal to my early cider days (back in 2002) when there were very few ciders available. And the timing of this delivery was perfect. The cans arrived just in time to get stowed in my weekend bag and taken up to the Thousand Islands region for a summer weekend getaway. 

The Woodchuck / Farnum Hill collaboration is called Odd Crush, and the can features both New Hampshire and Vermont on the cans. 

Previous coverage of Farnum Hill includes:

Cider Con 2017: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/02/cider-con-part-2-panels-workshops-and.html

Visiting Farnum Hill in New Hampshire: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-1.html

Extra Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-farnum-hill-extra-dry-and.html (this was my #1 cider of 2015)

Farmhouse Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/08/cider-review-farnum-hill-farmhouse-cider.html

Summer Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/09/cider-review-farnum-hill-summer-cider.html

And here are a smattering of my previous reviews of Woodchuck ciders. (There are many more if you look)

Pearsecco: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/05/cider-review-very-perry-may-with.html

Bubbly Rose: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-farnum-hill-extra-dry-and.html

I am still waiting for Woodchuck to bring back the June and Juice: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/10/cider-review-woodchucks-june-and-juice.html

The Local Nectar: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/07/cider-review-woodchucks-local-nectar.html

I reviewed the Pear Ginger as part of 2018’s Very Perry May: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/05/very-perry-may-review-of-woodchucks.html

And I loved visiting them on my Vermont Cider Tour: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-3.html

Here’s information about  the Odd Crush from it’s press release:

 The name "Odd Crush” points to our drastically different styles, which originally sparked the diverse new era in American hard ciders. In VT, Woodchuck paved the way for popular six-pack ciders, sold across the country. In NH, Farnum Hill opened a future for regional orchard ciders in wine-style bottles.With Odd Crush we combine both styles of cider making. The cider has a bright, golden hue that is clear and brilliant. The aroma has fruity notes of peach, raspberry and citrus that lead to a clean finish, excellent with food.

This cider’s ABV is 5.4%.

Appearance: old gold, brilliant, bubbly

This cider looks bubbly and mellow with the rich hue I remember being called old gold. It’s more intense and warm than simply yellow, straw, or amber. 

Aromas: ripe apples, cinnamon, caramel

The Odd Crush smells like ripe apples, cinnamon, and something darkly sweet. The aromas are as intense as fresh pressed juice with a hint of caramel.

Sweetness/dryness: off dry

This is definitely a meeting of the minds, it’s more dry than any other Woodhuck cider and sweeter than anything I’ve previously had from Farnum Hill. 

Flavors and drinking experience: tart, rich, brightly fruit forward, well balanced

The Odd Crush tastes darn good. I am impressed. It’s tart without being pointed. The flavors include caramel notes without too much sweetness. This cider’s acid hits early and disappears before the finish. In terms of texture, I note strong bubbles, medium body and some tannins.

I appreciate this cider’s delightful parade of bright dry fruit flavors. Initially, I taste citrus for sure, but also pear and kiwi. The Odd Crush tastes clean throughout, and offers up a warm bright finish.  The relative dryness makes it special and carries the other flavors with structure and restraint. It’s really quite lovely.

Next up it’s The Cider Lab’s Empire Blanc.

“Science. Art. Premium Craft Cider,” These are the words that introduce Cider Lab on it’s website. This Geneva, New York project focuses on not only their own ciders but working on developing the process that made delicious ciders. For more background check out my earlier reviews of the brand and project.

Empire Royale: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/02/cider-review-cider-labs-empire-royale.html

Empire Golden: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/04/cider-review-eastmans-forgotten-ciders.html

Visit The Cider Lab online and learn about all of the ciders: https://theciderlab.com/our-cider/

Here’s how the introduces the Empire Blanc:

An award-winning, dry, hard cider made from fresh-pressed New York Empire apples grown on the golden shores of Lake Ontario. Like fine wine in its balance of tannins and acidity, The Cider Lab’s Empire Blanc is crisp, bright and complex. The effervescence of this brilliant straw-colored cider floats a bouquet of orange blossom and melon awakening the senses with carefully blended fermentations. A refreshing cider experience that pairs well with food or stands out on its own. Enjoy responsibly and share Empire Blanc with friends.
This cider has an ABV of 7.1%.

Appearance: pale pollen, brilliant, no bubbles

This cider almost glows. The color looks like pale spring pollen and it’s totally brilliant. I can’t see bubbles, but that doesn’t mean the cider will be still.

Aromas: Perfume pollen floral

Again, I am reminded of pollen. This is not a theme that comes up in many ciders, but that’s how this one looks and smells to me. It’s very floral and perfumed like honeysuckle.

Dryness/sweetness: off dry

The sweetness is hard to detect because of the extremely high acid.

Flavors and drinking experience: grassy, tart, peach, bright

This cider is so bright and tart, it’s almost shocking! The Empire Blanc tastes like green tea, sun-baked hay or dried summer grasses. It’s not funky but it is herbal and grassy. The cider tastes very tart but not astringent. I how how fruity- specifically how filled to the brim with peach notes this cider is.

Acidity is the defining characteristic of the Empire Blanc from it’s initial sizzling taste to it’s lingering brightness. The Empire Blanc doesn’t bring many tannins to the experience, but it has enough mouthfeel from the acid to feel complete. The cider uses a medium intensity of sparkle.  I had this cider with banana pudding and good company. It was a delicious pairing.

#PickCider for Thanksgiving, Vermont Cider Co.'s Ingrained Review

My last review before time to #PickCider for Thanksgiving! I wanted to choose a cider both seasonal and food friendly, so I'm taking a chance on the new Vermont Cider Company offering, Ingrained. This is a barrel aged cider, and those tend to have enough mouthfeel to be great food pairing ciders. We'll see if my suspicions are correct.

In the past, I've reviewed two ciders by the Vermont Cider Company.

I started with their flagship cider, Addison: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/cider-review-vermont-cider-cos-addison.html

And during Winter Storm Stella, I tried Wassail: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/03/cider-review-winter-storm-stella.html

Find out more about Vermont Cider Co. on the web: http://www.vermontciderco.com

The official description  tells us something about how Ingrained was crafted.

Ingrained uses 100% local apples from Sunrise Orchards in Cornwall, VT.  After fermentation, this cider was aged for nine months in WhistlePig Rye Whiskey barrels from Shoreham, VT for an incomparable taste experience. Ingrained has balanced botes of American oak & rye whiskey over a crisp New England apple backdrop.

Appearance: shining, bright gold, few visible bubbles

This color is intense! The shining gold is just riveting to look at. Of course its brilliant. There aren't many bubbles to see either, just shining color.  

Aromas: vanilla, barrel, booze, and ripe apple

This smells mouthwateringly of vanilla, barrel, and rich booziness. I get secondary notes of caramel, apple, and spice.

Sweetness/dryness: Sweet

This is a sweet and rich cider, redolent with dessert qualities.

Flavors and drinking experience: sweet, complex, thick mouthfeel

This cider has a nice balance of body, sweetness, and acidity, but in an equilateral way. This is a pyramid with a strong base of sweetness, lightened by medium acidity, topped of with some barrelly tannins. The flavors are complex and roll through a bright sweetness through a mellow mid-palate and long luxuriant finish.

Ingrained has a thick mouthfeel and a sweetness that remind me of an ice cider, but it has an ABV that allows it to be consumed very differently. The Ingrained is easy pleasant drinking, perfect for an evening by the fire with a good book or a riveting movie, something scary or with lots of action. I really enjoyed Atomic Blonde, especially with that soundtrack. Let the holiday movies wait another week. 

My food pairing recommendations would be glazed carrots, vegetarian roast, and mashed potatoes. This is a great choice to #pickcider for Thanksgiving.

Cider Review: Downeast Craft Cider: Cranberry Blend and Counting Down to CiderCon

Today, I wanted to share my first review of anything by New England's Downeast Craft Cider. I'm starting with their Cranberry Blend. Though they've not appeared on the blog before, I've had a few of their ciders. The company is based out of East Boston, but their cans appear all over the North Eastern United States. They have a tourable cidery and a tap room.

I found a funny thing on the website too good not to share.

One one passes this gatekeeper, you can learn about the company and their ciders online. They were founded by college friends in 2011. The focus, as they describe it, is as much about what they don't do or add to their ciders as what they choose to do. Here's the priority directly in the words from Downeast.

where others have used juice from concentrate, “natural flavorings,” “essences,” artificial sweeteners, and an endless list of excuses, downeast cider house has a firmly established policy of NO SHORTCUTS. no matter the cost to us, we are fully committed to using only fresh-pressed juices and pure, natural ingredients in our cider. when it comes to flavor, there’s no substitute for the best, and that’s what we stand by: simple, honest, authentic.

One other element one the website struck me as particularly interesting is that they have two sections about their cider: fresh cider pre-fermentation and hard cider after production. 

Check out the website for yourself here: http://downeastcider.com/?ao_confirm

And this is how they describe what I'm reviewing this evening: Cranberry Blend

FRESH-PRESSED CRANBERRIES MAKE FOR A TART, CRISP FINISH.after every batch of cranberry blend is finished and ready for the conditioning tank, a cider-maker finds tyler and hands him a small cup. tyler takes a sip – contemplating the flavor, the body, the finish, the metaphysical implications of spinning around a dying star on this piece of rock we call planet earth – before making the declaration as old as time itself: “more cranberry.” and so it goes, a ceremonial dash of cranberry caps the batch and it’s whisked off to a cold, bubbly destiny.

This cider has a relatively low ABV at 5%.  The ingredients listed are: "freshly pressed apple cider, fresh cranberry juice, and ale yeast".  Downeast describes the cider as being lightly carbonated. Knowing all of these things helps me form more specific expectations when approaching the cider, something I always appreciate.

Appearance: watermelon, cloudy, many visible bubbles

The first thing I noticed was how pretty the color looks; it reminds me of  watermelon flesh  or tangerines. Its just gorgeous. I also saw tons of great big bubbles. Significant debris at the bottom of the glass, like the size of fish flakes. All of their ciders are described as unfiltered, so this isn't a huge surprise. 

Aromas: fruity, applesauce, butterscotch, cranberry

This cider smells very fruity, like applesauce but also dusty in that uniquely cidery way. the second thing I notice about the aromas is how very ripe the fruit notes. They almost meld into a butterscotch or jammy sort of smell. There are definitely cranberry notes, like a cranberry butter. 

Sweetness/dryness: sweet

The Cranberry Blend tastes sweet from start to finish, it does not have the controversial zing of cranberry.

Flavors and drinking experience: fruit punch, hint of tart

Interesting! This cider reminds me of fruit punch or summery sangria with notes of cranberry. But the specific cranberry notes taste cooked more like a homemade cranberry sauce. I'd definitely call this cider sweet and straightforward, but not unbalanced. There's  no funk and no bitterness. Several cider lovers out there are cheering as they read that because not everyone like bitter in their cranberry. I do get a little sourness, but not like actual cranberry juice. There are low but present levels of tannins.

This cider tastes best in big sips. Its very sessionable and easy drinking. The other thing that immediately strikes me is how good  this would be for a cocktail component. This won't be the cider for everyone, and I do miss the aggressive bite that I associate with fresh cranberry, but for other folks this will be just perfect. 

And...I'll  be headed to CiderCon 2017 in Chicago in 8 days! If you are joining us (and I hope you are) come say hi! And if you can't make it, follow along by seeing what's happening on social media. I know a few of us will be sharing with @cidercon or #cidercon on Twitter and Instagram.