Cider Review: Ironbound Hard Cider Original Plus Full GLINTCAP results!

I’ve gone from needing sweatshirts in the evening once the sun goes down to hiding from the heat in less than a week. Thankfully, the ninety degree days will be over for a bit by the time this post goes live. I hate to complain about the weather, but I find how I feel about the world outside shapes my days as much as anything else. And the weather certainly helps me choose my ciders. 

Ironbound Hard Cider’s Original called to me for a warm evening this weekend. The cider promised crispness and looked quite sessionable at just over 5% ABV, so I thought it would be perfect for a cool evening rewatching Death Becomes Her for the first time in 20 years with the tall one. 

Here’s what I found on the website that describes Ironbound Hard Cider, the farm, and the priorities of the company.

Ironbound Farm — home of Ironbound Hard Cider and New Ark Farms - was founded on the belief that businesses must take responsibility for the impact they have on the social, economic, and ecological well-being of their communities. To that end, we fully embrace the beauty, abundance, and diversity of the Garden State through our regenerative farming practices and hard cider production. In doing so, we’ve created a unique business model that fosters resiliency and viability for our network of growers, food producers, and customers.

I also want to quote this answer to a question, on the FAQ page just because it's so fascinating! 

You may have noticed from time to time that the Ironbound you are enjoying today doesn’t taste exactly the same as the Ironbound you had last week. That is because our ciders are made from 100% fresh-pressed local apples, which vary in flavor from harvest to harvest and farm to farm— making each batch of our cider unique. So, if your Ironbound tastes slightly drier, a little funkier, or more complex, take this as our freshness guarantee! And, because we use absolutely ZERO preservatives, we recommend enjoying Ironbound cider by the “best before” date on the bottom of each package.

Visit Ironbound Hard Cider online and learn more: https://www.ironboundhardcider.com/

This is what the cidery says about the Original.

IRONBOUND ORIGINAL

5.2% alc/vol

FRESH. BALANCED. CRISP.

A sessional dry cider made from a blend of bittersweet and sweet, local fresh-pressed apples.

Appearance: brilliant, bright dandelion yellow, lots of tiny bubbles clinging to the glass

This cider is lovely to see. It’s got gorgeous clarity. A smattering of the finest bubbles lined the glass. The color reminds me of all the dandelions in my yard.  

Aromas: Grape, powdered sugar, sour green apple 

The Original smells instantly of green grape, powdered sugar, with a bit of sour green apple and a tickle to the nose. I get the slightly funky vibe, but not more than a small suggestion of funk.

Sweetness/dryness: Off-dry

I think the cider comes across just a touch drier than it might be by the numbers because it has multiple registers of acid and tartness activated, but it tastes off-dry.

Flavors and Drinking Experience: strong fizz, low tannins, grape skin, sessionable

My first impression of the Original is one of dessert apples and grapes. There’s something low, bassy, and wet about the cider. It offers strong bubble, medium acidity, and low but present tannins. I do want to mention that the acid doesn’t feel sharp and one dimensional. There’s a whole play of tart, crisp, and acid notes going on here.

I appreciate how the cider tastes off dry; the tannins of the grape skin notes play interestingly with how wet and full the mouthfeel is. The Original finishes cleanly but with a whiff of freshly ground cornmeal. The very mild funk on the nose does not come through in the flavor, which is clean, balanced, and sessionable. The whole cider experience feels refreshing. It was perfect for a warm evening and a campy movie!

And now I want to share links to this year’s GLINTCAP results. I only wish I could have been there to help judge this year. It sounds like a wonderful time was had!

This link will take you to the full results right on the front page: https://glintcap.org/

Cider Review Waupoos Premium Cider and Melick’s Semi Dry Traditional

This summer I traveled with Alex to the Thousand Islands for a mini-vacation. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed our AirBnB and hosts. They were kind enough to share a Canadian cider that I’d never heard of with me, and it’s been waiting all the months since. This week, I was finally ready to crack up that memory of Summer and see what Waupoos Premium Cider is all about. 

The company that makes Waupoos Cider is County Cider out of Ontario, Canada. The company has been producing cider since the mid 1990s, and for the cider scene that’s significant cred! The focus as the company describes it is on growing apples and producing quality cider with only local fruit. 

Visit the company online here: https://www.countycider.com/

Here’s my post from my other cider experience on that trip. I got to taste through the Kaneb’s Orchard Cider lineup: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/07/cider-review-kaneb-orchards-hard-cider.html

Here’s what Country Cider says about Waupoos Premium Cider.

WAUPOOS PREMIUM

Our top selling draft product for over 20 years. Exemplifies the crisp, fresh fruit qualities of our orchard-ripened apples with subtle undertones of bittersweet cider apples, giving an overall impression of freshness with the complexity of tannins and acidity. Seriously quaffable. 

A sessionable cider. 

Tasting Notes Off-dry, with zesty acidity and tangy apple fruit flavours; crisp lingering finish with underlying tannic qualities. Wonderful fresh apple aromas tantalizing the nose with the taste to come.

Think of chicken wings and wood fired pizza. 

6.5%ABV

Appearance: pale straw, brilliant, few bubbles

This cider looks like many ciders I’ve seen with it’s brilliant shine and pale shade of straw. I don’t see many bubbles but that doesn’t mean the cider isn’t strongly sparkling

Aromas: overripe apples, cherries, melon and powdered sugar

This cider smells of overripe apples, cherries, powdered sugar, and melon. My co-taster emphasized that he smelled lots of melon.  I also get hints of soft worn leather. It actually reminds me very much of a cider I’ve tasted years back; this is very reminiscent of Doc's Draft. This is a pleasant set of aromas. As it warms, there's a green apple rock candy note that comes out.  There are enough good smells that the bottle with it’s narrow limits them too much!

Sweetness/dryness: semi-sweet

This cider tastes semi-sweet to me. The sweetness reminds me of pears, green apples, and rock candy. The sweetness fades fast after each sip though, and that’s intriguing.

Flavors and drinking experience: pear, grain, gentle funk

Waupoos Premium Cider offers up a nicely immediate bright taste, but the acidity fades quickly. My overall impression of the acidity is of that interesting appearances and disappearance. It isn’t a fully sweet cider, but I’m habituated to a higher level of acidity such that sweetness stands out at this level. The mid-palate of this cider reminds me of pears and perry; the body is especially perry like.

I get an aftertaste of grain and peanuts from this cider. Though I can taste those gently funky notes for a while, the fullness and sweetness from the cider do not extend overlong. The cider shares just a little bit of English funk in its leatheriness. I like the very ripe fruit notes. What is different between the Waupoos cider and the English ciders it reminds me of in some ways, is that this cider does not leverage tannins. 

I'm really curious about one of County Cider Company’s other ciders: Tortured Path.  Pairs well with strong flavors.  Had it with casual Mexican lunch and it was good.

And now for Melick’s Semi Dry Traditional!

Melick’s is one of the only New Jersey cideries that I know of. This wouldn’t surprise many people until look at the fact that in the 1900s, New Jersey probably producted more hard cider than any state in the country. Melick’s is a farm-based producer that makes cider and wine. The company is based in Oldwick. 

You can learn more online about Melick’s Cider: https://www.melickstownfarm.com/HardCider

I reviewed the George’s Tart Cherry earlier this year: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/07/cider-reviews-portland-cider-cos.html

Here’s how the company introduces the Semi Dry Traditional

Our new Semi-Dry hard cider uses champagne yeast to produce a crisp, refreshing, hard cider, that is light on the palette with no added cane sugar. Enjoy chilled with your favorite meal! 6% by Volume 500 ML

Appearance: very bubbly, cool straw, brilliant

This cider bubbles enthusiastically! Melick’s Semi-Dry Traditional is alive with bubbles; they even formed a mousse for a moment before fizzing away. I’ll call the color cool straw and the transparency brilliant. 

Aromas: aquatic, green apple, grain 

The Traditional smells like green apples white flowers, and grain. I can also detect something aquatic and mild going on that reminds me of cucumbers. 

Dryness/sweetness: semi-dry

As promised, this cider is semi-dry! What sweetness I detect is very green apple and fresh fruit.

Flavors and drinking experience: tart, yeasty, fresh apples, bubbly

This cider brings plenty of tartness to my tastebuds! The Semi Dry Traditional smelled good, but tastes even better. The cider is balanced with plenty of ripe apple character but even more notes that strike me as the result of a good clean fermentation. My co-taster also noticed some pleasantly austere flavors that made them think of yeast artifacts and even like a refreshing lager.  My largest is impression is simultaneously of green apples and toasted grain. 

This cider has a medium body made lighter with lots and lots of bubbles. We had this with popcorn and a scary movie, but that’s how I’ve been pairing lots of my ciders this month. I think the Semi Dry Traditional could go with a plethora of foods because it’s well-balanced and approachable. Next time, I’d pair it with fish tacos or a vegetarian chili. 

Cider Reviews: Portland Cider Co.'s Pineapple Rose and Melick's Hard Cider George's Tart Cherry

I don’t know about you, but when it’s hot I’m not as much fun. I don’t mean to say that I wilt and pout like the potted basil on my front stoop, but I’m not a fan of too much heat. When we have days and days of predicted rain but no actual drops, when the dewpoint rises dramatically, and when the last breeze skipped town last week, and the sun starts feeling more like a Deathstar rather than the source of life in our universe, I think that’s hard on everyone. And that’s the stage of summer we’ve reached. Luckily, cold bubbly fruity cider is here for us. And that’s exactly what I served up this past week. 

I started with Portland Cider Co.'s Pineapple Rose. This was a sample shared with me for review. My opinions remain my own.

Here are my previous reviews for Portland Cider Co. 

Most recently I tried the Cranberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/03/cider-review-seed-stone-cidery-heritage.html

Last fall, I tried the Pumpkin Spice: 
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/10/cider-review-portland-cider-co-pumpkin.html

My first Portland Cider Co. was the Kinda Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/05/cider-review-portland-cider-company.html

Earlier in 2018, I saw a different take on Pineapple from this crew: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/cider-review-portland-cider-company.html

Check out Portland Cider Co.’s website to see what new releases are here: https://www.portlandcider.com/

Here’s the official description from Portland Cider Co., “Bursting with juicy, fresh pineapples, with a naturally pink hue from a splash of Northwest grown blueberries. Treat yourself with this fruity, tropical delight that will take your tastebuds to an island oasis.” 5.2%ABV.

Appearance: hazy, peach, tiny visible bubbles

I wasn’t surprised to see a slight haze to this cider. Lots of pineapple ciders retain a semi-transparent level of clarity. What did surprise me is that the color is barely pink, at least compared to lots of rose ciders that I see. I’d call this one peach. It’s lovely and gentle. The photo doesn’t show it ideally, but the cider was active with visible tiny bubbles.

Aromas: Pineapple, lush floral, apple, honey 

This cider smells like super ripe sticky pineapples. I can just imagine fresh pineapple texture so vividly when I smell this. That’s dominant, but in the background I get floral notes, apple, and honey.

Sweetness/dryness: Sweet

The Pineapple Rose cider is a sweet and fruity cider! It’s sweetest on the finish.

Flavors and drinking experience: tropical fruit, acid on the front, bubbly

The Pineapple Rose brings a super summer party with lots of tropical fruit flavors. I appreciate the nice high acid up front; it keeps the cider fresh but not isn’t pointed or challenging. I enjoy the strength of the bubbles. 

The Pineapple Rose benefits from its clean fermentation. Some ciders aren’t meant to be funky! This one is all about fruit and acid, with no astringence and no tannins. The Pineapple Rose does have a thick mouthfeel due to sweetness. 

After several sips, I can tell that the cider’s acid fades before the finish. There are some fun bakery characteristics that remind me of breakfasty sweets or muffins but the blueberry doesn’t really come through distinctly. I got just as many notes of roses, cherries, and strawberries as I do blueberry. I can say confidently that this is a summery cider! 

Melick’s Hard Cider George’s Tart Cherry

My next cider was brought to me by a visiting cider friend, Maria. I tried one Melick’s a few years ago, but I misplaced my notes, so the review never appeared. This feels a bit overdue for Melick's first appearance! 

I don’t know a ton about Melick’s Hard Cider. The company is based in Oldwick New Jersey. It appears to be related to a sister agriculture business Melick’s Town Farm. I see six different ciders and an apple wine on the website. What’s nice is that Melick’s lists all the places that carry the ciders.  

Visit the company online: https://www.melickstownfarm.com/HardCider

On to George’s Tart Cherry. I shared this with a friend because I have a terrible shortcoming when it comes to understanding cherry ciders, so when I review them I enlist help. 

Melick’s official description keeps it simple, “A sweet-tart cider made with Balaton and Montmorency cherry juices.” 6.7% ABV.

Appearance: Brilliant, brick red, subtly bubbly

This is a lovely cider to see. The color is deep with a fun brilliant shade that’s red with tints of deep orangey brick. I can see lots of itty bitty  bubbles rising in the cider. 

Aromas: Bing cherry, limestone, cinnamon, baked goods

This cider smells like the deep and dark bing cherries I remember from my childhood. It also smells like limestone, cinnamon, and baked goods. It’s luscious.

Sweetness/dryness: sweet

This cider is sweetly fruity, but there’s more to it than that.

Flavors and drinking experience: cherry, plum, tart, sweet

George’s Tart Cherry  indeed tastes sweet and tart! The cide offers up a very direct and natural cherry flavor. I find that it intensified as the flavor matures from initial sip to finish. I love that this cider is mildly astringent. 

Cherry isn’t the only fruit at play here. My tasting companion identified Santa Rosa plums as a flavor too. I think they’re correct. I also got little bit of yeasty baked goods and fresh cherry pie.
In each drink, the cider changes to tart from sweet; this makes it a more universally appealing and very summery indeed. I’ll probably never be a devoted cherry fan, in any of it’s forms, but this cider made a great impression with its complexity and balance. 

Good luck surviving these hot days. May a cool glass of cider chill and refresh you.