Cider Review: Tandem Ciders' The Green Man

It’s a gray day here of the sort that makes me doubt Spring. We’re living in a gray-brown world of last year’s dead leaves, frozen mud, and dormant grass. Nonetheless, I’ve planted a few trays of seeds, and I’m watering them faithfully. Hopefully in the coming week or so, I’ll start to see fresh green seedlings. Until then, it's time to cook and nest and escape into movies. Today, I’m sharing my thoughts on Tandem Ciders’ the Green Man. Many thanks to my cider friends who got this to me to assuage my feelings of CiderConFOMO. ; ) You’re the best!

Tandem Ciders come to us from Sutton’s Bay, Michigan. There Dan Young and Nikki Rothwell founded Tandem Ciders in 2010 after their love of England and Cider combined with their love of Michigan orchard life. Find out more in my earlier Tandem reviews.

I’ve reviewed a few Tandem’s Ciders before. Here’s the list.

Crabster: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/07/cider-review-south-city-ciderworks-dry.html

The Bee’s Dream: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/01/cider-review-tandem-ciders-bees-dream.html

The Smackintosh: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/05/cider-review-tandem-ciders-smackintosh.html

I recommend checking out Tandem Ciders on the web to learn about what this Michigan Cider is making and doing: https://www.tandemciders.com/

You can also read the story behind the cidery on the website here. It’s a sweet one: https://www.tandemciders.com/about-us/

Here’s what Tandem Ciders has to say about The Green Man. 

Inspired by the carvings of the Roman Baths in the heart of English cider country -- Bath, England -- this adventurous blend of Rhode Island Greenings creates a subtly sweet cider that'll leave you anything but stone-faced.

Appearance: brilliant, very few visible bubbles, low-intensity cool-toned straw

This cider is too beautiful to be sold in a can! The cool-toned pale gold and brilliance deserve to be seen! The color reminds me of straw in spring; it’s yellow and not green but only just by a hair. 

Aromas: green apple, pineapple, sweet candy dust

The Green Man certainly smells green! I get lots of malic acid green apple notes from the start. Secondarily, pineapple aromas abound; this has some tropical flair for sure! The last hints from this cider are harder to describe; it’s a sweet and dusty smell like a container that has held sugar candy enough to have its residue floating around ambiently. We’ll see how these scents translate to taste!

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-sweet

This cider tastes semi-sweet in a fruity juicy way!

Flavors and drinking experience: Bubbly, fresh apple, full-bodied

The Green Man tastes so juicy, it reminds me of pear nectar. The cider tastes tropical with bright notes of sweet apple, pineapple, and pear. The cider shows off a clean fermentation with no funk, no bitterness or anything to interrupt the fresh and fruity celebration. The cider has plentiful bubbles and a full creamy mouthfeel. The cider has medium acidity: just enough to keep the sweetness in pleasant balance. It’s an easy-drinking cider and would be a lovely introduction to the semi-sweet range of the beverage.

We enjoyed this with a chopped Greek salad. The light medley of cucumbers, peppers, feta, tomatoes, and zingy creamy dressing were a lovely counterpoint to the bursting juicy sweetness of Tandem Ciders’ The Green Man. 

Cider Reviews: Bellwether Rhode Island Greening and Citizen Cider's For Shore

The mild weather certainly didn’t stick around upstate New York for very long. It’s hot out and the regular thunderstorms are only doing so much to cool us down. I’m never going to turn to ice in my cider, I will make sure every cider I taste is well chilled. I may even go further than the classic advice of “castle temperature.” But in any case, I want to choose bright refreshing ciders that will enliven my evenings.

I’m starting this week with Bellwether Cidery’s Rhode Island Greening.

Full disclosure here, I worked for Bellwether about 5 years ago. At that time I didn’t review the ciders because I didn’t think it would be possible for me to be objective about them. While I still have many happy memories of my time selling Bellwether ciders, I think there’s now enough distance between me and that job for me to review Bellwether’s ciders. I am choosing to start with one that I never sold: The Rhode Island Greening.

Bellwether dates back to 1999, making them the oldest still-operating cidery in New York state (as far as I know). Cheryl and Bill Barton founded the cidery, and you can find them at the Ithaca Farmers’ Market or Bellwether’s Tasting room near Trumansburg, New York. The couple was initially inspired by French cider making regions.

Before I worked for Bellwether, I did review the Liberty Spy in my first 6 months of cider blogging!

Here’s that review: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/03/cider-review-bellwethers-liberty-spy.html 
That cider made it to my #2 spot on the top 10 of 2013!

And the Heritage did make it into my Locavore Cider Pairing Dinner in 2017:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/09/finger-lakes-cider-week-and-birthday.html

You can visit Bellwether online to learn more about the ciders and the wines: https://cidery.com/

Here’s the official description of the Rhode Island Greening:

Semi-Dry; sparkling; with just the right balance of sweet and sour, made from an old North American heirloom; the Rhode Island Greening was discovered in Rhode Island near Newport in the 1700's by an innkeeper/apple grower named Mr. Green. Enjoy the crisp tang of heirloom apple that was once one of NY's culinary favorites. Alcohol 6.50%

Appearance: transparent, warm straw, bubbly

This is a lovely cider in the glass. It looks very traditional for this region of ciders with a warm straw hue, almost shading into apricot. I can see that the cider will have some sparkle because I see bubbles in it. 

Aromas: citrus, Riesling, yeast, orange juice

The Rhode Island Greening smells like citrus! I get notes of orange juice specifically. The cider also brings a strong aroma of Riesling, maybe a little minerality too. The yeast notes are very clean and remind me of freshly baked bread.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-dry

This is a semi-dry cider just as promised in Bellwether’s description. What sweetness comes to the fore is very fruity and natural.

Flavors and drinking experience: high acidity, medium tannins, citrusy and clean

The Rhode Island Greening is a very pleasing semi-dry but not dry cider with high acidity and some tannins. I taste it as pleasantly puckering. The cider offers one consistent flavor from start to finish, but not a simplistic one. This is a clean, citrusy orchard cider. It's very true to what our region can produce with interesting heirloom apples and clean fermentation.

I find it extremely drinkable. The cider offers lots of mandarin orange flavor and a little cooked apple. Something in the mix reminds me of mellow dried leaves. We enjoyed this with veggie-loaded pizza, and it was a delight.

Next up, Citizen Cider’s For Shore!

Citizen Ciders is a growing cidery based out of Burlington, Vermont. The company’s availability has spread all over the eastern portion of the United States. This company maintains its enthusiastic local focus even as it becomes a regional powerhouse.

I’ve reviewed several Citizen Ciders. Here’s the list.

Tree Tapper: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/02/cider-review-citizen-ciders-tree-tapper.html

Northern Spy: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/09/cider-review-thornapple-brewings-rough.html

Sur Lies: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/02/cider-review-citizen-cellars-sur-lies.html

Tulsi: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/03/cider-review-fable-farms-greensboro-and.html

The Wood: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/07/cider-review-citizen-ciders-wood-and.html

Companion Sour Cherry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-citizen-ciders.html

Wit’s Up: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/04/cider-review-citizen-ciders-wits-up.html

Barrel Aged: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/02/cider-review-citizen-ciders-barrel-aged.html

Citizen Cider bRosé: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/02/cider-review-citizen-cider-brose.html

My visit to Citizen Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-2.html

Check out Citizen Cider’s website to learn about all of the ciders, including a few I’ve never found for sale: https://www.citizencider.com/

Here’s the official description of the For Shore:

For Shore is a gose inspired cider finished with coriander and sea salt. It’s dry and bubbly and best enjoyed alongside your favorite waterfront view. This gose style cider was originally created as part of our Pine St. Cellar Series. 6% ABV

Appearance: hazy bubbly lemon curd

The color of this cider reminds me of lemon curd. It’s a bit hazy but I can still see some bubbles.

Aromas: funky, salty, tropical, fusel oils

What a trip! The For Short simultaneously smells salty, funky, summery and tropical. In terms of notes I get fusel oils, charcoal, but also pineapple and melon.

Dryness/sweetness: Semi-dry

This is a semi-dry cider, but it’s so tart and funky that it’s going to register for some samplers as far closer to dry than sweet.

Flavors and drinking experience: high acid, green grapes, sour and funky

For Sure has off the charts acidity and fruity notes, including Pears, green grapes and pineapples. I also get other more surprising notes like cucumber, cola and Mountain Dew. This is certainly a refreshing and bright cider. I appreciate how bubbly and high acid it is.

We paired For Shore, with it’s mildly sour, fruity, and funky characteristics with a big tray of sushi and demolished both! This cider showed it’s best qualities when paired with sushi!

Uncle John's Cider: American 150

 
At GLINTCAP, I got to meet Mike Beck who graciously helps put the event together and hosts so many cider folks. He does so much for the cider community all over the United States. He's also the man behind Uncle John's Cider. Part of his graciousness extended to sending me home with a whole lotta samples! So, I'm thrilled to be reviewing quite a few Uncle John's Ciders over the next few months. This is the best way to really get to know a cider company in my opinion. Try the whole line up but interspersed with other brands.

Uncle John's Cider Mill is a huge destination in Michigan apple country. It is farm, a cider mill, a restaurant, a winery, a distillery, and more. The company has many faces, but the one most relevant to us is Uncle John's Fruit House Winery from St. Johns, Michigan. This is the right part of the website to visit to find out more about the ciders: https://www.ujcidermill.com/.

Read about the new distribution deal that will be bringing Uncle John's cider to a lot more locations right here: http://beerpulse.com/2014/03/uncle-johns-cider-signs-distribution-deal-with-louis-glunz-in-chicago-2714/ Five of the ciders will become available in the Chicago area before too long, but sadly tonight's cider is not a part of that list. Tonight I'm trying the American 150.

Here's the official description right off of the bottle:

Now that you have come to love our initial line of ciders, it is time to introduce this line of specialty ciders -- made from fruit that is unique in nature, and is not always available publicly. American 150 is a blend of 6 classic American Heirloom varieties that have been a part of apple growing in America for at least 150 years. The apples used in this cider include: Baldwin, Grimes Golden Northern Spy, Winesap, Winter Banana and Rhode Island Greening. Fermented in stainless steel and oak barrels American 150 is an extra dry cider

I love this description because it names the apples used in this particular cider. Several of these are particular favorites of mine, most notably Rhode Island Greening and Northern Spy. The latter lends excellent aromas in spades and the former just tastes like golden summer goodness. One last fact: the ABV of this cider is 6.5%. Nothing too extreme in either direction.

Appearance: hazy, quickly disappearing foam, creamy golden color

This cider has sediment in the bottle, so it must be stored upright. Even so, it doesn't pour brilliant, which in my mind is just fine. I have no particular preference between brilliant, hazy, and cloudy. In color, this one looks like a creamy gold to me. A touch of lacy foam appears as the cider is poured but it quickly vanishes.

Aromas: ripe apples, hints of spice, citrus, stone

This makes my mouth water.  Something about this smell hints at lively acidity and a hint of sweetness, but I'm not putting my finger on exactly what says that to me.

Sweetness: Semi-dry

The sweetness is not the most notable factor about this cider. On the other hand, it is not extra dry to my palate though it is labelled that way on the bottle. I imagine for many new cider drinkers or those who prefer a sweeter cider, this might seem quite dry. For me, I notice a fair amount of fruit character and acidity but along with a little bit of sweet. Just a little though.

Flavors and drinking experience: Some petillance, plenty of acidity, medium tannins.

I really enjoyed this cider tremendously. The level of carbonation is just perfect for enjoying with a meal; it isn't distracting, but it also doesn't let the cider slip by so fast that you accidentally finish a bottle without realizing it. Quite an important balance to strike. I enjoyed the acidity which is sometimes a stumbling block for me. Lots of serious cider drinkers like more acidity than I do, but this showed verve and brightness without getting too aggressive. Medim levels of tannins and sweetness. This is very much an heirloom cider with lots of the Northern Spy and Rhode Island Greening characteristics that I relish.

I enjoyed my cider with too many pieces of veggie pizza, and I have no regrets whatsoever. The American 150 is a well balanced cider with plenty of flavor and character. I'd pair it with heartier foods, especially anything with a creamy or cheesy element. The acidity can really shine in that kind of pairing. As for activities, just eat, drink, and be merry.