Cider Review: Angry Orchard's Walden Hollow and approaching Cider Week!

Apple harvest has finally come! Perhaps the busy orchardists weren't waiting so impatiently, but I feel like I've been counting the weeks until I can start eating my favorite fresh apples. And at the same time, cider makers near me are getting ready for Cider Week in a number of locations. 

Cider Week FLX will be October 1-9: http://www.ciderweekflx.com/

Actually, I did a guest blog post rounding up some tastings happening during cider week, all of which feature more than one local Finger Lakes Region Cidermaker: http://www.ciderweekflx.com/a-round-up-of-finger-lakes-cider-week-round-ups/

I'll be guest pouring at Embark Ciderworks' Cider Fest on September 30th in Williamson, New York: https://www.facebook.com/events/1076952362353422/

Cider Week NYC will be October 21st-30th: http://ciderweeknyc.com/

But I know that Cider Guide keeps much closer tabs on cider festivals than I do, so please check out his listings here to find out the nearest cider celebrations to your neck of the woods: https://ciderguide.com/cider-festivals/

Angry Orchard

http://www.angryorchard.com/

I have more previous reviews than I'm going to share

Stone Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/10/cider-review-angry-orchard-stone-dry.html

Knotty Pear: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/06/cider-review-angry-orchards-knotty-pear.html

Elderflower: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/06/cider-review-angry-orchards-elderflower.html

Today, I'm sharing my review of Angry Orchard's Walden Hollow.

"A mildly tannic, off dry cider that showcases the diversity, complexity, and depth of character of New York State apples." 8% ABV

And Angry Orchard kindly lists the apples used for this cider, "New York Apple Varieties: Rome, Jonathan, Macintosh, Newton Pippin, Golden Russet, Rhode Island Greening."

Going into a little more detail I found this.

 Walden Hollow is an annual vintage cider made with our cider maker’s choice of heirloom New York state apples varieties, including apples from the Angry Orchard in Walden, NY. The 2016 edition is a mildly tannic, off dry cider with intense apple aroma and notes of butterscotch and almond. The cider makers wanted to capture the essence of wild fermentation, but without the funkiness or sour qualities sometimes associated with the process. 

Appearance: hazy, grassy yellow, some visible bubbles

Color is grass—pale yellow with a distinctly green note. Interestingly, this isn't a purely shining brilliant cider; its just a touch hazy.

Aromas: Bread dough, apples, yeast

I like how bready, yeasty,  and appley this cider smells. What makes it striking isn't the individual notes but how each of those things distinctly. I don't know if I have ever smelled  cider that reminds me of fresh bread dough. There's just a little sourness in the array of smells. Overall these aromas are excellent.

Sweetness/dryness: semi dry

This can be accurately described as a semi-dry cider, and I appreciate the accuracy of the official descriptions thus far.

Flavors and drinking experience: high acid, medium tannins, clean fermentation, short finish

Like lots of ciders with New York state fruit, this cider tastes very tart because of its high acid. First, I get an initial malic sweetness, then a quick wave of tannins, with a gentle slightly caramelly finish. It stimulates lots of salivary action. Quite good, but a little curiously light bodied. There's not a lot of heft for so bready a cider. 

Interestingly, I can taste something that reads as cooling in the taste (it reminds me of some  Vandermill ciders in this feature). The Walden Hollow hits notes that feel "low" in the mouth. The cider is very clean. I had expected a warmer, funkier, longer-lasting effect based on the aromas, but this is a sleek and clean beverage. What lingers longest is actually the bright acid. 

I find this cider enjoyable; I'm grateful that it brings some complexities,The label points out its 8% ABV but the cider doesn't come across as boozy. I'd have guessed a lower ABV myself. It offers some bubble action with low to medium intensity of small bubbles. They meld in sensation with the high acidity. Big sips have nice plum and plumskin notes.

This was lovely on my porch with my last tomato galette of the season and corn on the cob, but I could also see pairing it with richer foods to give the acid something weighty to counterbalance. All in all, a very nice beverage. I look forward to the next Cider House Series offering.

Cider Review: Angry Orchard's Elderflower and an NYC cider event!

Angry Orchard Hard Cider is a company based out of Cincinnati, Ohio (not too far from where I grew up). They are owned by Boston Beer Company; that's the company behind Samuel Adams beers. Their core ciders and seasonals sell in six packs of 12oz. bottles with twist-off caps. Their website www.AngryOrchard.com is very visually attractive, but a bit light on information about the company. Here's what they do say about their general apple selection, "bittersweet apples from France and culinary apples from Italy." That at least lets us know that they blend dessert apples and cider apples.

Rather than starting with any of their core flavors, the crisp, the traditional, or the ginger, I wanted to review their seasonal, the Elderflower. This cider has a relatively low ABV of 5% which isn't unusual for cider sold in six packs, but it noticably lower than a lot of the regional and independent ciders I've been tasting lately. The Angry Orchard website does offer a few tasting notes, "This cider has tropical notes from the elderflower balanced by a fresh, bright, fruity flavor reminiscent of  lychee,  pears, and citrus. This flower complements the crisp apple flavor resulting in a balanced sweetness that brings the fruit and flower together." Unusual words for a cider. I'm especially curious to taste for any tropical notes. I am definitely expecting a sweet cider based on the description.

The most interesting and surprising element of the website for me was their list of what apples Angry Orchard uses to make the Elderflower. Here's their list as they present it, "Amere de Berthecourt, Beden, Medaille d’or, Michelin, Binet Rouge, Brairtot Fuji, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Joana Gold, Elstar, Granny Smith, Gala, Braeburn."

Appearance: warm amber, just a bit hazy

The transparency is just off clear. It's color a warm amber. Angry Orchard Elderflower shows very few visible bubbles. Those that appeared all kept moving up toward the top of the cider.

Aromas: cheese then fruit

The cheese aroma came out at first when the cider was at its coldest. When slightly warmer, the elderflower scent and apple come through more together. My husband smelled wheat, yeast strawberries and grapes.

Sweet to dry: sweet

The type of sweetness is decidedly floral. It feels like a cool, refreshing type of sweet to me. I'm sure many cider afficianados would find it far too sweet. Then again, I've heard just as many casual cider drinkers recommend this cider to me. For many of them the sweetness is a positive feature rather than a weakness.

Flavors: Fruit forward, floral, fresh

In the Elderflower the apple taste appears upfront. It is fresh and bright. After the fruit, the elderflower comes through easily. Both flowers and fruit shine through either a sip or swig. The mild fruitiness is watermelon fresh. It is a very easy drinking cider. The level of carbonation isn't distracting.

Drinking experience: Notably pleasant carbonation level. Very picnic appropriate.

Again, this cider comes across most as refreshing and just right for summer. It coats the tongue for a medium mouthfeel. The finish offers a second bit of fruitiness, this time a meld of tart juicy blackberries and darker sweeter figs.

Drink this outside.

Also, in local cider news. Murray's Cheese and Virtue Cider are joining forces for a class on cheese and cider pairings. The class takes place in their Bleeker Street store Thursday June 13th, 2013 from 6:30-8pm. I really hope I see some fellow cider lovers there.

http://www.murrayscheese.com/classes/ciders-of-the-world-cider-and-cheese-with-victory-cider-thu-jun-13-6-30-8-00-pm.html

I am very excited about getting to go to this!