Cider Review: Sider Aga Boddel

I’ve been back from Norway for a few days now, thanks so much for your patience while I took a week off from blogging to see someplace completely new and different. It was a fabulous experience filled with public art, walking new neighborhoods, hearing the sounds of unfamiliar languages, and seeing many different kinds of weather over the course of four days! Of course finding a Norwegian cider had to be priority, so here’s what I thought of Aga Sideri’s Bøddel.

I found Aga Sideri’s - Bøddel Sider frå Hardanger [Pages from Hardanger] at a vinmonopolet in Oslo. (I mangle this word in my mind, because it reminds me of a combination of the app Venmo and the french word for chicken, poulet). In reality, it’s a wine and spirits monopoly owned by the government. They have fantastic labeling, and I was able to get good knowledgeable help finding a cider that’s both dry and bubbly. I did want to increase my odds of finding just the right cider for me. That’s how I chose to try Bøddel Sider by Aga Sideri.

Looking up a bit about Aga Sideri online and using Google Translate gives me this additional info. All of this is from the website.

Visit for yourself here: https://www.agasideri.no/

Aga Sideri lies idyllically between high mountains, in the heart of Hardanger.

Joar Aga is a seventh-generation farmer at Aga, and started Aga Sideri in 2018. The garden is close to both mountains and fjords, surrounded by cultural heritage and large tei. Here in Sørfjorden there is an excellent climate for fruit growing, as well as a rich tradition for silk production. On steep slopes, we grow a handful of different apple varieties which we carefully harvest and process for use in both must and cider.

I used Google to translate the description of the cider, and this is what I got. Please forgive any imperfections here! I’m also including a brief history from the cider website about the person who inspired the name of this cider. 

Apple variety: Aroma, Gravenstein, Bramley's Seedling and James Grieve

Alcohol: 9%

Volume: 750 ml

Sweetness: Dry

Suitable for: Savory dishes (cured food, tacos)

History of Executioner

Samson Isberg (1795-1873) grew up on the farm Isberg, just south of Aga. He moved away from his father and stepmother early on, and joined the military in Bergen. In 1834 he got work as an executioner. He was Norway's penultimate executioner, and the first prince to have the entire country as his official area. Despite his gloomy professional title, Samson was portrayed as a kind-hearted and popular man. After fifteen executions, Samson retired. As the end of his life approached, he said "it will be hard to meet them again on the other side, the people I have parted with my life.

I’ll admit, I almost didn’t pick the cider with the giant axe on the bottle, but read on to find out how it tastes! But looking at the higher than average ABV, the fact that it lists specific apple varieties, plus being promised as both bubbly and dry, I had to try it.

Appearance: mild warm straw, brilliant, active bubbles

The cider is a pale shade of warm straw color with mild intensity. What’s less mild is the cider’s brilliance with effervescent bubbles.

Aromas: minerals, hint of volatile acidity, pear, salt

The Boddel smells minerally with hints of volatile acidity and salt. More persistently I detect fruit notes like pear. These aromas definitely create a salivary reaction.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry

As promised, this is a dry cider! I’m so excited. I never quite know how to interpret a new description of sweetness or dryness, but there’s nothing better than accuracy! 

Flavors and drinking experience: high tannins, high acidity, plentiful fine bubbles.

I’m so thrilled with how the Boddel tastes! I love that it offers both high acids and high tannins. That’s my first impression. Secondarily, the vast quantities of tiny bubbles are just so pleasing. Yum!

The tannins hit first with this cider—these are different apples than my co-taster and I are used to. The pear notes come out to play along with pepper and vanilla. The combination warms up the whole experience. I don’t notice how powerful the acids are until almost the cider’s finish. I appreciate that even with high acids and high tannins, the tasting experience remains rounded, full, and even custardy. Could the cider be barrel aged perhaps? I don’t know, but it’s stony and soft at once. The Boddel is cleanly fermented and wonderfully nuanced. I love this super sophisticated cider. 

We had ours with delicious pizza in a hotel room while watching April snow falling outside. It’s a pairing and a memory, I’ll happily treasure.

Cider Review: Liberty Ciderworks Manchurian Crabapple SV Cider

Rick Hastings and Austin Dickey are the main folks behind Libery Ciderworks. They make cider, run a tasting room with bottle shop, and maintain a cider club for Liberty Ciders. All of this happens in Spokane, Washington. They care tremendously about local fruit and apple-centered cider. From looking at the website, it appears they make several single varietals.

This is how they describe themselves:

Located in the largest apple-growing region on the continent, Liberty Ciderworks is all about the apple, showcasing the diversity and wonders of locally grown fruit. From well known apples like McIntosh and Jonathan to rare, cider-specific fruit like Kingston Black and Dabinett, Liberty ciders put apples in their proper place: Front and center. 

We started Liberty Ciderworks in 2013 with a simple, two-part mission: 1) Using apples from local farms and fields to create unique, wonderful ciders, and 2) Sharing them with friends and neighbors across the great Pacific Northwest.

Read more about this growing cidery online: http://libertycider.com.

Today's review is of their single varietal Manchurian Crabapple Cider.

I've not reviewed any Liberty Cider before, but this bottle was a review sample shared with me at Cider Con. It has been waiting far too long in my fridge, but there are enough unusual things about this cider that I wasn't quite sure when to open it.

The website's official description reads, “Manchurian Crabapple SV Cider - 12.5% ABV

Tiny Manchurian crabapples deliver intense black cherry and vanilla flavors in this port-style cider. Pair with cheesecake or other creamy dessert for an OMG moment. (GLINTCAP 2015 Silver Medal Winner).”

And on the bottle I found a slightly different description, “No larger than a cherry, the Manchurian Crabapple packs a huge flavor punch. Ready for one of the most full-bodied, intensely-flavored ciders you’ll ever encounter? This semi-sweet, single-varietal cider is for you. Enjoy on its own as a digestif, with soft artisan cheeses, or with rich, creamy desserts. Still (non-carbonated).”

These features, high ABV, single-varietal, and sure to be intense are both the pull to this cider but also why I wasn't quite sure on which occasion to bring it out. I expected it would be different and exciting.

Appearance: warm sunset orange, transparent, thick

Holy unusual closure, Batman! This cider has a reusable half cork under a foil. I don't see that very often. Looking at the cider in my glass, it's dark red-orange and obviously viscous. It looks like a dessert cider. I'd call it transparent for clarity.

Aromas: cooked apple, dust, caramel

The Manchurian Crabapple smells sweet and a bit oxidized, like cooked apples. I also get notes of cocoa powder, baking spices, stone dust and— something fiery, like a tanginess, or as my co-taster suggested, something a little dangerous.

Sweetness/Dryness: semi-sweet

I know the label says sweet, but this tastes like so much more than sweet to my perception. I'd call it semi-sweet tempered by extremly high tannins. Take that as you will.

Flavors and drinking experience: boozy, tannic, complex

This cider takes a moment to speak—the first second of tasting seems preparatory, but when it hits it's EXTREMELY flavorful. I notice both very high acidity and a high level of tannins. The acidity is not a thin piercing acid, but more of a broadly ardent one, while the tannins are earthy, thick and leathery. The mouthfeel is richly syrupy, not as sweet as advertised, but still a reasonable dessert cider in that it leaves your lips sugary.

I also noticed that this cider feels a bit hot—the high abv comes across clearly. The Manchurian Crabapple reminds one of sundried tomatoes as well as cooked apples. The aftertaste reminds me much more of apple cider syrup. There's dusty graham cracker element, perhaps oxidization, that does mellow the experience. Its a still cider and one that perhaps needs to be still in order to work. Bubbles might just make it too much. Both my co-taster and I deem this a sipping cider; its one to consume slowly and relaxedly. I tried a big swallow—large sips take on a woodier note, and are more or less overwhelming! Pair with anything creamy, rich, and mild.

I had my glass of cider with dark chocolate caramel brownies and the companionship of my favorite co-taster. We had our calendars open to start planning for fall, because it's already time to start doing this. This complex cider certainly did do a lot to help me relax into that idea.