Cider Review: Sweetland Orchard's Roundabout Batch #4 English Farmhouse

I finally woke up to a dusting of snow some of the fluffy stuff flying through the air. After the past two winters, I'm ready for a mild one. I don't want to be ungrateful for December days spent hiking without needing to wear forty layers of wool and down and bubblewrap and who knows what else. At the same time, I'm preparing for holiday parties, finding gifts, and listening to seasonal music without feeling ready for the winter solstice and Christmas and the new year. So I love this little bit of snow.

 Which leads me to a cider Gretchen Perbix gave me at Cider Con last year in Chicago. We had plenty of snow then! I was attempting to roll a suitcase full of cider through about 2+ feet of it pretty much every time I left the conference. It was lovely meeting Gretchen of Sweetland Orchard, and it has taken me too long to finally crack open this bottle of Batch #4 that she shared with me.

Here's a little about Roundabout orchards. In Webster, Minnesota Sweetland Orchard is owned by Mike & Gretchen Perbix and operated with the help of their families and friends. They've been selling cider since at least 2011 (apologies if I have the date wrong) and experimenting with various apple blends and some fruit blends.

You can read about their ciders, the orchard and see recent press about Sweetland Orchard at: http://sweetlandorchard.com/hardcider/

One element of their website that I found particularly interesting was their stance on integrated pest management. More and more, this is the preferred way cider-oriented apple growers are handling the tricky world of apple growing. What it means (as far as I understand it) is a commitment to low intervention techniques that rely on a variety of solutions to various pest problems treating the trees and fruits with chemical pesticides as a last resort. The preferred methods include fencing, biological controls, companion planting, grazing livestock, accepting blemished fruit, and treatments derived from less harsh sources. Its a crucial topic to the cider world and it affects what goes into the bottles of cider we love, so I recommend all cider drinkers learn about the various ways apples can be grown! I love that Sweetland Orchards is so upfront about their practices. 
  
When I met Gretchen, we discussed our cider style preferences and when she learned that I love the tannins and funk of UK ciders but tend to enjoy bubbles more, she gave me a bottle of their Batch #4 in the Roundabout series.

This is how Sweetland Orchard introductes the line and the cider that I'm reviewing tonight.

Roundabout is our batch-numbered cider that changes every season, and sometimes more than once a season depending on our other fruit harvests (like berries and currants) and how inventive we’re feeling. Bought a bottle of Roundabout for home? 

#4: English Farmhouse
Released December 2014
We used the most tannic apples we grow at the orchard for this cider. It also involved our tallest apple tree, our tallest ladder and a tarp to collect as many apples as we could. It came out dry, tart, tannic, and incredibly well-balanced. We love it.

Appearance: saffron, brilliant, lots of bubbles

I appreciate how intense yet bright the color looks in the glass. Deciding what to call this exactly color was difficult; it seems to fall someplace in between saffron and mango. Warm shades of both orange and yellow come to mind. Looking at this many visible bubbles leads me to anticipate some intense sparkle.

Aromas: yeast, ripe apples, vinous

By association, what I smells in this cider leads me to expect something dry and tart. But what the smells remind me of in an of themselves is bread yeast and a firm underlying base of ripe apples. Smells a touch vinous as well.

Dryness/sweetness: Semi dry

The #4 English Farmhouse is a semi-dry cider with lots of fruit elements for its relative dryness. I think that's a great combination for interest and approachability.

Flavors and drinking experience: tropical fruit, med. tannins, med. bubble, nice mouthfeel

Let's start by talking about the mouthfeel on this cider because its amazing! It offers great texture and mouthfeel because it feels so rich and creamy. The cider tastes big and full, which sounds weird, but what I mean to say is that it isn't hollow or thin. Definitely a semi dry, but one that is extremely fruity! The fruits I taste include stone fruits like peach, tropical fruits like pineapple but also some raw strawberry. 

Part of what I like about the English farmhouse is that it offers both tannins and acid. Unlike many english ciders it is not barrell-y though I love a good bit of oak in my cider. Though I expected more from the cider's appearance, it contains a moderate number of bubbles. 

Continuing to enjoy my glass, I notice more maple on the nose after a sip or two. Interesting. Overall, I find this cider wonderful: quite refreshing and a very pleasant meeting of the good qualities in both North American and English ciders!
 
How would I recommend you drink this cider? After watching Star Wars of course. Or, if you can manage it, while looking outside onto a snowy landscape. 

Reviewing Ciders for Winter: Sheppy's Vintage Reserve Oak Matured Somerset Cider

Winter is barely beginning to release its salty, icy, blustery hold on upstate NY, but I think we can slip at least one more winter cider in the series before spring takes hold.

This is my first review of any Sheppy's Cider. Like many of my import finds, I got it at The Cellar D'Or. Like always, I checked out the Sheppy's website to learn a bit more about the company and their approach to cider. What I found is absolutely charming, from the encouragement for visitors to walk their orchards to their organized orchard information to the newly redone tea rooms. I can barely emphasize enough just how approachable and lovely I find Sheppy's presentation of their brand. (Again, I'm an admitted Anglophile, so your mileage may vary.) Here's the link if you want to check it out for yourself: http://www.sheppyscider.com

This is what Sheppy's says about themselves:

Farming 370 acres at Three Bridges Farm since 1917, three generations of the Sheppy family have weathered the ups and downs of farming and cidermaking by embracing change and opportunity.

Craftsmen cidermakers for over 200 years.

Quality is central to all our ciders, which are produced from local and home-grown apples here at Three Bridges Farm. Modern technology has been used to assist the completely traditional production of fine English cider, but never to compromise the quality which is associated with the name Sheppy’s Cider.

The cider of theirs that looked the most winter friendly on the shelves was their Vintage Reserve Oak Matured Somerset Cider. I know I like oaked ciders and that sometimes the effect is a warm one, so I tasted it recently in hopes it would fit into this winter series.

Here's how they introduce this one.

A fine full-flavoured sparking vintage cider in a medium taste, created from the best varieties of cider apples of a single harvest here at Three Bridges Farm.  Always matured in oak.  Winner of many prestigious prizes including overall winner of the Quality Drink Awards competition,  2010.

BEST SELLER

Recently placed in the top 50 of the Great Taste Awards for 2014, out of over 10,000 products and winner of the cider category of the Quality Drink Awards!

Alcohol 7.4% by volume.

Appearance: Brilliant, pumpkin colored, few visible bubbles

The color certainly strikes me as warm, specifically the orange of a harvest moon or a ripe pumpkin. I see no haze and very few bubbles. The ones that do appear clustered glittering at the bottom of the glass.

Aromas: leather, overripe apples, oak

The Oak Matured Cider smells like leather with a hint of overripe apples and softness. My hunch that this will be a very winter friendly cider seems correct so far. It also smells salty, oaky and woody but not vinous at all, like seasoned dry firewood. The smell promises many good things.

Sweetness: Semi-dry

Sheppy's is entirely on target to call this a semi-dry cider. The sweetness doesn't hit right off because the opening is more a first note of bitter orange.

Flavors and drinking experience: rich mouthfeel, tannins, phenolic, drinkable

This Somerset Cider is not syrupy, not sour, but rather rich in mouthfeel. Definitely a winter friendly cider because of how it manages to be thick and creamy but not cloying. I get a continuation of the leather aromas in the flavors, like a Doc Marten boot soaked in apples. It tastes gentle but with astringency, rather than too much bitterness.  It has the rare clean phenolic; just a little bit of barny Englishness, but it's very tasteful, with no geranium or olive brine notes.  Highly drinkable.  complex, refreshing in small and large drinks. I remain struck by the cider's beautiful long velvety finish.  this is a cider to covet year round, but especially in the winter. 

The seasonality is something I get not only from the tannins but also the relatively gentle carbonation.  Somehow it is warm and crisp at the same time. I had this cider on its own, and it didn't need any accompanying food, but it would taste wonderful I'm sure with a jacketed potato with beans and cheese or other hearty warming foods. Hopefully we won't need to many more winter ciders, but try this one for sure!

CiderCon 2015: Sensory Analysis Training by Charles McGonegal and Gary Awdey

CiderCon 2015 was a huge and wonderful experience. Rather than attempting to give an overview, I'm going to present my experience chronologically through my impressions of various sessions. That way, I can present the information and the experience fully without trying to condense everthing into a post or two. But, since I am posting about how I interpreted the conference and material, this posts will be absolutely as subjective and opinionated as my cider reviews, but this time you'll get the presenters' wonderful interesting information primarily, but seasoned with commentary by yours truly.

February 3rd (Day 1) Sensory Analysis Training

 It would be easy to think that tasting cider is all fun and games. I can assure you that it is not. Some cider experiences are more like taking a chance with Bernie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans from the Harry Potter universe than like sitting down at your favorite taproom.

This presentation is one that I did in a very similar format for GLINTCAP last year, but it is also one that everyone can always stand to review. How it works is this; Charles McGonegal and Gary Awdey start with one base cider and add minute amounts of various substances to subtly (or not so subtly) alter the cider’s taste, mouthfeel, or aroma in ways that highlight different cider styles and commonly occurring cider flaws. They've put tons and tons of work into this presentation and it shows.

The first time I worked my way through this presentation, Gary donated a generous amount of one of his semi-dry ciders (I think). This time we started with this year’s Appeltreow Barnswallow a draft style New World Style Cider (to use the lingo of GLINTCAP, Charles, and Gary). It has a mild 5.5% ABV and comes from a blend of dessert fruit. To me, it smells sweet and the flavors give me impressions of briskness, freshness, and semi-sweetness. The apples involved include Cortland, Ida Red, and Red Delicious.

Our speakers opened with a discussion of the actual limits of taste, the old chesnut that we can only taste approximately six flavors with our tongues. They spoke of using both aroma and mouthfeel (often described as texture) to express more fully the complete experience of drinking a cider.

Caveat: I’m not going to post an equal verbose blow-by-blow of each sample, but I will highlight a few that were particularly enlightening to me because I encounter them in my cider experiences regularly, or because they stood out for some other quality. Like being horrible.

Part 1. Texture and Mouthfeel

Sample 1 was tremendously useful. The mysterious addition made the cider smell sharper and increased the stone and mineral elements of the aroma. For me particularly, it had that slightly bleachy note that I taste in ciders quite regularly. Not a good thing. The mouthfeel seemed thin to me. The addition, as it turns out, was malic acid. Malic acid cuts viscosity, so it makes sense to think of the mouthfeel as thinner. Now, I will associate that bleach note with malic acid and know to pay more attention to texture when it comes up.

Sample 2 didn’t strike me particularly. It tasted pricklier and had carbonic acid.

Sample 3 smells more dessert-like and richer. Folks around the room noticed that it offered a mild warmth, longer finish, as well as richness and astringence. This was a simple addition of one more percentage of ABV from an unflavored alcohol source. Notable to me because ciders vary so much in ABV, and I want to think intelligently about how alcohol level and drinking experience interact.

Sample 4 tasted great to me at first. It was the kind of sweetness that can be incredibly pleasing in cider. It tasted like warm ripe apples. But after two sips, it didn’t taste very different. My expectations adapted quickly. This addition turns out to be not very appley at all, but rather .75% sucrose from beet sugar. As McGonegal says, there are two easy ways to increase thickness or richness of mouthfeel, adding either alcohol or sugar, and now we’ve tasted both.

Sample 5 struck me as funny, because I remember tasting it at the GLINTCAP presentation and at this one, but it tasted very different. Perhaps this is a difference in how the additive played against the two different base ciders. Or perhaps my tastes were picking things up differently. At GLINTCAP, I loved it. I remember it was my favorite additive of the entire presentation. The increased bitterness was just bliss to me. This time it also tasted more sour as well as more bitter and the flavors didn’t meld right to me. The additive was 10 ml of quinine; its goal to add bitterness without adding astringence.

Sample 6: super bitter and mega astringence. The aroma appears reduced but the finish is stretched. It hits the tongue in a velvety way and somehow made many folks notice the sides of their tongues. The speakers developed a way to add apple-based polyphenols through apple vitamins. This is a way folks sometimes fake tannins, but the speakers had only harsh words for this phenomenon.

Part 2 Aromas

Sample 7 normal levels of Ethyl Acetate. It smelled like an unsubtle blast of fresh fresh fresh apples and a greenness that is hard to fully explain. This is a normal in some quantities but can become a real problem it too present.

Sample 8 tasted strongly and harshly of sour strawberry juiciness. It reminded me of acetone better known in my world as fingernail polish remover. This is a higher concentration of the same Ethyl Acetate as in sample 7 with the emphasis that many qualities can be acceptable or even positive at low levels but become problematic and unpleasant at higher levels.

Sample 9 reminded me of those super natural hippie marshmallows from fancy stores. Many other folks mentioned tasting banana. The additive was Acetaldehyde which can serve as a sign of cider sickness.

Sample 10 Yeasty, cheesy, butterscotch, milky, Caramel. Diacetyl. Either I've gotten more sensitive to buttery popcorn flaw over this past year, or the sample is different. Beer folks tend to be more sensitive to this flaw and reject it harshly, whereas in cider in small amounts it is considered neutral. Only in higher levels is it unambiguously a flaw.

Sample 11 Baby powder, fruit, blankness, sweet sweet weirdness. Fusel Esters. Rose banana geranium, yeast derived flavors.Some folks like it, others (like me) do not.

Sample 12 Super meaty, bacon, smoky, beef jerky, 3 phenolics. Different groups of phenolics smell like different things including mothballs, smoky ham, and horseblanket or barn. In many english ciders this is a feature of maturation. This is very difficult to control but a dangerous one because some variants are quite tasty and desirable but others are simply foul. Chlorogenic and lacto bacillus but again not easy to control.

Sample 13 Diaper, rotten pear. sweet wood, tastes super acidic. Somehow both greenly under-ripe and tropical. This is "red and green apple flavor" from commercial fruit oils. "natural" flavors are anything but savory, natural, or appealing when we research them.

Sample 14 (added by each taster with a tiny straw) Tannin tea astringent oak. flavor overlay. This is oak and apple brandy. Very pleasant.

No sample 15. Ha! We escaped this time. This slot is usually reserved for mouse flaw.  This one is legendarily weird because of how differently people taste it and because of how it really can appear and disappear. Perceiving this flaw is dependent on the Ph in one's mouth; it has no aroma. There is one thing that consistently works to make the flaw apparent to more people: swirling baking soda water in the mouth makes it more commonly perceivable. I am fairly sensitive to it, and I hate it. It really does bring up musty mousecage, dirty straw, wet fur, or even like weird musty bad flour.

Sample 16 sweet, extra astringent, kind of bleachy again, burnt matches, 80/ppm added 50 more sulfites. This is a really common one even in decent commercial ciders.

Sample 17 Forgive my french, but this one struck most everyone as cat piss. Sulfides: diethyl di sulfide. no H2S. Low nitrogen. It could also be described as burnt rubber, rotten onion, So unbelievably gross. Don't try this one at home, kids.

Very interesting, but a nearly overwhelming experience, even the second time around. I highly recommend taking this if you ever get the chance; it works wonders for a bit of calibration and ways to articulate what you're experiencing in aroma, mouthfeel, or flavor. Thanks again to Charles and Gary for this extremely valuable service to the cider community.

Cider Review: Uncle John's Cider Draught Apple Cider

 
I know that summer in the Northern Hemisphere doesn't technically begin until the summer solstice, but walking around in bright sunny 84 degree days sure feels like summer! So, for Along Came a Cider, summer is here. And I'm celebrating by reviewing one of my very first canned ciders.

I've been completely curious about these for a long time because glass isn't convenient for traveling or permitted everywhere that I'd like to to enjoy cider. When I got my wonderful box of ciders from Uncle John's, I started looking forward immediately to the perfect weather for hard cider in a can. That day has now come.

Before getting into my review, just in case some readers did not see my previous review of a cider from Uncle John's, here's a link to my review of the American 150: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/uncle-johns-cider-american-150.html

You can also find out tons more about this Michigan cidery, winery, and distillery at the website: https://www.ujcidermill.com/.

This is what Uncle John's Fruit House Winery says about their own Hard Apple Cider: "Full-flavored, crisp and refreshing with just the right amount of carbonation. Its award-winning flavor comes from apples grown just steps from our winery." I had my 6.5% ABV cider in a 16 ounce can, but the same cider is also available in bottles or on tap.

Appearance: Brilliant, light straw, plenty of visible bubbles.

Though I consumed most of my cider from the can, I did pour a bit in a glass so I could get a look at it. This draught cider pours with an airy mousse, but it vanishes without a trace. Mostly though, I just drank this out of the big green and silver and black can.

Aromas: dust, stones, minerality, fresh apple

Lots of dust and stone. Some fresh apple aroma. I could smell some light minerality. Uncle John's Draught Apple Cider does not offer up a ton of smell even when poured from the can into a more wide-mouthed container.

Dryness: Semi-sweet

Fruit and dried fruit flavors give character to the sweetness. It is definitely more on the tart and acidic end though, so I imagine many cider drinkers would perceive this as more dry than I do.

Flavors and Drinking experience: fresh apples, oranges, citrus

This cider tastes like beautiful blend of apple and sweet citrus. It has really big mouthfeel, with a lingering finish. I love how zingy and tangy and tart it is. All of this makes for some supremely easy drinking, which is absolutely required of a canned cider in my opinion.  One caveat, perhaps also related to my first canned cider experience. This cider is very burpy.  Its plentitude of carbonation was very pleasant with my tomato basil quinoa salad, but provided plenty of burps.

Mostly though what stands out to me is how much I enjoy the orange-tinged citrus flavors. I wanted a summer cider and this is a perfect summer cider. Enjoy it on picnics, hikes, or just hanging out on the porch.

Cider Review: Virtue Cider's The Mitten (and color for my cider apple tattoo)

Before I get too deep in any cider reviewing, here's the tattoo that I first shared here: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/03/driving-out-for-glintcap-judgingand.html but now it has color! I'll get one more coloring session in before I can call it complete, but I'm pretty thrilled with all of Phoebe's hard work. Anyhow, I'm here celebrating my anniversary with my charming husband. Of course when we drove to Albany (to see Eddie Izzard) we had to see if there was a way to try an interesting cider. The City Beer Hall had just what we were looking for, so we stopped there.
For those who want to check out this charming restaurant/bar http://www.thecitybeerhall.com/.

The Beer Hall had a whole page of ciders including a few on tap. We chose our meals and cider to complement one another. So, to go with a quinoa and lentil burger with wasabi dusted fries and a beet and blackberry salad, we chose to go with a Virtue Cider. I know their ciders really emphasize acidity and brightness, so I thought it would pair especially well with the house veggie burger. If you've not visited Virtue's website, you can find it here http://virtuecider.com Virtue makes adventurous ciders and features beautiful graphic design and the most attractive cider merchandise. They are a cider business truly pulling out all of the stops in order to support their ciders. I know it isn't easy to make everything look as polished and yet funky and original as Virtue does, so kudos to them.

The City Beer Hall had Virtue Cider's The Mitten on tap, so I chose to give that cider a try. Here's what Virtue says about this particular cider.

When the leaves fall, there’s a chill in the air and the evening greedily takes hours from daylight, we stand strong and embrace the wintertime. It’s a time of rich foods, roaring fires and our favorite sweaters. Drinks change from refreshing to intense and satisfying. The Mitten is a Winter cider, a blend of last season's best, aged in bourbon barrels, with the new season’s fresh pressed apple juice. Straight cider, aged for 3 seasons, finds notes of vanilla, caramel and charred American oak, balanced with the best of the orchard, over-ripe apples and their sweet, tart, earthy juice. Many barrels are filled, but only a small portion, the very smoothest, will find their way into The Mitten. We love wintertime, especially when we have The Mitten to keep us warm and happy through the long, cold night.

Appearance: brilliant, rich custard color, small numbers of visible bubbles

This cider pours with some mousse that dissipates almost immediately; all it leaves is a subtle ring around the glass. Totally brilliant in terms of clarity. The color is a rich yellow custard. Alternately, my husband calls it muted pale brass. I could see a consistent pattern of upward-drifting bubbles, but just a few dozen at a time. The picture shows the effect fairly well.

Smell: Overripe apples, richness, spice

The Mitten has such delightful overripe apple notes that I'd make a strong guess that some Northern Spy apples went into this cider. I love their aroma. It is a rich and intense smell, but I do get the barest hint of apple candy. This could indicate some acedification, but overall the smell is completely inviting.

Sweetness/Dryness: Semi-dry

Honestly there is so much flavor in Virtue's Mitten that I can barely tell if it is sweet or dry. If forced to choose, I'd say semi-dry but the excitement comes from other particulars.

Flavors and drinking experience: plenty of acidity, light bourbon flavors, warming

Immediately, I can taste bourbon barrel melded with high acid apples. This is exactly how Virtue would approach a bourbon barrel aged cider. It tastes warming on its way to the stomach in a way that seems like a higher ABV than its 6.8. The Mitten's acidity is slightly puckering on the salivary glands and yet still smooth. A larger gulp makes this cider taste really woody. I get so many flavors in multiple waves. Virtue's Mitten is much more balanced than most bourbon barrel ciders.

This tastes Really Good. Alex says that it feels like it centers on the tongue, swirls, and then sublimates upwards.  I'm not entirely sure about that, but he's usually on to something. There's some deeply buried sweet note in there like coconut or maple, but it's a ghost of a flavor. This cider is not bitter at all; low tannins. I can taste caramel and vanilla notes from bourbon plus woodiness and somehow this all equals maple, plus the cider's buttery mouthfeel equals waffles. Yay for cidery grown-up waffles.

Overall Impression: Wow!

I really enjoyed this cider. It goes well with veggie burgers and good conversation, but I'd also treat it as a salve to the winter cold as Virtue's promotional copy suggests. This is definitely one I'd like to try again.

Cider Review: Crispin Cider's The Saint

I am surprised at how long Along Came a Cider has been reviewing without including a review of any Crispin Ciders, though I've been drinking their ciders for a couple of years now. The brand has several artisanal reserve ciders that I find consistently interesting. The company has a wider range of cider than many with several distinct varieties that use adventurous choices for yeasts and natural sweeteners. Very neat stuff. Furthermore, they present themselves well. I recommend checking out their website which has loads of information: http://www.crispincider.com/ Here's what Crispin says about their ciders in general, "Crispin Hard Ciders naturally fermented in the USA use fresh pressed apple-juice, not from apple juice concentrate, from a premium blend of US West Coast apples, with no added malt, grape wine or spirit alcohol." The company was formerly based out of Minneapolis and has since moved its headquarters to Colfax, California. They were founded in 2004 by Joe and Lesley Herdon, but are now owned by a very large company, MillerCoors.

What I wish they talked about more are their apple choices. There's not much info about what varieties they use. What can I say? Apples are pretty key to ciders. I was able to find one article online that lists several American dessert varieties as key components in Crispin ciders: Granny Smith, Washington, and Golden.

Tonight I'm reviewing The Saint. Here's a link to Crispin's page on this particular offering. http://www.crispincider.com/cider/products/artisanal-reserves/the-saint/ Their descriptions claim some pretty lofty things about themselves, so I read them with a grain of salt. Here are the useful facts to be gleaned about The Saint. It has 6.9 percent ABV. Crispin uses organic maple syrup in this cider for sweetness and smoothness. Most interesting to me is that this cider uses Belgian Trappist beer yeasts for its fermentation. In terms of awards, this did pick up a Silver in its category in the 2013 GLINTCAP.

Color and appearance: slightly cloudy, green gold

I enjoy cloudy ciders. Surprisingly, the cloudiness was accompanied by lots of visible bubbles. 

Aroma: apple, straw, floral

The main scents that immediately jumped out at me were apple and a bit of hay. Secondarily I noted some floral notes and a hint of the maple syrup to come. Mostly appley though in a very fresh and juicy way.

Sweet-dry scale: sweet

The first impression is apple juice, but then a bit of straw and maple come in. The just-a-touch level of farminess and maple go really well together. I enjoy the type of sweetness in this cider very much. It is notably natural and juicy and has not a hint of stickiness or chemicals. Instead, it is fresh and wet. The acidity likely comes from the inclusion of Granny Smith apples; it is distinct from more tannic pucker from cider apples.

Drinking experience and flavors: caramel, apple juice, maple, pumpkin

The warmth of this cider is astounding. Honestly it might make The Saint more of a winter cider than a spring one, but I enjoyed it. The level of carbonation is neither too weak nor too strong, but instead keeps the cider light and lively.

Finish: toffee and more maple

Is it totally bizarre to say that this cider makes me feel like I have delicious maple breath? It isn't a super clean finish, but it is a pleasant one.

Drinking Notes: drink with goat cheese and other rich flavorful snacks

This is a great cider for a whole range of appetizer type foods. Nibble some nuts, crackers, cheeses, and dried fruits while you share a big bottle of The Saint. I'd not recommend it for out of doors fun this time of year, but it could be great for that in cooler weather. For now, I'd put on some mellow music in the house, set up a savoury and sweet snack tray, and enjoy The Saint with some friends who happen to share your sweet tooth.

 I know I had some interested parties in my little apartment. Sorry Pie May, cider isn't for you.

Cider Review: Julian Hard Cider Harvest Apple

This cider company certainly has an image in mind: a wild west hard cider that is very American and very masculine. Check out their snazzy website. While this is not exactly my scene, (it primarily reminds me of the old show Deadwood) having a strong identity is a good thing. Their design and copy establish them very successfully as the Gold Rush Cider Men, and it isn’t a bad look. The cider is made with American apples in Julian, California with no added sugars or any juice concentrate. Those particulars are some I can get behind. The brand makes a few ciders: Harvest Apple, Cherry Bomb, and Black and Blue. I’ve only seen the Harvest Apple in New York City, but I admit to a huge curiosity about the Black and Blue since it incorporates black berries and blue berries. Ooh! But, back to the review at hand…

The ABV for the Harvest Apple is listed as 6.99%. Their official description reads as follows, “Julian Harvest Apple Cider is lightly carbonated, slightly tart, perfectly blended cider with a clean, dry finish.” I will be on the lookout for all of these characteristics and see what I find.

Color and appearance: Bubbly, pale, good clarity

After I poured the Harvest Apple, the glass became lined with very tiny still bubbles. This cider is clear and very pale. The color is almost like white gold.

Aroma: beery, yeasty slightly minerally

Different. Not fruity. This is definitely not the cider for someone looking for a sweet beverage, but if one likes British style semi-dry ciders, I’m guessing that this will fit the bill. I love this style, so I’m excited.

Sweet-dry scale: semi-dry

If one reads reviews online outside of the hard cider community (do so at your own peril), no one can make up the internet’s collective mind on how sweet Julian’s Harvest Apple is or is not. Some folks find it unpleasantly dry in a white wine style and others call it sweet. I can see the white wine connection because it does have a tart mineral element, but it isn’t face puckering or bone dry. I’d call this a very friendly semi-dry.

Drinking experience and flavors: beer like, tart, zesty

Refreshing. This cider has a light mouthfeel. It is acidic with a tartness that borders on the pleasant side of sour. This is a convoluted way to say that It all really adds up to being very lively, refreshing, and crisp beverage. It is very summery in a wonderful way. Not very appley though. I might fault the promotional copy’s accuracy a bit on that score.

Finish:  sweetest part of the taste

Though the finish sweetened up the cider a bit, it remained very clean. Not a tremendously long finish.

Pairs with: spring soups, snacks, versatile

I had my Julian Harvest Apple with creamy red pepper and chickpea soup, and then again later with my version of trail mix (roasted almonds, cashews, craisins, then half servings or less chocolate chips and sometimes Reese’s Pieces). It went well with both, but I think it could be enjoyed with many foods. As for the ideal activity for this cider, I must recommend reading outside.

I’d heartily recommend this cider as one to bring to potlucks. Mind you, I’m also likely to buy a 22oz bottle and not share with anyone while I read all afternoon once the semester ends. This is why teachers love summer. The Julian Harvest Apple is a great cider for those who enjoy a crisp cider with some beery characteristics. I do, so I enjoy Julian Hard Cider’s Harvest Apple very much.

Cider Review: Arsenal Cider Cannoneers Bone Dry Sour Cherry and a Cider Event!

Today, I’m sharing my review for another cider from Pittsburgh’s Arsenal Cider and Wine Bar , The Cannoneers Bone Dry Sour Cherry. I previously reviewed their signature cider, the Fightin’ Elleck which has since gotten a silver medal at the 2013 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. If you want to find information about their current offerings, rather than using their website, I’d suggest going to their frequently updated Facebook page. This Pittsburgh cidery sells by the 1 litre refillable growler, and their local tap list grows by the week.  

At first I was skittish about even trying a free sample of the Cannoneers Bone Dry Sour Cherry  because I tend to dislike most cherry flavors. Even most varieties of cherries themselves. Once encouraged, I will try most ciders, and this one was full of surprises.
 
The ABV clocks in at a whopping 11.5% which means that our 1 litre growler is a pretty potent sell. I had some very interesting tasting help from my husband and our good friend Aaron (who is usually a scotch or beer drinker). Arsenal ciders are carbonated right at the bar, so I was curious how this one would do after waiting unopened for about five weeks.  On to the review!
 
Color and appearance: deep pink, a few visible bubbles, no cloudiness
I tend to love the ciders with deep naturally occurring color. This one is beautiful. It looks like a sparkling rose in the in the glass.
Aroma: Funky, farmy, fruity
 
The Sour Cherry doesn’t actually smell very much like cherry. Its dominant impression is resinous and funky. The fruit comes through more as apple core and red currants. Some of our tasters noticed some mineral elements that reminded them of shellac, but for me this has a very pleasant farmy barnyard smell. Many of my favorite English ciders have aromas in this family.
 
Sweet-dry scale: off dry
 
Though Arsenal calls it bone dry, I’d call it pleasantly off dry. It is too fruity to taste completely dry, but it could not be called sweet.
 
Drinking experience and flavors: Carbonized cherry crumble, Chestnut, pulp
 
Between all three tasters, we got associations and impressions in a few different directions. We each tasted the cherry more than we had smelled it, but between the carbonation (which remained good and strong in the unopened growler) and the dryness, the cider does not taste like fresh cherries. It has a pastry quality, more like a cherry crumble. We also agreed on a warm nuttiness that probably connects to the fairly full and oily mouthfeel. I love a robust mouthfeel in my ciders! I also tasted hints of wet paper pulp amidst the green pear and slight tannic puckering. The Sour Cherry is a cider that is better than the sum of its parts, some of which are a bit weird. The overall experience, however, is truly enjoyable.

Finish:  Salt, lime, well water
 
For Aaron, the finish reminded him of the saltiness of Islay Scotch, but for me it was all citrus and minerals. That’s how I understand tasting salt and lime.
 
Drinking Notes: The added carbonation remained strong in the unopened growler quite well for more than a month. I’ve been drinking the cider little by little and the carbonation has waned understandably after the growler has been opened.
 
The Cannoneers Bone Dry Sour Cherry pairs very well with potatoes. I'd be more specific, but I think this cider shows real flexibility in terms of food accompaniment. I'd love to drink the Sour Cherry with an au gratin or with garlic mashed potatoes or even with fries and a sandwich. I'd stick with savoury pairings, but within that category, you can go nuts.
 
The cider is available in house and at some local Pittsburgh bars and restaurants. I can heartily recommend Arsenal's Sour Cherry Cider to folks who enjoy the funkier side of the beverage. It singlehandedly changed my mind about cherry ciders.
 
Also, Arsenal is organizing a Pittsburgh Cider and Mead Festival for April 27th!

Check out the info on their handy dandy flier.

Cider Review: Anthem Cider

I think of Anthem Cider as the funkier more experimental sibling to the traditional and delicious Wandering Aengus since they are largely made by the same cidermakers in Salem, Oregon. Wandering Aengus uses cider apples, and Anthem uses dessert apples and sometimes additional flavorful ingredients like hops or cherries. You can read more about the company on their website. Anthem made their first ciders relatively recently, in 2010, but they’ve done very well for themselves so far, this cider taking a silver at the Great Lakes Cider & Perry Competition (GLINTCAP) in its category.*

This is how the company describes the Anthem Cider, “Anthem Cider – offers the tart acidity of the apple’s natural malic acid with a clean fruit forward finish. Anthem Cider is the foundation for all the Anthems. Semi-Dry. Medium Tart. 5.0% to 6.5% ABV. GLUTEN FREE.” It doesn’t give very much specific information, but we’ll taste to see if we agree about dryness level, flavors, acidity, and finish. One thing to note is that Anthem ciders are pressed year round with a varying cast of apples, so each batch is somewhat different. This review may show some variance from what may find when you buy your own Anthem Cider. I tried Batch 28, bottled 4/4/12.

ABV: 6.5%

Color and appearance: golden hay

This cider pours with a lovely color, not too pale. It shows small amounts of bubbles, no foam, no head.

Aroma:  Fresh apples, peaches, rock candy

This has an extremely juicy scent. Anthem Cider smells positively mouth-wateringly of apples. The scent offers the cleanness mentioned in the bottle’s description.

Sweet to dry: semi-sweet

The sweetness makes this cider approachable. It is aromatic, balanced, and fresh. My weirdo husband compared this cider to a slightly more warm and caramelly watermelon rind, but what he’s getting at is a simultaneous impression of warmth and freshness. Though I’ve never had this cider before, it drinks like an old friend.

Flavors and drinking experience: balanced, fresh, golden

Drinking this cider brings to mind a very fresh fruit salad and warm bread just out of the oven. This is an indirect way to saying that it is a very foody cider with a substantial mouthfeel. The drinking experience is not slowed by either any sort of imbalance to the flavor or overly aggressive carbonation. Very delightful, but it can slip away almost too quickly and easily. I expected to make my 22oz bottle two separate tasting occasions, but I failed. Oops.

Finish:  finishes with a glow

The finish on this cider isn’t unusually long or short. The flavor goes a bit less fruity and more yeasty but again, in a balanced way. A pleasant finish but not necessarily fruit forward.

Pairs with: I had it with cheese ravioli and faux-chicken with a light tomato sauce (Yes, I confess. I am a pescatarian. Sorry animal eaters, I cannot help you with your pairing suggestions.).

This would be delicious with most anything. It is a flexible, easy-going cider. I could imagine it with bread and cheese, on its own, or with a complete meal. Because I find this cider pleasantly relaxing, I’d feel very comfortable sharing it with new people I’m meeting for the first time, or while watching Game of Thrones. Since that is what we are all doing every Sunday night for the next couple of months, right?

*If you've not looked up GLINTCAP or any other cider competition, I'd suggest giving it a try, that is if you're ready to tempt yourself silly with the number of fabulous sounding ciders you may or may not have heard about before. Try it, but be forewarned.

Cider Review: West County Cider, Reine de Pomme

West County Ciders hail from Colrain, Massachusetts where they have been made by cidermaker Judith Maloney and her family since 1984. They mention hailing previously from California’s wine making traditions which they have blended with New England cider making and blending techniques. They only use pressed apples and no concentrate. Their website has much more information.

As a varietal intro I mostly want to share what West County says about their own cider. The story comes from their discovery of “a classic French bittersweet apple” described as having strong tannins, complexity, a note of iron. Their blurb says, “Reine de Pomme is an archaic French Apple. We found it in the Geneva Reference Orchard. In 1987, in France, the only reference to it we found was a listing in a nursery catalog from the 1920’s at an apple museum in Normandy.” And this is just the apple. When described the cider as they have created, cellared, and blended it, they say, “As a cider it has a deep, dark-fruit, honeyed taste. We blended it with our Dabinet to round out the tannins, and Redfield to add bright fruit and to balance the bitter-sweets. Though blended, Reine de Pomme leads the taste, and the Dabinet and Redfield fall in nicely as supports. It is the fullest-bodied cider we have made. And the closest in taste to a French Cider.”

ABV: 7.3%

Color and appearance: Deep glowing apricot

The appearance of this cider is truly unique. Its color is glorious. When we cannot stand a moment more of grey winter, pouring a glass of the Reine de Pomme can temporarily transport us to sunnier days. This cider also shows tremendous levels  of bubbles. So many active bubbles. A bright white head formed when I poured my first glass, and then vanished quickly.

Aroma:  candied citrus, nectarine, and dusty granite?

As crazy as this may sound, the end of the each sniff of this cider brought strong grey rock in the sun to my mind. As an inveterate basker and lounger who would always prefer to sit or lay on the ground, I’ve smelled rocks aplenty and the Reine de Pomme smells like a sun-warmed rock. It also smells like fruit and sugar with a citrus pinch.

Sweet to dry: Off dry

The bottle describes the cider as dry, and for many cider drinkers it would be quite dry. For those more attuned to independent, small-batch ciders though, the range is wider and dryer than that made up only of more widely available ciders, making the Reine de Pomme a very pleasant off dry. This an ideal level of sweetness and dryness in my mind.

Flavors and drinking experience: tannic, heavy, creamy mouthfeel,

The citrus from the scent develops fully when I taste this cider. I can taste the mineral element from the smell also, but it fuses with the fruit notes more, almost adding a shadow of depth behind the brighter notes.

Finish:  slow but still creamy with residual flavors of lemon

The finish is luscious, less dry than the initial taste. It dallies and gives a second impression of creaminess united with lemon or sweetish citrus.    

Pairs with: a full meal with strong flavors, maybe a risotto or shepherd’s pie.

The unusual mouthfeel would allow drinkers to pair this with something usually less available for cider pairings. Maybe even something with more than a hint of spiciness. Alternately, the cider drinkly beautifully on its own. I’d take this particular drink sunbathing, maybe because of the aroma. Still, I think the Reine de Pomme would be a lovely companion for unwinding in the out of doors. Quite a fascinating cider, especially for one so drinkable.

Cider Review: Bellwether's Liberty Spy (and blog news!)

-->

 

Tonight I’m happy to be reviewing a cider I’ve enjoyed the few chances I’ve had to taste it. The Liberty Spy is created by Bellwether Hard Cider. It is a cidery that has been in business since 1999: located in Trumansburg, a small hamlet outside of Ithaca, New York. The company produces ten distinct ciders. Bellwether is part of a larger cider scene in the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York. Since I will be moving to Ithaca in a few months, this is a cider scene I’m definitely planning on joining. If you're from there, please say hi!

Within the cadre of Bellwether ciders, the Liberty Spy is described as semi-dry/semi-sweet. Its apple components are listed as Liberty and Northern Spy, hence the name. They sell it as a cider to bring to people not yet familiar with ciders. That’s partly why I chose it to be my first Bellwether review, an introduction of sorts. It comes in a 750ml bottle, a good sharing size.

ABV: 6.8%

Color and appearance: Quite pale

If feeling romantic, I’d almost call this color moonglow. It hints at springtime with its paleness just on the verge of yellow and green.

Aroma: floral, honey, yet tart

The scent plays between a few different notes not uncommon in a semi-sweet cider, including a sort of floral honey mélange and a lightly sharper element reminiscent of green fruits.

Sweet to dry: semi-sweet

Though Bellwether calls this a semi-dry/semi-sweet, I think it falls a bit more into the semi-sweet category. It opens with sweetness that dissipates quickly. It is anything but cloying; the refreshing zest of this cider is wedded to its light amount of sweetness.

Flavors and drinking experience: green apples

I immediately understand why this is described as an introductory cider. It shows off the pleasant and lively side of cider with ease and power. Perhaps that sounds a bit odd, but the carbonation level is just right. It sets the drinking pace and showcases the cider’s flavors well. The mouthfeel is what gives the impression of power because it is not a thin cider, instead it feels rich on the palate.

Finish: Surprisingly quick

For such a mouthfeel, I was surprised by short the finish is on this cider.

Pairs with: asparagus, nuts, mushrooms

Because of this cider’s balance and effervescence, I’d choose foods with bitter elements and play up the contrast. It could easily be served with appetizers including nuts and cheeses or a meal including asparagus or mushrooms (especially if cooked with butter). The substance of this cider can stand up to buttery highly flavored dishes, but the range is far wider than these descriptions. Socially speaking, I’d choose this cider for a vintage-style listening party. Give everyone a plate of nibbles, a glass of the Liberty Spy, and get lost in whatever music calls to you. 

  

I’m very excited about trying this cider again once the weather is more genuinely spring-like. Even more exciting to me is the notion of expanding my knowledge of Bellwether’s offerings. The upcoming move to Ithaca should make that easy. In the meantime, I heartily recommend tasting the Liberty Spy and sharing your impressions with me in the comments. I’m all ears!