Cider Review: Cider Riot's Never Give an Inch Oregon Blackberry Cider and Cider Con 2016!

In just a little over a week, I'll be flying across the country to join my fellow cider freaks for CiderCon! To get ready, I want to share a review of a cider that I only got to taste because of last year's cider celebration. The kind folks of Cider Riot shared a bottle of their Never Give an Inch Oregon Blackberry Cider with me in cold and snowy Chicago, and I toted it back to cold and snowy upstate NY to drink and describe.

Abram Goldman-Armstrong grew up planting apple trees, studied abroad in a cider drinking region(me too!) and spent his early professional years in beer. Making cider was a very natural combination of his two passions. I found out about Cider Riot first through their successful Kickstarter campaign, and I've been following the business ever since.

Read more about Cider Riot on the website: http://ciderriot.com

And here's the official description of Never Give an Inch Oregon Blackberry Cider.

Never Give an Inch™ Now on tap & in bottles in Oregon, Washington, & British Columbia . . . Oregon Blackberry Cider 6.9% abv - A testament to determination, hard work, and downright cussedness, Never Give an Inch celebrates the spirit of Oregon. Invasive Himalaya blackberries run riot across the fencelines and fields all across western Oregon. Fire, chemical poisons, machetes, bulldozers, even goats can only beat back their inevitable advance, as they attempt to take over every square inch of cleared land. Luckily their fruits are delicious, juicy, and plentiful, spawning the phrase “as Cascadian as blackberry pie.”

In Never Give an Inch, Oregon blackberries and blackcurrants combine with Hood River and Yakima-grown apples create a tart dry cider with a fruity aroma.

Appearance: deep maroon, tons of visible bubbles, lovely

Seriously bubbly! I rarely see so many bubbles on the glass when I pour a cider. This blackberry cider also offers up rare and gorgeous color. Its more dark red and deep purple, but both are there enough to call it maroon. I can't really judge the clarity through all those bubbles. But they do make my mouth water.

Aromas: tart, fruity, phenolic

This cider smells so very bright and acidic! There's also berry fruits and a bit of funky. Mmm like raspberry and leather. We'll see how dry it is or is not based on these aromas. The black currant doesn't get talked up enough in the description, but its already present in the aroma.

Dryness/sweetness: Dry

Wow! I wasn't really expecting dry after all of those berry smells. It dry and tart, and I'm into it! So many fruit ciders tell me that they will be dry, when they aren't. This follows through on the promises of the promotional copy, and I'm grateful.

Flavors and drinking experience: funky, tannic, tart, with tons of fruit

This cider comes as a BIG surprise! Yes, I mentioned that in my surprise as its dryness, but I was expecting a pleasant semi-sweet, based on smell. That's also where a lot of fruit blended ciders end up, but this is very tart, dry, and a bit phenolic. The tannins are so prounounce that it gives me a bit of cottonmouth with acidic bite. This doesn't mean the cider doesn't have fruit, but the apple is crabapple or even apple core and green wood. The blackberries and black currents taste sour and tart but only very slightly citric. This is so very pleasantly autumnal though I'm drinking it with snow on the ground outside.

Cider Riot's Never Give an Inch Oregon Blackberry Cider is not particularly balanced, but intriguing and a fantastic complement to vegetable tempura. The battered and crispy red peppers and broccoli florets highlight and play well with this super tart, funky, wild cider.

When I'm in Portland, I'll definitely be seeking this one out again. Very fun.

But that's not all we have to talk about today! I know I'm not alone in feeling super excited for Cider Con 2016 in Portland, Oregon. This is where we'll get to talk fermentation, cider business, tasting room strategies, food pairings, cider mixology, and best of all, apples!

Find out all about it at: http://ciderconference.com/

But most especially check out the schedule what awesomeness is happening when:

http://ciderconference.com/schedule

Along with Eric West of Cider Guide (http://www.ciderguide.com) I will be talking about communicating with cider fans online Thursday, February 4th at 3:40pm. Our talk is titled Engaging Your Core Audience Through Writing. It should be a fun time, and I feel totally honored to share a stage with Eric. He's amazing.

Until next time, cider lovers.

Cider Review: Whetstone Ciderworks' Orchard King

Today feels like fall. Though the season doesn't officially start until the equinox on Sunday, the mornings are crisply cool, leaves are changing color, and apple harvest has started for the year.  I love these earlier cooler nights, for that that it means that winter and real cold cannot be too far behind. It is a season for visitors here in Ithaca, and today's review is for a cider I shared with dear visiting friends recently. They like dry challenging ciders, so I pulled out something I thought might be a bit special, Whetstone Ciderworks' Orchard King.

Here's a bit of background on Whetsone Ciderworks that I found on their website. The company has been around since 2010. Jason and Lauren MacArthur started Whetstone Ciderworks in Marlboro, Vermont. They appear to have a few really interesting identifying features as a cidery.

They do focus on local fruit. This what they have to say about that, "All of the apples we use are grown locally- this past year, most were from Scott Farm in Dummerston, some from Poverty Lane Orchards in Lebanon, NH, and even a few from our own small orchard."

This, plus the description of Jason MacArthur's winemaking influence make me really excited to try their ciders. I love it when cidermakers show a genuine focus on apples, climate, and the under-realized similarities of cider and wine making. Anyhow, that's my own bias talking.

You can find out plenty more on their actual site http://www.whetstoneciderworks.com/ or their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Whetstone-CiderWorks/209863572381300

In looking at a few Whetstone Ciders, I though I'd start by sharing and reviewing their Orchard King. It sounds complex and truly expressive of their cider-making goals.

Here's what Whetsone has to say about their Orchard King, "This extra-dry, bottle-conditioned cider is effervescent and refreshing. Yarlington Mill, Orleans Reinette, and Major are among the apples that impart tastes of citrus and apple, leading to a delicate, smoky finish. A fabulous 'cocktail hour' cider."

This cider is sold in 750ml bottles and has an ABV of 7.5%.

Appearance: cloudy, deep creamy color, very little visible bubbling

I can see a ring of very fine bubbles around the edge of the glass and a few tiny islands of bubbles, but not much more. This cider is hazy to cloudy and shows signs of being bottle conditioned. This matches the official description, so that's good. The cider is a creamy rich gold in color.

Aromas: Leather, Ripe Apples, Clay

The Orchard King smells fascinating, rather like leather and limestone and deliciously ripe apples. I also detect notes that remind me of wood and clay. One of my fellow tasters got hint of lily aromas, and I think she's spot on. I get some phenols but not to a distracting or negative degree. I really enjoy how rich and complex this cider smells.

Sweetness or dryness: Dry

Definitely at dry cider! This doesn't taste the least bit sweet until the finish, but then some hints of warm sweet oats and breadiness kick in. I love the dryness and the shift just at the last moment. Very interesting.

Flavors and drinking experience: high tannins, medium high acid, some degree of farminess

The Orchard King tastes monstrously tannic and fabulous. This cider comes across as lightly fizzy more than deeply bubbly. It shows a bit of farm funk with some hints of metallic flavors. The Orchard King balances that weight of tannins and funk with some intense acidity, making this a complex and bombastic cider. It tastes very rustic, even a bit medieval.

I enjoyed this with grapes, cheese, cookies, and wonderful friends. I think they were the most important accompaniment to this cider. It doesn't need lot in the way of foods. The Orchard King offers enough interest and flavor to stand on its own, but it could also easily pair with hearty foods. I would not enjoy this cider so much with anything super spicy or acidity, but balance it out with non-competing flavors like farmhouse bread, cheese, and fruits.