Cider Review: Symond's Scrumpy Jack Premium English Cider

I still have a few ciders to break out when I'm missing England. When I was reading about The Royal Bath and West Show last week, missing England became the foremost thought in my mind. Please join me in being fascinated by learning more about it: http://www.bathandwest.com/royal-bath-and-west-show. This year a few of my American cider friends including Eric West of Cider Guide (http://ciderguide.com) were there, and I look forward to reading about their experiences. But, enough of my jealous and longings, that's just how I choose Scrumpy Jack for this week.

Symonds Scrumpy Jack is a brand that was acquired by Bulmers, but dates back to 1727. Now, since Bulmers is owned by Heineken, that makes Scrumpy Jack a brand owned by them, but the cider is still made in Hereford, England.

My own experience with the cider was finding it on a late night snack run to a corner store when I was in London last May. I hadn't seen many canned ciders in the UK, so I picked it up. It doesn't hurt that a B&B owner tried to nickname me Scrumpy on a previous trip to Norwich.

I cannot find a complete webpage about Symonds as a brand or Scrumpy Jack. Unfortunately, all of the URLs I can find simply time out. I did find subpage on Heineken UK's website.

https://www.heineken.co.uk/scrumpy-jack

Here's what that page has to say about Scrumpy Jack, "Scrumpy Jack was first produced in 1727 by Symonds Cider and appeals to the discerning drinker who enjoys a refreshing drink with flavour and strength. It is made entirely from locally grown bitter-sweet cider apples, including Dabinett and Chisel Jersey and is a premium cider with a natural fruity aroma and superior crisp taste." 6% ABV.

Perhaps, I can offer a beautiful advertisement for Symonds Founder's Reserve from 2015 instead. Its lovely.

I've reviewed one Symonds cider before. I tried the Founder's Reserve at a pub in Cornwall. You can read my tasting notes here in the second part of my writeup of that trip.

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/06/along-came-cider-goes-to-england-pt-2.html

Appearance: brilliant, dark burnished gold, dissipating head

This cider stands out so much after having had mostly American ciders for a few weeks. This color is deep and rich and warm. I'm also a bit surprised by the head. This cider looks different, no question. Its easy to see that's brilliant, but those other characteristics stand out more.

Aromas: dusty, woody, sweet, sawdust, apples

Scrumpy Jack smells really dusty, a little woody and a little sweet. The smell appealingly reminds me of sawdust and apples.

Sweetness/dryness: semi-sweet

Whether arrested fermentation or backsweetened, this cider is not dry. The sweetness is married well to the rich mouthfeel.

Flavors and drinking experience: high tannin, medium acid, clean, great mouthfeel

Let me start by saying that this doesn't taste scrumpy like. I associate that term with farmy still ciders. The Scrumpy Jack instead is pleasant, easy drinking mainstream english cider from a very large company.

Scrumpy Jack offers up medium bubbles, a bit surprising because it pours with a head. More typically for an english cider the mouth feel is dominated by high tannins. I can taste low to medium acid and the cider is semi-sweet. This tastes likes a clean fermentation, maybe backsweetened. 

In terms of the more subjective perceptions, I get a gentle balsa or pine not. The finish is clean, but there's a neat note of high-fat cream (with only pleasant mouthfeel. The Scrumpy Jack recalls Thatcher's Green Goblin (http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/11/cider-review-thatchers-green-goblin.html) Woodchuck's Local Nectar, just a bit. What I'm noticing is that its edges have been smoothed, but it's by no means unpleasant, or even boring. just cool, solid and balanced.

Nice big drinks are refreshing. I love its sweet citrus, grape skin and Bosc pear. 

This is a pleasant sweet English cider, and I'd definitely recommend having it on its own or with cheddar. Keep it simple and full of flavor.

Cider Review: Strongbow Honey Hard Apple Cider and my 33 Book Co. Cider Tasting Mug

About 14 years ago, I tried my first cider. It was a Strongbow, consumed at the Uni Pub at the University of East Anglia. I had a taste of someone else's cider and then chose to have mine adulterated...ahem with black currant squash and cheap lager. Not my proudest moment, but I'm glad to say that my tastes and cider experiences have expanded greatly since 2002. Yet I owe so much to that first taste and therefore to Strongbow. Yet this is my first Strongbow review.

Bulmer's has been sellling Strongbow cider since 1962, but the product I first tasted, the dry can no longer be bought in the United States. They replaced it with a number of sweeter alternatives. Some fans are concerned.

You can visit the Strongbow website at: http://www.strongbow.com/en-us

When visiting the website, I watched and abrupt and strange advertisement that shows an exageratedly American announcer firing Patrick-Freaking-Stewart (<3) because the only thing Strongbow needs is ice. This preceded the slogan "Bestest over ice." My reading between the lines (rudimentary though it is) reveals a connection to the bottled cider poured over ice boom in the UK in the early 2000s and targeting of internet-familiar millennials. 

But let's zoom in to tonight's review; I'm reviewing Strongbow Honey Apple Cider. This is one of the sweeter ciders that first replaced the dry for the United States market.

Here's how Strongbow describes it, "Honey on the nose and sweet on the tongue with a refreshing, fruity finish. 5% ABV. Gluten Free. 100% Kosher. 195 calories per 11.2 fl. oz.

Available in 6-packs and our 12-pack Variety Pack."

But going beyond those basics were a few more interesting descriptors

Underneath a nose icon in the experience heading: "An aromatic array of crisp-tasting apples, which mingle with the scent of other fruits before returning to hints of apple, honey and flowers."

White the text under the mouth icon: "A smooth body and a length on the palate that develop around a wealth of aromas and flavors to reach its peak before gently fading after each taste."

Now the time has come for me to find out for myself.

I poured my Strongbow Honey Apple Hard Cider in a tasting mug by 33 Books Co.  

If you want to check out the mug, please look here: http://www.33books.com/collections/tasting-tools/products/the-original-cider-tasting-mug

Appearance: tea, brilliant, plenty of bubbles creating a ring

Poured into the cider mug, it appears much darker and richer than it looks in the clear glass bottle. Instead of looking a dark straw color it becomes the color of a well steeped black tea. Both was the clarity is brilliant. I can see a pronounced ring of bubbles at the top of my mug.

Aromas: pureed apricot, black cherry, pineapple

Whoa. This cider smells so much like puréed apricots that I can scarcely believe it. Secondarily I smell ripe black cherries and pineapple. All of these juicier showier fruits hide any hint of apple.

Sweetness/dryness: Sweet

The sweetness would be pointless to deny in this cider. It simply is sweet. Its a very fruity kind of sweet rather than caramelly, boozy, or chemical.

Flavors and drinking experience: tropical fruit, peach, medium sparkle, good mouthfeel

The Strongbow cider tastes very much like it smells. My overwhelming impression is one of tropical fruits.  The cider is sweet with a pleasant kick of fruity acid. In a way I'm reminded of fancy peach sodas. It offers a nice level of bubble. The cider rumbles over the palate with a full body because of the sweetness. I paired my glass with a flavor bomb: I chose a Mexican jacketed potato because of the powerful flavors and spicy food, turn the sweetness into pleasant relief.

This doesn't taste like a typical English cider, but also its not quite like a mainstream commercially produced American cider in style either. The Strongbow Honey offers something different and in some ways in between. The mouthfeel is fully and the acidity less biting than american, but the base of tannins usually so key to English ciders is overshadowed by the tropical fruitiness.

The website offers some pairing with snacks including goat or blue cheese, meals including meatballs, or salmon, or a dessert including either honey or pair. I ignored these suggestions going with my own rule of thumb for sweet ciders, pair with highly flavored spicy foods. So I had a big bowl of mexican veggies with queso over a baked potatoe  (so many veggies and so much queso that you cannot see the potato). That works. I'll stick by my rule rather than pairing like with like or even some of the nice suggestions by the Strongbow folks. 

Cider Review: Woodpecker Premium Cider

When I saw a very English looking woodpecker on a cider bottle at my corner grocery store, I wasn't quite sure what to think. The name Woodpecker only vaguely rings any bells in terms of cider, but I feel like I occasionally saw this cider years ago. The bottle said "Made to the recipe of H. P. Bulmer Ltd. Hereford, England." I've heard of Bulmer's; they belong to C&C Group which owns Magner's and a number of other English and American cider companies. This is a big big operation, not a mom and pop cider farm. Here's the fairly minimal website specifically for Woodpecker: http://www.woodpeckercider.us.

Unfortunately, it doesn't tell me what I really want to know.That quote saying that Woodpecker is made to an English recipe doesn't actually tell me if Woodpecker available in the U. S. is made here for a British company or made abroad. It took a little digging, and I could be wrong, but it appears that the Woodpecker available in the states is in fact made in Middlebury, Vermont. I'm afraid learning all this has dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. Hopefully the cider will still be good, but the big companies owned by even bigger conglomerates are not usually the most interesting part of the cider world.

This appears to be the brand's only variety. The cider has a lower than average 4.2% ABV, along with a slightly lower calorie count as well.Here's what Bulmer's says about their Woodpecker cider, "The use of the English bittersweet apple provided Woodpecker with a distinctive taste and refreshing drinkability. A crisp semi-dry finish, amber hue with a lightly sparking appearance, sweet fruity aroma and a slight toffee-apple note." To look on the bright side, this will be an English style cider made in the United States. Tasting will hopefully tell me more than my online research.

Color and Appearance: Intense yellow gold, brilliant

Woodpecker Cider showed no visible bubbles on first pour. Brilliant in terms of clarity. The coloar is intense yellow gold. A small foam appeared and quickly disappeared during my second pour.

Aromas: no discernable apple smell, yeast

This smells like tasty sweet bready yeast. I could not smell much in the way of apples or fruit from Woodpecker Premium Cider.

Sweetness: semi-sweet

The Woodpecker's sweetness is a bit honey like, but it's cleaner and the minerality keeps it that way. It really is very balanced.

Flavors: minerally, beer-like, balanced

I hate to keep returning to the same word, balanced, but that is what I'm noticing the most. This is a mild and relatively beery cider. It does give some pleasant minerality, but I'm missing the appliness or tannins that often make my favorite English style ciders remarkable.

Drinking Experience: not super fruity, good level of carbonation

As I keep drinking, I'm noticing the thin mouthfeel on this cider. It is very pleasant and extremely drinkable, but its wateryness becomes apparent by the end of the bottle. While in some ways this is a low-impact cider, it becomes most appreciable as a session cider.

My husband called it a picnic cider, in that it is refreshingly beer-like and not boozy. I'll agree and recommend it for long afternoons spent outside with sandwiches, pasta salad, baked beans, and watermelon.