Cider Review: Nine Pin Ciderworks Apple Pie-secco

Boot life continues whenever I leave the house, but this weekend I was able to take some practice time in the house to get used to moving around without it. On flat surfaces, I felt pretty good! Stairs will take a bit more time. The thrill was so real that I had to try a new recipe for my sourdough starter discard. And of course a dessert necessitates a fun cidery pairing! Nerdy domesticity rules my weekends with great joy.

Here’s what I tried: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe

They turned out beautifully with just one notable adjustment; my dark chocolate was a dark chocolate with almonds. Yum! And with that delicious dessert, I was very happy to enjoy Nine Pin Ciderworks’ Apple Pie-secco. Wordplay on apple pie plus Prosecco (the sparkling wine) gives the cider an immediate association with warm cooked apples and baking spices plus the delight of a sparkling beverage. 

Nine Pin Ciderworks is based out of Albany, New York but now distributed and shipped to at least 35 states. Here’s a quick list of all of my previous reviews of Nine Pin Ciders! More background information can be found in these earlier reviews.

Pink Lemonade: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2023/08/cider-revew-nine-pin-ciderworks-pink.html

House of Dabinett: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/04/cider-review-portland-cider-companys.html

Cucumber Lime Light Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/08/cider-reviews-ninepin-light-cider.html

Gathering of the Farm Cideries (including the Cascara cider): https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/gathering-of-new-york-farm-cideries.html

Peach Tea: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-nine-pin-ciderworks.html

Blueberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-blueberry.html

Ginger: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

Signature cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

Nine Pin Ciderworks’ website is the best place to learn about all of this New York Cidery’s releases and taproom events: http://www.ninepincider.com

My faithful co-taster Woody picked this up locally. So many different cideries create their own version of fall-spiced ciders, so I’m always curious to see how everyone’s tastes!

Here’s the official description from the folks at Nine Pin: Crafted from apples from Samascott Orchards in Kinderhook, New York, Apple Pie-Secco symbolizes life’s simple joys, autumnal aromas filling our homes, explosions of taste; pure comfort. 6.5% ABV. 

Appearance: Brilliant, brassy blonde, few visible bubbles 

I love how brassy blonde this color looks in the glass. It's too pretty for a can, but I say that a lot. The cider poured brilliant with few visible bubbles.

Aromas: sweet and gentled cooked apple, cinnamon, ginger, 

The Apple Pie-secco offers up a medium intense aroma of ginger, apple and cinnamon. The apple smells mellow and cooked. This definitely gets the autumnal associations flowing. One note, in order to really access these great smells, you must use a glass.

Sweetness/Dryness: Semi-sweet

This cider is on the sweeter side, but it’s notably not fully sweet. This really gives an additional level of complexity to the cider’s other qualities like acids, body, bubble, and Nine Pin’s use of cinnamon.

Flavors and drinking experience: high acid, strong cinnamon, vanilla finish

Nine Pin’s Apple Pie-secco starts off with a beautiful burst of high acid that I associate with New York and eastern United States ciders more generally. Next, that acid coalesces into flavors I recognize as ripe peach and cooked apple.  This cider’s midpalate expands to include spices, mostly cinnamon; it tastes holiday-ish and feels a little rough and sandpapery, The cider’s finish is oodles of vanilla.

One of the most interesting characteristics of this cider was how the bubbles felt prickly and spiky and zesty. 

I appreciate that Nine Pin’s Apple Pie-secco doesn’t just go for the same profile as the classic seasonal sipper. The vanilla is a nice touch, as is backing off on the sweetness just a touch. It was a beautiful accompaniment to my chocolate chip cookies, but I imagine it would be even better with shortbread and caramel. 

Cider Revew: Nine Pin Ciderworks' Pink Lemonade

My life is happily rather upside down at the moment! There are four little black kittens just bouncing and stalking and napping around my office. We’re short-term fostering them, and it’s the first time I’ve ever helped foster little kittens. I’ve certainly visited litters to help socialize them and raised cats of my own, but this is an entirely new situation. They’ve been here less than a day, but my heart is wrapped up in them so completely. So it seems that my current cider companions will not raise a glass with me, as they are all underage!

That’s just as well, as I’m not sure I want to share my Nine Pin Ciderworks’ Pink Lemonade. Woody bought this a few weeks ago, but I’ve found myself reaching for it on warm Summer evenings. It’s been too long since any Nine Pin has been featured on the blog! Here are all of my earlier Nine Pin Ciderworks reviews. More background info on this Albany, New York based cider can be found in these. 

House of Dabinett: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/04/cider-review-portland-cider-companys.html

Cucumber Lime Light Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/08/cider-reviews-ninepin-light-cider.html

Gathering of the Farm Cideries (including the Cascara cider): https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/gathering-of-new-york-farm-cideries.html

Peach Tea: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-nine-pin-ciderworks.html

Blueberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-blueberry.html

Ginger: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

Signature cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

Here’s how to find Nine Pin Ciderworks online: http://www.ninepincider.com.

I’ll share how the folks at Nine Pin describe the Pink Lemonade. 

When life gives you New York apples, make Pink Lemonade! Nine Pin’s Pink Lemonade cider is made from 100% New York apples then infused with lemons and Citra hops. This refreshing cider is blended with juice from Samascott Orchard’s Red Ace beet crop to create that signature pink color. 6.2% ABV. 

Appearance: hazy, warm peach, some visible bubbles

Based on the name of the cider and the mention of using beets for color, I did expect bolder pink. Instead we have something lovely, soft, and natural. It looks more like peach nectar to me than pink lemonade with that warm hue and fuzzy haze. Even with the haze, I can see plenty of still bubbles that collected on the side of the glass. So inviting!

Aromas: lemons and lemonade, hops, 

The Pink Lemonade cider smells vividly of citric acid. Its a gorgeous bright neon sign blinking “Lemonade!” by way of lemon. Secondarily I get notes of hops, particularly the grapefruit face of hops. It smells zingy almost prickly. The aromas are appealing and balanced, but I would love to get more apple aroma.

Sweetness/Dryness: Semi-dry

The Pink Lemonade is neither austere nor notably sweet. It’s tart in a distinctly enjoyable way which leads me to believe there is some sweetness to balance that out. 

Flavors and drinking experience: lemony, hops, warming, clean ferment

Nine Pin has made a friendly and easy-drinking summer beverage with the Pink Lemonade. It’s tasty with a medium intensity of sparkle and a full body. It’s extremely lemony, and the hops persist but they meld with the lemon seamlessly.

It’s refreshing but warming all at once. I appreciate the clean fermentation to be expected of Nine Pin. My only hope if there are future iterations would be for more apple-forward aroma and flavor profile. Indeed this feels like a summer drink that’s simply a hopped lemonade rather than a cider made with hops and lemon. Nonetheless, it’s tremendously enjoyable! I’ll happy relish these on hot nights or thunderstorm afternoons, with kittens underfoot. 

Cider Review: Portland Cider Company's Peach Berry and Nine Pin Ciderworks House of Dabinett

Good morning, cider friends! I hope you are doing okay today. It’s been a rough week, but I’m very excited about an event coming up soon! Since none of us are going out on Thursday night, I invite you to join me with the fine folks at Cider Culture magazine for a little informal Cider School!

I’ll be taking people through a short program about tasting called, “Tasting Cider Seriously.”

Here’s a link to the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/674645873363402/

The only thing you need to bring is a cider to taste and a piece of white paper. Join us on Thursday evening at 6pm Eastern!

Now, I'm super excited to share my experience with Portland Cider Co.'s Peach Berry.

I enjoy lots of ciders from Portland Cider Co. They often send me samples for review, and that's how I was able to access the Peach Berry!

Kinda Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/05/cider-review-portland-cider-company.html

Pineapple: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/cider-review-portland-cider-company.html

Cranberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/03/cider-review-seed-stone-cidery-heritage.html

Pumpkin Spice: 
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/10/cider-review-portland-cider-co-pumpkin.html

Pineapple Rose: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/07/cider-reviews-portland-cider-cos.html

Today, I wanted something fruity and springy so I’m tasting Portland Cider Co.’s Peach Berry.

Here’s the cider’s official description, “Bold, juicy Oregon peaches play with a blend of tart Northwest grown berries: raspberry, blackberry & blueberry. A cider full of sunshine to drink on those grey Portland days. 5.2% ABV.”

Appearance: brilliant, carmine, few bubbles

This cider shocked me as soon as I saw it. This isn’t a rose, it’s a deep carmine red. It’s almost too dark to detect the Peach Berry’s clarity, but with good light, I can see that it’s brilliant. There aren’t a lot of visible bubbles. It looks almost like a light bodied red wine in the glass.

Aromas: peach, blackberry, apple, strawberry

The Peach Berry does smell like peaches and a bit like berries. Specifically, I get notes of blackberries and strawberries. The aromas are so fruity. I am definitely anticipating a sweet cider. I get some hints of apple, but it’s more integrated into the overall experience rather than standing out distinctively.

Sweetness/Dryness: Sweet

As I imagined, the Peach Berry is a sweet cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: low tannins, medium acid, very fruity

Indeed, this is a sweet and fruity cider! The notes that take center stage are raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, and peach. One of the interesting qualities for the Peach Berry is that some berry tannins do show through, though it’s a low tannin cider. I’d call it medium acidity with very peachy tartness, but my co-taster though it was high acidity. Your results may vary there.

The overall impression I get from the Peach Berry is that of clean fresh fruit.The cider has nicely strong bubbles.It’s a balanced drink from start to finish.

I enjoyed mine with pasta prima vera, and I’d totally recommend that pairing!

Next up, I'm excited to share notes on Nine Pin Ciderworks' House of Dabinett!

This was a purchase I made recently now that Nine Pin can ship cider! This is an Albany, New York cidery and a regional favorite of mine. I have several previous Nine Pin Reviews

Cucumber Lime Light Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/08/cider-reviews-ninepin-light-cider.html

Gathering of the Farm Cideries (including the Cascara cider): https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/gathering-of-new-york-farm-cideries.html

Peach Tea: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-nine-pin-ciderworks.html

Blueberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-blueberry.html

Ginger: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

Signature cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

I encourage you to visit Nine Pin Ciderworks online to learn more and order about the ciders, now shipping to most states: http://www.ninepincider.com

I asked Alejandro about this cider, and he gave me a little of it’s backstory. Here’s what he had to say. “The House of Dabinett was a by chance made cider that stemmed from a trip in a box truck to Wayne County this fall.  First stop was to see Jake Lagoner at Lagoner farms where we picked up the bins of Smokehouse apples.  The second was meeting Dave DeFischer from DeFischer fruit farms to get the bin of Dabinetts.  When we got back to Albany, we pressed the two varieties together, fermented it nice and slow and the result was the House of Dabinett.  We think these two apples make a great "double variety" cider.” 

Appearance: aged vellum, hazy, bubbly

This cider looked rustic and hazy once poured. The color reminds me of aged maps and antique vellum or parchment. It’s obviously going to be a sparkling cider based on the bubbles I can see. 

Aromas: melon, white flowers, overripe apples

The House of Dabinett smells simply mouthwatering! I am suddenly even more excited to taste it. The cider smells like melon, overripe apples and white flowers. It’s luscious!There are tropical notes and I don’t know whether I should expect sweetness in this cider based on how fruity it smells or if most of that expression will be aromatic.

Dryness/sweetness: Off-dry

This off-dry cider is a wonderful resting place between the austerity of a completely dry cider and the overflowing fruity lushness that a sweeter version would have created. This would be an absolutely crowd pleaser!

Flavors and drinking experience: tannic, funky, high acid, citrus

Everyone who reads this blog knows that I love an off-dry tannic cider, and I’m happy to say that the House of Dabinett is exactly that. It’s a lil’ bit funky with medium high acidity. It actually reminds me of some British ciders that I love. It’s well balanced and quite good.

I appreciate the tropical notes but the House of Dabinett also this cider brings forth flavors that remind me of oranges and leather. I enjoyed this cider so much! I had one of my four pack with spicy popcorn, another with an excellent veggie burger, and I can’t wait to create two more pairings with my last two. 

Be good to yourselves out there, cider friends. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you online Thursday evening!

Cider Reviews: Ninepin Light Cider Cucumber Lime and Stormalong Kingston Black

In thinking about cider in Summer, I feel like I’ve neglected a fairly obvious topic this year. I was reminded when I got to pick out cider for a company picnic. It was such a fun experiment to go to the local bottle (or in this case can) shop and look out for things I’ve not tried before. Cans were easy to portion out, easy to keep cold and I was able to bring more different ciders to the party than I would have been able to with 750ml bottles. I love treating cider like wine most of the time, but for a casual cookout in Summer can work amazingly well! I did get one of my sets of notes from this party, so thanks everybody! 

Ninepin Light Cider Cucumber Lime

Ninepin Ciderworks is based out of Albany, New York. This company has been making some really adventurous ciders, developing a great tasting room, growing the brand’s reach, and maintaining a super active calenar of events. I only wish I could make the trip up to Albany more regularly.  

Here are some of my previous reviews for Ninepin Ciderworks.

Gathering of the Farm Cideries (including the Cascara cider): https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/gathering-of-new-york-farm-cideries.html

Peach Tea: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-nine-pin-ciderworks.html

Blueberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-blueberry.html

Ginger: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

And the Signature cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

Visit Nine Pin Ciderworks online to learn more about the ciders, the tasting room and the events: http://www.ninepincider.com

Here’s the official description of the Light Cider Cucumber Lime. 

Light cider, historically referred to as ciderkin, was produced in great quantities in New York during the colonial period. Unlike cider, its boozy counter-part, light cider was made by taking the leftover pommace from the apple press and soaking it in water. Nine Pin’s Cucumber Lime Light Cider is a modern take on this historical New York beverage. Crafted with fresh pressed NY apples, this light cider is refreshing and flavorful, yet surprisingly low in calories. 4.3% ABV.

Appearance: deep saffron yellow, brilliant, few visible bubbles 

This cider started with a surprise! It's a much deeper color than I expected! When I hear light, I don’t think of that saffron hue. The cider is brilliant with few visible bubbles.

Aromas: Appley, aquatic, cucumber

This cider smells appley and aquatic. I am reminded of lazy lakeside evenings. There’s a vegetable that includes cucumber but also with hints of sugar snap pea. I don’t really smell much lime but there’s a clean freshness that could go with either lime or cucumber really.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-dry

This is a semi-dry cider that puts up a small but Immediate hit of sweetness, but then dries out over the course of each sip. What’s in the sweetness is clean and fruity.

Flavors and drinking experience: cucumber, apple, easy drinking, medium acidity

The Cucumber Lime has a nice medium level of bubble. The cider goes from tasting very much like apple to cucumber. The finish includes only the lightest hints of lime. Unlike so many ciders from New York this one has medium acidity. There’s no real tannins to speak of. The whole experience is totally pleasant with clean fermentation.  The cider is very easy drinking!

I had mine with a veggie dog, potato chips, and Peach Melba cake. It was pure summer enjoyment.

Stormalong Cider’s Kingston Black

I received this review sample of the Kingston Black cider from Stormalong Cider’s Rare Apples line. Stormalong Ciders is based in Sherburn, Massachusetts, and they now have a second production facility in Leominster. The company has been around since 2014. 

Here are my previous reviews of Stormalong’s ciders. 

Legendary Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/12/cider-review-stormalongs-legendary-dry.html

Light of the Sun: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/08/cider-review-descendant-cider-company.html

Mass Appeal: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/12/cider-review-prospect-ciderworks.html

Here’s the cider’s official description 

KINGSTON BLACKRARE APPLE SERIES 

THE KINGSTON BLACK apple has garnered much praise and admiration from cider makers on these shores and beyond.  Originating in the UK, and very sparsely grown here in the United States, these apples possess the 3 ingredients known to make a well balanced cider: tannins, acidity, & sugar.  The skin of these apples glow a deep red color, thus the “black” in their name.  Our experience with these apples have been happy ones.  The freshly pressed juice has a distinct ruby color tasting sharp with a dense fruitiness.  Musky tannins abound.  This balance leads to a remarkable fermented cider.  These apples are notoriously fussy to grow, but from our perspective the results are worth the effort. 7.9% ABV 

SILVER MEDAL – GLINTCAP 2016 – English Cider Category

Appearance: brilliant, harvest moon, no visible bubbles

This cider’s color reminds me of the harvest moon that’s coming. I didn’t see much in the way of bubbles from this ciders, but that doesn’t mean it’s still. It is perfectly brilliant.

Aromas: applesauce, caramel, hazelnuts, cinnamon

Oh golly! What a set of aromas. The Kingston Black cider smells so much like applesauce, caramel, hazelnuts. There are notes or  snickerdoodles and cinnamon. The aromas remind me of Fall.

Dryness/sweetness: off dry

This is an off dry cider. It maintains plenty of fruit notes, but it has almost no sweetness.

Flavors and drinking experience: Tannic, high acid, medium body, fruity

I love that the Kingston Black has tannins, but that isn’t the surprise of this cider. What surprises me is that this is a single-varietal that tastes well balanced. I usually prefer blends. This cider has medium high acidity and just a little bit of astringence. The fruit flavors are not green fresh fruit notes, but instead it tastes more mellow and fermented. 

The Kingston Black stays off dry from the first taste across the palate; and it ends with a lingering and gently aromatic finish. It combines overripe apple, sweet orange, and baking spice notes.  I find every note of it’s mature fruitiness tantalizing. The cider has good strong sparkle and medium body.

I had this cider with a simple popcorn snack and good company. This cider doesn’t need anything more. I love it. 

Gathering of the New York Farm Cideries: Nine Pin Ciderworks, Treasury Cider, Awestruck Cider, and Descendant Cider Co.

This past Saturday, I bundled some friends who happen to be fellow cider nerds into the car to make the trek up to Albany for the Fourth Annual Gathering of the Farm Cideries. For a little background, this is a New York even that Nine Pin hosts yearly to celebrate the birthday of their own business, but also to celebrate a whole generation of young NY cideries that operate under New York's Farm Cidery license. Nine Pin was the first to open as an official NY Farm Cidery, so it makes all the sense in the world that they gather everyone to Albany. I love that these cider companies are forming a community and sharing their huge range of beverages with the public together. This is crucial cider education!

Each year, more cideries work under this license and are thus eligible to take part. This year around 17 cider companies participated by setting up a table, sampling, introducing and selling their ciders under one warehouse roof. That's one of the things I love about the gathering. Some of these operations are either quite young or quite small, and many self distribute to a very limited local area. This may be the only chance many people have to buy anything from Roger's Cideryard(https://www.facebook.com/RogersCideryard/), and it was assuredly my first tasting with Ithaca's newest cider producer: New York Cider Co. (https://www.facebook.com/NewYorkCiderCompany/).

When we arrived, about 20 minutes after doors were due to open, there was already a line stretching around the corner from the cidery's entrance. One of the things to note about Ninepin is their extensive and agile menu of limited release ciders. Several of these are only ever available in their tap room and only around for a short time. These run the gamut from this year's Ashmead's Kernel single-varietal to the wildly inventive such as their Blueberry Peach Cobbler. And I think their adventurousness has rubbed off on Albany's cider scene more generally, hence the folks waiting for doors to open on Saturday.

Once inside I tasted and chatted and listened to what other folks were saying about the sold-out event.

I didn't get to try everything; I never manage to, but I did find several things to take home. But here are four highlights of what I did get to try.

Nine Pin Ciderworks,

http://www.ninepincider.com

Cascara Nectar

This is a soon to be officially released cider and it was astounding! Cascara is the berry of the coffee plant, but this cider struck me as tart and spicy more than anything else. This cider is the result of a collaboration between Nine Pin and Joe Bean Coffee Roasters. It uses Cascara Coffee Cherry Tea and the hulks of Bolivian Cascara fermented with New York State Apples. I bought a four pack of cans to take home because this spicy, fruity, high acid cider exhibits what I love about experimental ciders. The apple flavor remains present but does something new with these additional flavors.

Here's a link to Joe Bean and Nine Pin's Release party coming up soon on February 24th: https://www.facebook.com/events/147819415930296/

Treasury Cider

http://www.treasurycider.com/

Burr Knot

The official description reads:

A careful mix of apples from our family orchard, Fishkill Farms, was selected to make the hard cider in this bottle. Heirloom varieties, proper harvest timing, ecological farming, and traditional wine-making methods all come together in our cider. Our name is an homage to the farm's founder Henry Morenthau Jr., who served as Secretary of the Treasury under FDR. It also celebrates the revival of hard cider in America.

Other descriptors include, “Dry and unfiltered / orchard cider / traditional method” and a list of apples, “Hyslop crab / Granny Smith / Pink Lady / Old-Growth Golden Delicious / Jonamac”

Wow! Just wow! I've had other ciders by this maker, but nothing in the past year. They've really matured and this cider shows their best qualities. Yes, I'm fond of a cider with crab apples, but the maker has to do know what to do with them. Treasury Cider certainly does!

Awestruck Cider

http://www.awestruckciders.com/

Lavender Hopped

I love their introduction to this cider.

Think of lavender and you imagine rows of sun-kissed purple, with a gentle scent of Mediterranean summer evenings. Our Lavender Hops is created to capture the same sensation of warm, fragrant summertime. We infuse our traditional hard cider with a secret blend of hops and sweet lavender. This adds a mildly bitter complexity which, together with the citrus and floral undertones, combines to produce a unique flavour. Like a summer evening, Lavender Hops is mellow - perfect for cider and beer drinkers alike

This one sold out entirely at the event! I loved it and one of my cider compatriots did too. The lavender tastes herbal without being soapy. The cider has zesty high acid that always goes well with hops. Its a balanced and full bodied cider. Other fruit notes were tropical fruit and berries.

Descendant Cider Co.

http://www.descendantcider.com/

Dry

The limited release Descendant Dry is introduced like this by the cidery,

DESCENDANT DRY (6.9%) - 2016 Harvest availableDry" has strong ripe apple aromas and bright acidity balanced with bittersweet tannin. It is medium body and bone dry. It also has bright appearance as a result of the aging process.

What I like about this cider is both its body and its balance. It has some zesty acidity, mild astringence, and soft tannins. It also had some floral and spicy characteristics that really add to its complexity. Yum! I also picked up a few of their other ciders for future tasting.

Overall, it was a wonderful day. Yes, there were cider donuts! Nine Pin Ciderworks really knows how to host this event well. They managed a big crowd and avoided many of the common pitfalls to such events. I had a fantastic time and only wish I could visit these cider folks more often.

#PickCider Review: Nine Pin Ciderworks Peach Tea

Last post before the 4th of July! I hope you have you plans made for how to celebrate the most picnic, cookout, fun, food, and firework's holiday in America's calendar year. I hope you've thought about how you'll #pickcider as part of this awesome occasion. Here's one last review of a new release seasonal cider that's just tailor made for summer parties. 

One of the coolest things about Nine Pin is their amazing range of specialty and seasonal ciders. Looking at the website just now, I counted 17 available ciders. That's impressive, and even more so once I tasted several of these and found out how good they are. 

You can read the whole list and find out much more here at their site:

http://www.ninepincider.com

I couldn't finish up my series of #PickCider reviews without Nine Pin Ciderworks' summer seaonsal release: Peach Tea. They were kind enough to share some samples with me just in time!

Here are my previous reviews of Nine Pin Ciders:

I first reviewed their Signature Blend: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

Ginger: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

Blueberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/08/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-blueberry.html

Though not a review, Nine Pine Ciderworks is part of my cider event calendar every winter, and this is the writeup when they launched the annual Gathering of the Farm Cideries, which is an amazing event every year in Albany: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/02/my-cider-event-calendar-cider-and-beer.html

Official description: 

Peach Tea is Nine Pin’s take on a classic summer drink. This cider, crafted from a farmhouse blend of New York apples from Kinderhook, N.Y.-based Samascott Orchards, is cold-infused with a custom peach tea blend from Short and Stout. The infusion of these ingredients creates a bright, refreshingly tart, and delicious peach cider. Peach Tea pairs well with sunsets and warm summer nights.

I got some amazing pairing recommendations from Alejandro for this cider including tire swings and puppies. It was charming, and I'm curious to see if I'll agree. The ABV is a middle of the road 6.2%.

Appearance: transparent, very few visible bubbles, warm apricot color

One of my co-tasters said that the cider's appearance reminded her of the warm orange tones of peaches, and I think that's completely fair. I found it reminiscent of dried apricots.

Aromas: Peach! More peach!

This smells completely like peaches and unfermented peach juice. I can envision the drips of peach juice running down my chin when I smell this. Its almost mind boggling.

Sweetness/dryness: Sweet

This is a sweet and juicy cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: peach, hints of tea, bit of creaminess

Rather like the aromas, I was surprised by how very juicy the Peach Tea is! The cider tastes a tiny bit creamy as well. To be more specific, its a sweet sort of juicy- not very tea like, to me One out of three tasters, one could pick it up clearly, and guided the rest of us to noticing a bit of tea. Maybe the tannins mid palate were from the tea, but I found my impresions of tea growing as the taste matured. It comes out mostly on the finish - as a sustained note.

Something else, we all noticed about the Peach Tea cider is that the drinking exeperience is light and not very boozy to the tastebuds. Somehow the balance sweet and fruity with high acid stayed very friendly. The cider is easy drinking and not punishing or sharp at any moment of the taste journey. Maybe it is as cider for warm nights and cuddling puppies.

For us it was an evening on the porch with chevre and strawberry short cake and good conversation. There are endless ways to #pickcider but it is always best with good company.

Cider Review: Nine Pin Cider Blueberry

I know that summer is on its way out: grass has gone to seed, spiders are going web-crazy, and insects will my mellow evening with songs. Or, more realistically, because all of the college students have come back. This is nature's reminder for me to drink fruity summery ciders while I can. These go so well with hanging out on my screen porch and eating all of the summer vegetables.

Hence, Nine Pin Ciderworks Blueberry. Which I feel super excited about right now while blueberries are actually in season in upstate New York.

You can read all about Nine Pin Ciderworks in Albany, New York on their Facebook page. If you live in the area, I'd especially recommend checking it out because Ninepin keeps a busy social calendar and their events are super fun.
https://www.facebook.com/ninepincider

I've reviewed a few Nine Pin Ciderworks Ciders before.

My first taste of Nine Pin Cider, the Signature Blend:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/04/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-nine.html

Here's my review of their very tasty Ginger: 
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/10/cider-review-nine-pin-cider-works-ginger.html

But today is all about Nine Pin Ciderworks Blueberry!
Here's how Ninepin introduces it, "This is a blend of apples co-fermented with blueberries from Indian Ladder Farms. It has a dry, complex, and integrated flavor and is rose in color" This cider comes in with a nice round 6.0% ABV.

Appearance: brilliant, bubbly, blush

What a fun color! This cider looks a blushing pink or even delicately  lilac. It's brilliant such that we have no trouble seeing hundreds of very active bubbles in the glass.

Aromas: Very little aroma, dust and mineral, no apple

Even when poured into one of my mini-widemouth jars, I don't get a lot of scent from this cider. What I do smell reminds me of earth and dust and wet limestone more than fruit. Hrm. Interesting. Perhaps this will fall more to the tart and dry side of the spectrum.

Sweetness to Dryness: Semi-Sweet

Nope, I wasn't getting all in the smell that comes across in the drink.  This is a very melded fruity sweetness and decidedly a semi-sweet.

Flavors and drinking experience: tart, green apples, blueberry, clean

I can taste just the tiniest bitterness but tons of tart malic and citric acid. It creates a very pleasant salivary reaction. Rather like very tart and nearly sour green grapes. I'm loving the strong carbonation, which is predictable for me. Love those bubbles. In this semi-sweet cider, the blueberry fully melds with apple. I can totally see the co-fermentation described in Ninepin's description. Even if I hadn't read it, I would have guessed that the blueberries were added early in fermentation. Not a long or complex finish but brilliantly clean from start through finish.

I had this cider with homemade fisherman's pie and the pairing was incredible! Of course this acidity of this cider goes with a rich pie crust, creamy liquid, tender fish, and piles of vegetables.  I'll also recommend this as cider in sips. Big gulps don't show off its best characteristics. 

Ninepin Cider makes a number of limited runs with different styles and additions, and I consistently enjoy them. So, if you like cider adventures, check out these seasonals!

My Cider Event Calendar: Cider and Beer Together At Last, Gathering of Farm Cideries, & GLINTCAP

Just a quick post while I'm still going through my notes and photos from CiderCon. (Don't worry, those posts are coming.)

These are some of the awesome cider events coming up on my calendar!
 
Cider and Beer Together At Last in Ithaca, NY
February 26th 5-9pm Free Entrace (but cider and food cost $)
Hosted by Ithaca Beer Company (http://ithacabeer.com)

Cideries Attending
South Hill Cider
Bellwether Cidery
1911 Cider


Nine Pin Anniversary Party and Gathering of Farm Cideries in Albany, NY
February 28th 11am-4pm Tickets are $10 ahead of time and $15 at the door

Hosted by Nine Pin Cider Works (http://www.ninepincider.com)

Cideries Attending
Sundog Cider, Chatham
Blackduck Cidery, Ovid
Cider Creek Hard Cider, Canisteo
Fishkill Farms, Hopewell Junction
Bad Seed Cider Company, Highland
Kaneb Orchards, Massena
Descendant Cider Co., New York City 
Maplestone’s Cider, Maspeth
(and possibly more!)

In addition to cider, there will be music, speakers, and food available from a beloved local food truck.


And a little bit later, but perhaps the most exciting of all, is the 10th Annual Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition. This is one of the two largest cider competitions in the world. And I'll be attending as a judge for my second year in a row!

The event takes place April 10-12, 2015 in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Interested folks should read more about the organization and the upcoming competition here. It is not too late to volunteer as a judge, steward, or to find out about submitting your own ciders to the competition.

Here's the site with the info: http://greatlakescider.com/index.html

As I find out more, I'll be sure to post it here.

Basically though, I'd love to see friendly faces at all of these events. Come on out if you can and if you do, say hi!