Cider review: Rootstock Ciderworks' 2020 Heritage Hard Cider

I can’t believe that the Summer Solstice has come and gone! I want to celebrate the day, because it's the official start to summer. The longest span of sunlight in the year feels like something to celebrate! To be honest, I find it an anxious day. I never feel ready by the solstice for the days to start getting shorter. Ask me again around August first, then I’ll feel ready for Solstice. But it just arrives too soon! That said, I was happy to celebrate with cider and a chat with Dan Pucci, Craig Cavallo, and Steve Selin (among others) about orcharding and cider. Nothing could have been more appropriate!

For today, I’m sharing a review of Rootstock Ciderworks' 2020 Heritage Hard Cider. 

Rootstock Ciderworks comes out of a fifth generation family farm just outside of Rochester, New York in Williamson. The DeFishers know apples well and only use them and yeast to make a wide range of ciders. Today, I’m reviewing the 2020 incarnation of Heritage, but if you want to learn more about Rootstock I recommend going back to some cidery info in prior reviews.

My Rootstock Ciderwork’s reviews are all listed below.

Ruby Mac: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2021/05/cider-review-rootstock-ciderworks-ruby.html

Legend Barrel Aged: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/01/cider-review-eden-specialty-ciders.html

Rose: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/07/cider-review-shacksbury-dorset-and.html

Belgium: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/06/cider-cans-crush-it-rootstock.html

Hopped: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/10/cider-review-rootstock-ciderworks.html

You can check out all of Rootstock’s offerings at the website: https://www.rootstockciderworks.com/

Here’s how Rootstock describes the 2020 Heritage Hard Cider.

Made from heritage apples harvested in the 2020 growing season, this cider is a dual varietal cider consisting of Rhode Island Greening and Cortland Apples. This cider has notes of fresh peach, apricot, and rose petals with flavors of ripe pear and citrus fruit.

Alcohol 6.00%

I received this bottle of Heritage as a review sample from Luke at Rootstock! Thanks so much! I’m grateful for review bottles, but the gift does not sway my opinion about a cider nor guarantee coverage on the blog.  

Appearance: intense butter yellow, brilliant, bubbly

This cider looks like the essence of summertime to me! It's perfectly brilliant, dotted with shining small bubbles. The color looks like the most intense version of yellow butter. It's cheerful, sunny, and welcoming!

Aromas: Green apple, peach, nectarine, apple peelings, and pineapple 

What a basket of fruit I find in these aromas! I can smell green apples, which I associate with anticipating high levels of Malic acid. There’s also a strong presence of peach, nectarine, and pineapple. This will be a tart cider; I have no doubt. Thinking more about the green apple scent, it reminds me of peeling green apples for baking.

Dryness/sweetness: Semi-dry

This is straightforwardly a semi-dry cider! There’s tons of flavor and just a little burst of sweetness.

Flavors and Drinking experience: Green apple, cherry, nuttiness, high acidity

As I hoped and expected, Heritage brings lots of acid to the drinking experience. It’s not austere or punishingly sharp; the acidity is fruit and crisp! I love how lively the Heritage tastes.

This cider is nutty and fruity with pineapple and cherry notes. The Heritage lifts up the layers of flavor with strong bubbles. I’d describe the mouthfeel as medium light but very zesty. Each sip wraps up with a long perfumed finish.

I enjoyed this cider with friends and homemade pretzels on a long summer evening, and I’d heartily recommend exactly this pairing!

Cider Review: Rootstock Ciderworks Hopped Hard Cider

Things are pretty rough at Along Came A Cider HQ because we have a very sick kitty. I can blog with a cat on my lap; she's sure not getting up, so I can share a review that has me pretty excited.

 I was at Cornell Orchards for a recent FLX Ciderweek event, and I was offered a taste of a hopped cider that won gold in its GLINTCAP category. The fine folks at Rootstock offered me a taste and later a can of their Hopped Hard Cider. Here are my thoughts, but first a little background on Rootstock.

Like my last review, this cidery was born after a family had been working a fruit orchard for multiple generations. Rootstock Ciderworks is the project of fourth generation DeFisher Fruit Farms in Williamson, NY near Lake Ontario. The cidery was founded in 2012 by David DeFisher and the cidermaker is Alex Robb. From reading the website I can glean a few priorities that seem to stand out for Rootstock. They care about using their own New York apples, but their commitment to local production extends beyond their fruit to equipment and as much local economic integeration as possible and running an extremely low waste cidery. There are a lot of different ways to commit to sustainability and environmental support, and this is a crucial one.

Read more at the site, http://rootstockciderworks.com/.

I'll lead with the official description: 

Hopped Hard Cider is a semi-dry cider made from estate grown Crispin apples and locally grown Cascade hops. This heavily aromatic cider exhibits a bouquet of fresh lemon and pine paired perfectly with the taste of fresh picked apples. With its balanced sweetness and acidity this unique cider is sure to please beer and cider drinkers alike.

And on the front page there's more information leading to the announcement that this cider will soon be available at several Wegmans' stores. Hey, anything for more cider info.

Hopped Hard Cider is a unique handcrafted semi-dry cider made from estate grown Crispin apples and locally grown Cascade hops. This heavily aromatic cider exhibits a bouquet of fresh lemon and pine paired perfectly with the taste of fresh picked apples. With its balanced sweetness and acidity this small batch cider is sure to please beer and cider drinkers alike. Available at bars, restaurants, and stores throughout the Upstate and Western New York regions.

Appearance: brilliant, bubbly, nearly green

Looking at this cider, I notice that it's brilliant with a color like pale summer hay—nearly green! pours with a head that quickly dissolves

Aromas: pear, pine, fresh

I love how fresh and herbal this hopped cider smells. I also get lime citrus. The overall impression is enticing, friendly but not simple, pears, tons of pine but its really not soapy. Alex and I agree that this is one of the best smelling hopped ciders: deliciously inviting.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi dry

This cider has some perceivable sweetness, but it isn't out of balance with any other element. If I had to characterize the sweetness I'd call it both fruity and honey like, but somehow fresh.

Flavors and drinking experience: balanced, medium bubble, very clean

Lucky for us, this cider tastes like just exactly it smells. There's a tremendously fun interplay of flavors that somehow feel  pyramid shaped: a strong base that tapers toward the acid. The Hopped Hard Cider offers up pleasurable mouthfeel and tremendous balance. Flavors include Tropicals fruit, pear, pine, and basil. This has a super clean fermentation. I find the acid medium high (but not ultra-high) and in tune with other flavors. It's just a little sweet but theirs some not quite bitter playing in there too. Hops are front and center, with just a bit of their characteristically grapefruit note. 

Its lightly sparkling, but the bubbles fade fast. Big sips sweeten and darken the flavor with notes of honey—maybe the tiniest boozey note, but no real funk. Unlike some west-coast hopped ciders, this doesn't use a beer yeast. I find this cider both refreshing and compelling. I can taste why it won gold.