Cider Review: Number 12 Cider House's Chestnut Semi-Dry

Good morning! This is my last review before CiderCon 2018 in Baltimore. I want to taste a cider I got to know because of CiderCon last year. I ran into one of the owners, and he shared a bottle of their newest cider with me: The Chestnut Semi-Dry.

Number 12 Cider House is based in Buffalo, Minnesota and has been making ciders since 2011. They have a tap room and three year round cider styles.

Read about the company on the website: http://www.number12ciderhouse.com/home.html

Or find them on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/number12ciderhouse/

I've reviewed a few ciders by Number 12 Cider House before.

I first reviewed the Sparkling Dry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/06/cider-review-number-12-cider-house.html

It made it into my Top 10 Favorite Ciders of 2016 as number 4: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/12/my-10-favorite-ciders-of-2016.html

The Black Currant Dry was one of my cider recommendations for Thanksgiving in 2016:

My suggestions: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/pick-cider-for-thanksgiving-and-my.html

My description of the experience: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/happy-to-pickcider-for-thanksgiving.html

Today, I'm sharing my thoughts on their Chestnut Semi-dry Cider.

The official description reads, “Number 12 Chestnut Semi-Dry combines 5 local apple varieties with toasted French Oak. It features the Chestnut Crabapple, developed and introduced by the University of Minnesota in 1946. Hints of orchard honey and crisp apple come alive against a light sparkle and subtle tannins. This cider is approachable, balanced and delicious!” ABV 7.4%

I love crab apples, and I've really enjoyed everything by Number12 Cider House I've had before, so I am doubly curious about this cider.

Appearance: tea, hazy, many bubbles

The Number 12 Cider House Chestnut Semi-Dry looks like a spicy fruity tea. Mine poured hazy with some sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

Aromas: homemade applesauce, barrel,

Oh wow! As soon as I popped open this cider, I knew I was in for a treat. The aromas greeted me enthusiastically, giving me a few of my favorite anticipatory clues. When a cider smells like homemade applesauce smell and barrel, I start to expect some level of tannic presence and some acidity. We'll see if I'm right. 

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-dry

The Chesnut Semi-dry does exactly what it promises in terms of sweetness/dryness. This is a textbook semi-dry cider. There's enough sweetness to open up the taste profile, but most of the flavors come from other qualities within this cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: Overripe apples, peach flesh, pear, acid

The Chestnut Semi-Dry introduces itself with a lovely roll of overripe cider apples. There are tons of other pomme fruit flavors including fleshy pear and peach notes. Though its very fruity and even juicy, the off dry to semi-dry character of the cider keeps things in shape. All of the fruits taste transformed by fermentation rather than exactly like fresh fruit from the orchard. The flavors strike me as mature and well-balanced.

I can definitely taste what the oak spirals bring to the picture and that's warm barnwood notes. There's also lots of crab apple character, bringing some seriously fun acid into the tasting experience. My tasting companion described it as fresh, clean, and crisp. The acid levels are high, perhaps affecting how I perceive the sweetness of the cider.

The mouthfeel is pleasurably middle of the road: neither zippily light nor profoundly weighty. What weight it has comes from the higher than average ABV. That can affect mouthfeel very directly. I don't taste any fermentation flaws; this cider is clean and appealing. I don't get any funk, sourness, or farmy notes. At the same time though, the cleanliness isn't sterility or over-simplicity. The use of both crab apples and wood-aging techniques makes this a cider worth real consideration.

I had mine with a simple winter supper that included asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes followed by two episodes of West World (yes, I know I'm super behind in the world of television). It would also go well with a hard-core aged cheddar and a new album. Whatever you do, don't rush. This is a cider that deserves some time and space to just enjoy. 

Cider Review: Blake's Hard Cider's Snapdragon

I feel that hibernation season and the holidays are both upon us. Perhaps, I am not alone in feeling like we’re living in the land of eternal 9pm, and more offers for ways to spend our time than we have time to spend. This time is chaotic and demanding, but it’s also full of surprises and little lights in the cold dark. I'll take all the brightness the world can muster, even if I'm run off my feet. On one such a night recently, some friends and I took a breath and quiet night for ourselves to drink cider, catch up, and generally be cozy.

One of the select ciders that evening was Blake's Hard Cider's Snapdragon. Blake's Hard Cider comes from Armada, Michigan, where the company produces 19 varieties of cider, runs a taproom and restaurant, and grows 45600 apple trees. I found out these little nuggets of information on the website, and there are descriptions for all of their ciders there also.

You can learn more about the company on the website http://www.blakeshardcider.com/

My previous reviews of Blake's have included:

The Tonic (a ginger and cucumber cider): http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/03/cider-review-blakes-hard-cider-companys.html

El Chavo (a cider with Mango and Habenero): http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/11/cider-review-blakes-hard-cider-companys.html

I got my bottle in a cider trade with an illustrius friend (Hi Darlene!) who was travelling that direction. 

Blake's official description from the website:

Intentionally burning your mouth by plucking a molten hot raisin out of a fire and eating it used to be considered a fun game enjoyed all over the world, in fact people would do it in an attempt to mimic the face of a dragon. Snap Dragon, a game played only by the brave for centuries has now been captured in this handcrafted concoction. Enjoy the warm taste of burnt rum-raisins with the crisp taste of apples from Blake’s. 6.9% ALC. BY VOL.

and from the bottle:

Here at Blake’s Hard Cider Co. we’re steeped in tradition and as such our games are a bit old fashioned, but no less sophisticated. Our own version of the famous Snap-Dragon game involved the blue flames of rum from which the raisins used in our cider were skillfully procured. With their plumpness regained, a prolonged cider bath developed a lingering rich finish with just the right hint of warmth as though the flames were clinging to the fruit all along.

Appearance: hazy, warm straw, no visible bubbles

I don't see any bubbles in this slightly hazy cider. It looks warm and lazy like the color of warm straw tinted by the afternoon sun. 

Aromas: honey, flowers, sweet, fresh apple

The Snapdragon smells floral, with lots of honey notes. I find the aromas pleasantly sweet with just an edge of bite to the smells. I’m guessing that comes from the rum, but I’ll know more once I taste it.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-sweet

I found it sweet, but among my fellow sippers, there was some disagreement between sweet and semi-sweet. I think the rich boozy notes and the hints of rum might affect how we perceive what sweetness is there.

Flavors and drinking experience: Raisins, concord grapes, bruised apples, booze

Tasting makes everything clearer, yes, we absolutely tasted raisin notes and a bit of booze, Concord grapes, and bruised apples. The most pronounced notes include honey, caramel, and flowers. Everyone did agree on how nicely balanced we found the cider.

The Snapdragon isn’t subtle, but its complex and I think pairing rum and raisin together did more for the cider than either of those additions would have done on its own. The mouthfeel is decidedly thick, to the point of feeling a bit syrupy after a small glass. It has enough acid to keep one going back for more sips, and the rum notes bring just a whiff of bitterness which helps that crucial balance. It’s a fun cider, and a perfect one for winter nights. 

We paired it with goat cheese, crackers, and conversation. You would have to look long and hard to do better. 

Cider Review: Harpoon Brewery's Pumpkin Cider

Pumpkin has become a divisive topic. I can only blame its popularity for the pumpkin backlash. Anything beloved enough to be a craze is going to make some haters. And for cider purists, the idea of a pumpkin cider is blasphemy. But I refuse to participate. I like pumpkin and I love cider, so I try new pumpkin ciders every year. Some formulas work beautifully. Others don't.

Today, I'm sharing my thoughts on Harpoon Pumpkin Cider. This is my first review of a cider by Boston-based Harpoon Brewery. They've made cider since 2007 and beer since opening 1986. They are primarily a brewery, but I can see five different ciders on the website, though I've only seen two available for sale in my travels. (Full disclosure, I did receive this review sample from Harpoon.)

Read about their ciders and beers at the website: https://www.harpoonbrewery.com

Or, take a peek at this compilation of cat pictures that feature Harpoon Beers (and one of this cider!)

https://www.harpoonbrewery.com/blog/16-cats-who-are-loving-beer-and-loving-life-341

Official Description:

• Appearance: Straw/light golden
• Aroma: Freshly pressed Northeastern Apples, traditional pumpkin pie spices and a hint of pumpkin.
• Mouth feel: Light, crisp, tart, cleansing. Sprightly.
• Taste: Apple forward with all the traditional Autumn flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg, and a touch of sweetness for balance.
• Finish: Dry, light, refreshing.

Reading elsewhere on the website, I learned that some selective mixing of their Winter Warmer beer and their signature cider inspired making this spiced cider. It has a very low alcohol content with an ABV of 4.8%. That's really not typical.

Appearance: barely hazy, saffron, a few clinging bubbles

There's no mistaking this cider for beer as its poured! It doesn't form a head and instead just shows off a few clinging bubbles in a gentle barely hazy sea of saffron liquid.

Aromas: beer yeast, apples, spice

The smells of this cider aren't super potent, but what's there is yeasty, spicy, clean, and appley. All of these relatively low intensity aromas are pleasing and subtle. Reading about their ciders, My perception of a beer yeast is borne out. They use a proprietary ale yeast in all of the ciders.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-dry

This is a straightforward semi-dry, but if folks are not used to to flavors brought by a less fruit beer yeast, this might taste a bit less sweet (even if not exactly drier).

Flavors and drinking experience: Nutmeg, balance, yeast character

The spice blend makes up a significant part of the cider's flavor; it favors nutmeg, but includes enough cinnamon, ginger, and clove to really bring out that mulled cider, pumpkin pie, autumn feeling that any pumpkin item promises. Here's what I love about it though. This cider is really pleasantly balanced. That doesn't sound like a giant high point, but trust me it is. The beer yeast is the absolute perfect way to counter the sharpness of baking spices. We get all the notes, apple, spice, bread, and pumpkin.

This is an exceptional cider both for the format and for style. Its light bodied with medium acid and no tannins. This cider is the classic autumnal flavor experience that so many things promise.

I enjoyed mine with fresh homemade salsa, black bean and corn salad, tortilla chips and the two-part finale of Twin Peaks The Return. The show may not have offered answers(to do so would have betrayed the show entirely), but the cider and snacks certainly did. 

Cider Review: Champlain Orchards Cidery Heirloom Vermont Hard Cider

Apple Harvest. These two words mean more work and more joy than almost any others cider folk. This year's crop is arriving week by week, apple by apple. I'm thinking back to my trip to Vermont/New Hampshire/New York last year. Seeing those gorgeous trees heavy with fruit inspired and tantalized. Luckily, I have some bottles of cider from that trip to help me relish the memories.

Today's review is my first of a cider by Champlain Orchards out of Shoreham, Vermont. This cidery is truly a fruit farm that happens to make really great cider, among other things, on stunning land. All of the stages, growing, milling, pressing, fermenting and bottling happen right there. They grow many fruits and more than 100 varieties of apples. It is quite the place to see.

I visited Champlain Orchards on the 2nd day of my Vermont trip last year, you can read about it here: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-2.html

But, if you aren't in the neighborhood, go to the website to learn about the orchard and the ciders and to see more: http://www.champlainorchardscidery.com/ (including beautiful videos of apples).

When visiting, I picked up a few bottles to take home. The Heirloom will by first full review of anything by Champlain Orchards.

Here's how Champlain Orchards Cidery describes it:

HEIRLOOM
Heirloom Vermont hard cider is pressed, fermented, and crafted from old and new world Cider varieties. Semi-dry with balanced flavors from sweet, sharp & bittersweet cider apples. Enjoy as you would any sparkling wine, on its own or with lighter fare. Alcohol by vol: 5.8%, Residual sugar: 0.5%

Hat tip to Champlain for both describing the perception of sweetness and giving the cider's residual sugar in their information about it.

Appearance: Brilliant, straw, fine bubbles 

There's no question that the Heirloom is brilliant. I'll call the color straw, but it could also be described as an appealing custard yellow.

Aromas: tart, fruity esters, bready

The Heirloom smells bready and tart. I get more ester aromas than unfermented fruit notes. This is all whetting my appetite mightily!

Sweetness/dryness: semi-dry

The sweetness of this cider is minimal; its even on the dry side of semi-dry.

Flavors and drinking experience: balanced, medium tannins, grassy, high acid

This cider delights me with how stony and grassy it is. The body is light and vivacious with just the right level of sparkle. The Heirloom is strikingly satisfying—unassuming but delicious.

The Heirloom wows me because its so very balanced. The acidity is bright and high without ever being sharp or pointed. This is fruity sort of acid, balanced with medium tannins. I can taste green grape flavors in addition to the grassy notes.

The esters from the smell remain as pleasant and clean flavors. There's no mistaking this fermented cider for juice or a punch. I adore these good yeast characteristics and malic acid. Everything plays together so nicely.

I had mine with a goat cheese and beet salad, but this flexible cider could be served with a variety of foods and activities. Its a cider made for relaxing and enjoying.

#PickCider Review Stem Cider's Pear Apple Cider

This is my first review of a anything by Stem Ciders. They are based out of Denver, Colorado and have operated since the start of 2014. I first ran across their beverages at Cider Summit Chicago 2017. I was pleased to stay in touch and get a few review samples this month.

You can learn all about Stem Ciders on their website here: http://stemciders.com/

This is Stem Cider's Pear Apple Cider and it could have fit into my Very Perry May, but I'm glad to have a canned pear-apple blend for this #pickcider for the 4^th of July series.

Made with Bartlett pears from Colorado's Western Slope. Rich golden hue, caramel and fresh fruit on the nose with a surprisingly tart finish 5.3% ABV Released April 2017. Suggested pairings include, “pork chops and apple sauce, spicy thai, lobster rolls” But we'll see if my sense of vegetable oriented pairings matches up.

Appearance: brilliant, few visible bubbles, deep roasty gold

This cider has a deep roasted quality to its goldenness. It reminds me of English or French ciders in color. I don't see many bubbles, but it is brilliant.

Aromas: cooked apple and pear, yeast, custard

The scents are rich, oxidized, and dusty. The cider smells sweet, warm, and rich. These aren't characteristics I associate very much with pear ciders, so I'm curious. The creamy custard smell is most intriguing.

sweetness/dryness: sweet

This cider drinks sweetly but remains complex and dessert like. The fruitness and sweetness taste all natural to me.

Flavors and drinking experience: rich, fruity, high acid, bubbly

Richness and mouthfeel are a pair of interconnected qualities that can make or break a cider, and the Pear Apple by Stem Ciders offers up a delightful experience in those crucial characteristics. Mind you, part of what makes the richness so enjoyable is that it's balanced by high acid. The contrast is not artificially extreme, just dynamic and buoyed up with medium to high fine bubbles.

I found this cider deeply enjoyable.

Its fruity but not in a raw fruit salad way. Instead it reminds me of a fruit tart drizzled with caramel. This apple pear blend, just oozes dessert, while still being sharp in a spectacularly nice way.

My recommended pairings for this cider include summer thunderstorms, chilled grain salad with cheddar, corn, tomato, and avocado, Twin Peaks, or caramel shorbread cookies. I've not gotten to try it with lobster roll, but give me a chance and I will! What this list is attempting to demonstrate is a certain flexibility that I suspect this cider is capable of providing. 

Cider Review: Citizen Cider's Wit's Up

Spring has finally truly and beautifully arrived. I've seen more crocus in the last two days than I may have ever seen in one season before. Yesterday, I took a walk in the sunshine between work and supper. I know this sounds like a small thing, but I enjoyed it tremendously. I could even feel hints of the summer to come in the color of the light and the sun's warmth on my black t-shirt. 

I'm not going to attempt to rush Spring. It just got here, and I love this transient ever-changing season. I'm starting to think ahead just a little though. That's what led me to reach for a cider that recently came to me as a review sample from Citizen Cider. They shared the Wit's Up as a fun summer cider, though it is available year round. 

A little about Citizen Cider: this cider company has grown quickly and really made a name for themselves in their home state of Vermont. The cidery was founded in 2010 by three friends: Justin Heilenbach, Bryan Holmes and Kris Nelson. They each came from a different career background and brought a unique skill set to the cidery, and the results have been striking. They work with multiple Vermont orchards, including Happy Valley Orchard in Middlebury.

You can learn more about them on their website here: http://www.citizencider.com/

Or learn about new releases and local events even faster by following them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citizencider/

I have reviewed a couple of ciders by Citizen Cider before. 

My first was the bRose in 2014: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/02/cider-review-citizen-cider-brose.html

And more recently, I reviewed their Barrel Aged: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/02/cider-review-citizen-ciders-barrel-aged.html

Citizen was also a major stop on Day 2 of my Vermont Cider tour this past fall: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-2.html


Today, I am looking to the future and sharing my thoughts on Wit's Up. Here's how Citizen Cider describes it:

There are ciders for the people, and there are ciders for the people who make the cider for the people. Wit’s Up is a classic cider maker’s cider. Drawing on the old and new traditions of cider making, it starts like an ale and finishes like the dry, sessionable craft cider that it is. It’s cider for today, it’s cider for what we believe the future of cider to be. Come, enjoy the future with us and drink Wit’s Up. 5.9ABV.

Interestingly, Citizen also offers some suggested pairings for this cider: "Bratwurst, brioche, roasted chicken, root vegetables." But I have a bowl of vegetarian Chick'n & Dumplings, and I'll be curious to taste how that goes.  

Appearance: hazy, lots of bubbles, temporary mousse

The Wit's Up pours with a head that doesn't stick around. I'd call the cider hazy in terms of clarity. It has lots of visible bubbles. The color is warm straw. 

Aromas: apple, grain, lemon, pepper

Wit's Up smells sweet and lemony with a hint of peppery spice and maybe grains.

Dryness/sweetness: dry

This cider tastes much drier than it smells. I always find this characteristic interesting, and I wonder how it happens. 

Flavors and drinking experience: cool, savory, grainy, dominated by yeast characteristics

Part of why this cider might be promoted for summer is that it actually tastes cooling. I'm not referring to the temperature of the beverage, but some associative quality that makes it connote coolness. It tastes like a beer yeast, lemon, but not much apple at least not very much like unfermented apple.

The Wit's Up reminds me nicely of a summery beer, making it a supremely session-oriented cider. The description of ale style is completely accurate. I do get some fun mildly sour notes along with black pepper, tropical fruit, and pears.

Though this cider totally gluten free, it tastes positively wheaty, like toasted grain.

This is the cider that should convince anyone that yeast matters for flavor. There's a popular line of belief that a cider's flavor is all apples all the time, but this can disprove that. Citizen makes lots of ciders with a similar blend of apples and for this cider it is the yeast that makes it different. And it does.

Many characteristics point to a relatively clean fermentation. The Wit's Up reminds me of summer and baseball. Gosh it makes me want a veggie dog. I cannot get over how much I am reminded of the good parts of a bright summer heffe weisen or lambic. I'm not a beer person, but this is a happy place of commonality between cider and beer for me. I look forward to sharing one with my super beer-nerd dad.

Its a thinky but not too challenging cider. Its a lot of fun. Lastly, be forewarned, this is burpy! Enjoy!

Cider Review: Blake's Hard Cider Company's The Tonic, Plus Data!

I'm not a gifted chef, but from time to time I get together with a good friend and we make a nice dinner together specifically to try out a fun cider pairing. I did this with my friend Phil (He's a great cook and the talented individual who runs Eruditorum Press: http://www.eruditorumpress.com/blog/author/phil/) a few weeks ago. We chose a loose concept of Asian barbecue to pair with a cider by Blake's Hard Cider Company.

You can find out all about Blake's on their website: http://www.blakeshardcider.com/

If you visit the site, you'll see that they do a tremendous number of interesting seasonal and limited release ciders. Trouble is, I cannot buy Blake's ciders within a hundred miles of where I live. Grrr! They're out of Michigan, which has a quite strong cider scene.

I've gotten a few from the company, and this was part of a trade with Darlene Hayes (who quite literally wrote the book on cider cocktails: https://www.amazon.com/Cider-Cocktails-Another-Bite-Apple/dp/0996321500/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1490665129&sr=8-1 

My first review of anything by Blake's Hard Cider Company is their El Chavo from late 2015. 

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/11/cider-review-blakes-hard-cider-companys.html

That cider is a fruit and spice blend that uses peppers and mango to create taste fireworks. I know it sounds weird and, to some cider purists, blasphemous, but it tastes fantastic. And that's always going to be the arbiter for me. Does this cider taste good? Do I enjoy drinking it?

But for this dinner, we were excited to try  The Tonic by Blake's Hard Cider Company

The official description reads, "As the first flushes of green awaken the new year, invigorate your senses with freshly picked ginger root and cool cucumber combined together to create our crisp, light elixir; Blake's Tonic." 6.5% ABV. 

Appearance: frothy, brilliant, flax yellow

The first thing that we noticed was how verrrry bubbly it was. This photo is crazy and uncomposed because the bottle was going a bit crazy after we opened it and I wanted a quite photo that actually shows a cider with a half inch of foam. It poured with even more at first. Cider is brilliant and the color is that gentle shade of yellow that seedlings have before they turn green. You could also call it flax.

Aromas: powdered sugar, cakes, apples, cucumbers

The Tonic smells sweeter than it tastes. The most striking aroma is actually like sugared cakes. I can also smell cucumber and apple.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-dry

This is a semi-dry cider, but that's hardly the most interesting element about it. The flavors on the other hand...

Flavors and drinking experience: balanced, cocktail-like, cooling

This cider comes across as completely cool and summery. I get some ginger in flavor but not in aroma. The comparisons to a gin and tonic are obvious but apt. It's not super gingery, but just enough. The more sips I took, the more I could taste the ginger. Its far more cucumber and cool balanced cider than anything else. Lots of ciders call themselves crisp, but this one actually is.  

The mouthfeel is fizzy but perhaps not quite so much as the crazy mousse had prepared me for. I found it light and lively, its decidedly sessionable, at least for those lucky enough to have more than one bottle on hand. It sounds very daring, but this combination really worked for me. Rather like the El Chavo, it sounds crazier than it tastes.

We paired this with a really fun Asian inspired BBQ menu to do a little mental trip to summer. I made a Napa cabbage slaw with spicy peanut sauce and soy-miso-glazed Mu turnips (pictured). For the meat eaters present there were 5 Spice Barbeque Chicken Legs. And the veg folk had the same sauce on oven baked tofu. Delicious and so sticky! Blake's tonic worked perfectly though because the cucumber was so cooling and the ginger connected the flavor to our sauces, all of which incorporated elements of Asian cuisines.

Usually my pairs are simpler than that because most of my cooking is more based on ingredients than sauces, but this was a total blast. I had so much fun thinking about a flavored cider and flavored vegetables in new ways. You don't have to go as elaborate to pair this though. I still think the picnic or BBQ route is perfect, or really anything spicy. Enjoy how cooling these flavors taste.

Now, I'd like to close with a brief moment of geekery and share some really exciting cider education opportunities for current USACM members (apologies for those who aren't members). At CiderCon, there were two presentations making great use of cider sales data as gathered by Nielsen (yes, that Nielsen). I attended and got a lot out of them, particularly as I feel like my perspective is doubly skewed by living in cider country that is also wine country.

All USACM members are invited to two upcoming Webinars about Nielsen data. I know some few stats have trickled out to the news, which has unfortunately pounced on a couple of misleading numbers that make it sound like the cider market is shrinking. These webinars go so much deeper to show a rich picture of what's happening with cider sales in a variety of locations and market segments. 

The first is: "Cider Trends in the U.S.: How to Increase Your Odds of Success by Evaluating Marketplace Dynamics" on Wed, Apr 5, 2017 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT.  You can register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9035991447428036610

The second is: "The Apple of my Eye. How to Develop Cider Packaging that Wins with Consumers" on Thursday, Apr 13, 2017 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT Here's the registration link for this one: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6796135628555308546

Enjoy!

Cider Review Winter Storm Stella Edition: Vermont Cider Co.'s Wassail

I thought spring was tiptoeing in last week, but Winter Storm Stella has certainly shifted my expectations! As I write, the storm is continuing to blow all around my house and all around the northeast region, and I am starting to hear comparisons to the Blizzard of '93. So, I thought it the perfect time to continue last week's trend and pick out another spiced cider to try. 

And in the name of transparency, I did receive this bottle of Vermont Cider Co.'s Wassail. for free. It arrived in November, so I'm glad to be getting to enjoy it on a perfect night for a warming spiced cider. My opinions are un-swayed by samples, but I do appreciate them. This one didn't even get to jump to the front of the review line, but I'm feeling all the more ready for it.

This is my second review of something by Vermont Cider Co. My first is their Addison, which I tried back in November. You can find that review here: 

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/cider-review-vermont-cider-cos-addison.html

For now, since http://vermontciderco.com/ is a landing page that's still in development, you can see tons of lovely photos and get information from Vermont Cider Co.'s Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/VermontCiderCo/

I do have a description of the Wassail from the press release that came with my ciders, 

Wassail is inspired by the age-old tradition of celebrating with the orchards to ensure a good crop. Wassail begins with small batch hard cider infused with traditional mulling spices, including vanilla bean, ginger and cinnamon. The cider is then aged in rum barrels to produce a unique, rich cider that is ideal for the holidays. Like Addison, Wassail is made only from 100 percent fresh pressed Vermont and Northeastern apples. 6.9%ABV.

If any readers are unfamiliar with the term wassail, it is both the name of a beverage and an activity. The drink is a warm spiced cider and the activity is the ceremonial spilling and pouring of said beverage onto the roots of orchard trees in winter amidst caroling and asking for blessings on the trees. Its a wonderfully archaic and pagan way to to carouse on a winter's night. Just not on a blizzard night like tonight.

Appearance: bronze orange, brilliant, lots of visible bubbles

This cider looks amazingly dark and rich in my glass. The color is a harvest-y orange with tones of red and bronze. The photo shows how many bubbles observable once its been poured.

Aromas: bourbon vanilla, apple, cinammon, ginger

The cider smells boozy and desserty at once: a bit like real bourbon vanilla plus cinnamon. There's also plenty of apple notes going on, but they are like roasted apples dusted with powdered ginger. This is a complex set of aromas.

Sweetness/dryness: Sweet, but only just

Yes, I'll call this cider sweet, but its closer to a semi sweet than many other mulled ciders or many others sold in this format. The 12oz bottle tends to have more sweet offerings than some other sizes.

Flavors and drinking experience: ginger, vanilla, petillant, medium acidity, balanced

I am surprised that the Wassail is only mildly sparkling, perhaps to better connote the mulled-cider experience. This cider sings with ginger and cinnamon notes as well as vanilla velvety-ness. Its not bitter but also not fake tasting; all of the flavors offer great balance with only medium acidity.

Something about this cider reminds me of a cider version of a dark and stormy, perhaps the mild sparkle, rum caramel notes, plus the forefront of gingery notes. In any case, I'm into it. The Wassail is a very very pleasant cider. I'd rather have it than most Dark and Stormys or most  available mulled ciders, so two genuine compliments. I could be predisposed to like because I like many of the notes it offers in general. I'm a fiend for both ginger and vanilla, so it doesn't surprise me that I like them in the Wassail.

How to pair this cider? With warm blankets, good company, and Jeopardy. Its perfect. The blizzard is optional.

The January 2017 Cidrbox and Eden's Imperial 11° Rose Cider

Today, March begins with thunderstorms and wind; its unseasonably warm. But I want to share a cider experience from just before CiderCon, in the first days of last month. Imagine weather like March in upstate New York is supposed to have; that was much of our February. And that's when I got my sample Cidrbox in the mail. 

Full disclosure, I got to try a free Cidrbox for review purposes. I assure you that this does not sway my opinion about either the experience of getting a cider subscription or the cider from the box that I'm reviewing here. It did get to skip much nearer to the front of the review line somewhat though, but I don't want the December box being reviewed much later!

To give a bit more background about CidrBox as a service, the business is a subscription and curation service as well as a guide to the ciders it supplies. Dayna Bateman put it together and launched the project in December of 2016. She shared some of her time with me so I could learn more about what they offer. 

Most cider fans are extremely limited in their access to high quality craft, artisan, or orchard ciders. These products tend to stay local. Shipping laws are complicated and many wonderful ciders are made in such small quantities that anything like national or even regional distribution is impossible. That's where Cidrbox comes in as a service to both cidermaker and cider lover. 

Cidrbox finds cider makers who make amazing orchard based ciders. Dayna specifically seeks out ciders made from apples cultivated especially for cider. Things are very place based and the whole service gives cider lovers a window into a different cider terroir than the ones they might be able to find at home. 


I want to emphasize the reduced shipping rate. Each Cidrbox ships for ten dollars. That means you can get a box of cider from across the country for less than the cost of one bottle of good cider. The price applies to all three sizes of Cidrbox: three bottle, six bottle, and 12 bottle. Most bottles will be the 750ml size but a few, like the ice ciders in this box, will be 375ml.

You can read much more about this subscription service here: http://www.cidrbox.com/

Then the actual unwrapping experience, my ciders were packaged securely and neatly. I've gotten perhaps more than my fair share of cider arrivals in the mail, so I've witnessed a large range in how cider can be prepared for transport. Each bottle came in an individual protective box within the larger package.

Here's how they all look freshly unboxed on the piano bench.

Another fun part of trying a new cider is tasting with others, so Cidrox includes recordings of tasting sessions, extensive shared notes, and pairing suggestions. 

Here's a link to the material accompanying the Eden box:  http://www.cidersessions.com/eden/

There's both plenty of helpful information to contextualize these varied ciders and a ton of personality here. I love the photos and videos. The layout is clear and approachable. It certainly made me feel like i could open any one of these ciders and drink with Eleanor and David and the Eden crew. 

One of the other really social feeling and enjoyable elements is the feeling that getting a Cidrbox from a company starts an ongoing connection to that cidery. Cidrbox makes it easy to order more ciders from them after you've enjoyed learning about them and drinking everything from the box. That contextualization and ongoing flow of information and connection really makes it feel like more than the other subscriptions I've tried. Instead it feels more like an introduction at a small party with really good cider.

From my Cidrbox today, I want to review Eden's Imperial 11° Rose
 
Eden Sparkling Cider's Official description for the Imperial 11° Rose reads as follows, "Imperial 11° Rose Cider - New! Heirloom apple cider made with red currant and lightly dosed with ice cider. It is just off-dry and gently fizzy, with bright acidity and chewy tannic structure. A perfectly refreshing summer sipper!" The ABV is listed as 11% and the cider comes in either 750ml or 375ml bottles. My Cidrbox came with a full size 750ml.

Appearance: brilliant, deep fuchsia pink hedging into the red of rubies, few bubbles

I cannot overemphasize how pretty this cider is. I cannot do it. This red brilliance is lovelier than both rose and rubies to me. Perhaps, I am sharing too effusively, but many rubies do not have perfect clarity and many rose wines are not so intense in their color. The color reminds me of the dark pink of peonies, one of my favorite flowers.

Aroma: red currants, dust, cranberries

Apples do not come to the forefront of these scents. Instead, I am met with red currants, cranberries and that familiar dusty smell that has come (at least to me) to predict the presence of tannins and astringency.

Sweetness/dryness: off dry and tart

This tastes extremely tart, enough to make me question how much sweetness I perceive in this cider. It comes across as off-dry, but I'm guessing the measurable sugar would be slightly more than it seems.

Flavors: tart, fruity, vinous, bubbly 
The Imperial 11° Rose cider is fruity and tart and extremely pleasantly balanced. The balance isn't an easy one, but more the dymanic balance of a tightrope walker, and my sense of excitement is only supported by how bubbly it is! The cider tastes far more vinous than most and reminds me of black currants, though the currants in the beverage are the more unusual red currants. The whole experience is deliciously mouth-puckering, jammy, nearing a hint of solvent, but ending up estery instead.
 
This cider is so very zingy, it reminds me of the letter z, the zest of fruit, and the feeling of a stretched string (back to the tightrope image). 

But, I am going to disagree with the official description. I think calling it a "summer sipper" undersells the complexity and flexibility of this lovely beverage. The Cidrbox folks are genius to pack this bit of flavorful intensity into a winter box. Right now is when we need the pop and zing of red fruit. Winter can be worrisome, disappointing, and glum (sorry winter lovers), so each moment of vibrant awesomeness should be seized. That's what this cider is all about for me.

And as for the Cidrbox experience, I could not be happier! The ciders were packed securely, shipped promptly, presented contextually, and best all well chosen.

Cider Review: Citizen Cider's Barrel-Aged Cider & Chicago Cider Week

Usually, I start with my review and then share any cider news, but I want to make sure Chicago area cider lovers know that this event is already happening! Chicago Cider Week runs from February 3-11 with a plethora of cider opportunities for sipping, pairing, and learning!

Tons of fabulous cider things happen at The Northman (http://www.thenorthman.com/) and this week is anything but an exception. We can meet Pete Brown (cider and beer author), Ria Windcaller(of Cider Chat: http://ciderchat.com/), and some super start cider makers.   

Pairing dinners and tap takeovers are also happening all over town! Check out the event list:

http://www.chicagociderweek.com/p/events.html

And as a way of transition, today's review is a cider by Citizen Cider out of Burlington, Vermont. They have already started a full series of cider events just by themselves this week for both Cider Week and Cider Con. 

I reviewed the bRose in 2014: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/02/cider-review-citizen-cider-brose.html

More recently, I stopped at their taproom and production facility in Burlington this past summer as part of my Cider Tour: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-great-vermont-cider-tour-day-2.html

To learn a bit more about Citizen Cider, please check out their website: http://www.citizencider.com/

Today's review is of their Barrel-Aged Cider. I'll share the official description, but here's a spoiler, I'm not going to pair it with steak. : )

This cider is aged in reclaimed oak bourbon barrels. We take our finest cider blends, let them sit in these American oak barrels, and while they get to know each other, a beautiful relationship emerges. Best enjoyed with a big steak and a friend.

Reclaimed American Oak Bourbon Barrels are going to impart a lot of flavor, and I bet it will smell and taste boozier than its 6.9% ABV, but there's only one way to find out.

Citizen Cider was kind enough to list some additional pairing options. Here's the list, "Pairings: Lamb Stew, Veal Ossobuco, Pumpkin Pie, Dark Chocolate Souffle, Blue Cheese and Smoked Blue Fish." There aren't a ton of vegetarian options in there, but I'm never going to argue with dark chocolate souffle or pumpkin pie.

Appearance: brilliant, lots of visible bubbles, medium straw 

Like all of Citizen's ciders, this has a perfect sparkling brilliance. Its easy to see lots of active bubbles throughout the glass. I'd call the color medium straw, neither particularly light nor dark.

Aromas: almond, cherry, apple, barrel

The cider smells intensely of barrel, but that's far from the only note. I can also get wisps of apple, cherry, and almond. It smells rather like pastries altogether, but I'm guessing it will be less sweet than it smells. 

Sweetness/dryness: semi-dry

I get a bit of initial sweetness but the cider tastes dryer as the tasting experience goes on; its like many barrel-aged ciders in this way.

 

Flavors and drinking experience: vanilla, cooked apples, bourbon, buttered toast

Let me say first that this cider has a lot going on in terms of flavor intensity! The best part is that all of these flavors go together beautifully. I tasted this first when I toured the facility in August; my thought then was that this cider would be perfect for winter. So, I bought a bottle and saved it until the beginning of February. And I don't disagree with past Meredith. What a brilliant winter cider.

This is so vanilla, bourbon, almond, buttered toast good. All of the flavors really do cascade together over the tongue. The apple flavor is soft like the apple has been cooked or pressed into pomace. This helps the overall impression of unity I get from the flavors. 

In terms of texture, the Barrel-Aged Cider offers up great strong bubbles in bountiful quantities.  The cider also features great retro-nasal aromas: weird to say but great to experience.

I noticed when looking around online that this cider has made a few lists of ciders that beer aficionados could enjoy, and I agree. This is a particularly emphatic and well balanced cider with cohesive flavor and real verve. I'd heartily recommend it to beer and cider drinkers alike. I had mine with local cheese and Miche bread: no steak anywhere in sight, and it was totally delightful.