Cider Reviews: Ommegang Dry Cider and Southern Tier Unfiltered Apple

This week’s post is dedicated to upstate NY at the start of mud season aka Spring. I know it’s here early and orchardists may or may not be able to sleep at night, so I’ll add my good thoughts for a slow and gentle season. A colleague at my workplace (cider doesn’t pay the bills, surprise, surprise) let me know about one of these ciders, and I picked both up at my local Wegmans. Two of our regional breweries have entered the cider market, and I want to share my notes on new ciders by both Ommegang and Southern Tier! 

Let’s start with Ommegang’s Project Cider! Here’s how the website describes the project in general. 

Combining the best of both American and European traditions, our ciders offer fresh, fruit-forward flavors with a dry, sparkling drinkability. Project Cider begins with fresh-pressed culinary apples, McIntosh, Gala, Red Delicious and Pazazz, sourced locally from New York State. The juices are fermented with our house Belgian yeast to add character and complexity. The finished products are clarified and carbonated for a spirited sparkle. Medium-bodied yet notably dry, these ciders finish long and slow, with soft, lingering tannins.

Read more and see some mouthwatering pictures: https://www.ommegang.com/project-cider/

Ommegang Dry Cider’s official tasting notes are here, “Aromas of orange peel, grapefruit and honey burst from the glass. Bright, fresh flavors of ripe melon, pear and citrus zest accompany a lively, pleasant tartness. 6.5% ABV • 150 Calories • Naturally Gluten Free”

Appearance: deep tea color, gently hazy, very few visible bubbles

Ommegang’s Dry cider looks gently hazy with deep tea-like color. I don’t see a lot of bubbles, but that doesn’t say much about how this cider will sparkle.

Aromas: Belgian beer, bread crumbs, green and nutty

Ommegang’s Dry Cider offers up a very Belgium beer nose. If I’m not allowed to use beer as a reference point, I get bread crumbs, nuts, pears, and something green.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry!

The Dry is dry! You can now buy a totally dry cider at Wegmans. This is a good thing!

Flavors and drinking experience: Beer influenced, lemon, medium tannins
This cider is very beery. That’s a divisive characteristic, because not everyone likes the taste of beer. But for some folks this will be totally enticing because it’s a balanced profile and thirst quenching cider. I get notes that remind me of corn and other grains, mostly yeast smells. At the same time I also taste lemon and wood notes. 

The whole experience feels cool and aquatic. This high acid cider brings medium tannins and a moderate intensity of sparke. The bubbles feel not like champagne style bubbles but like soda or beer bubbles. They are beefy and big. 

I had this cider with a late night flatbread pizza and freaking out about how much I loved the new Emma. It was very enjoyable. This cider is flexible, you can enjoy it while freaking about whatever you love!

Next up, Southern Tier Unfiltered Apple!

Southern Tier Brewery has now launched Southern Tier Ciderworks from the same location used for the brewery in Lakewood, NY. Here’s the introduction to this new brand from a familiar upstate beer producer, Southern Tier.

Each hard cider is a proud homage to its Western New York roots and features real juice from Mayer Brothers, one of the oldest family-owned businesses in New York State. Local orchards provide deliciously fresh pressed apples that go into each batch of the crisp and refreshing cider. The Hard Cider line delivers a range of big flavor and variety from hazy to bright and dry to sweet at 5% ABV and less calories than similar brands. All Southern Tier Cider Works offerings are naturally gluten free, made with real juice and no added sugar. 

As true entrepreneurs in craft beverage, Phin and Sara DeMink have been on an endless pursuit to bring the most in flavor. In 2002, they founded Southern Tier Brewing Company, brewing bold and innovative ales like Pumking, 2XIPA and the Blackwater Nitro Imperial Stout series. Never satisfied, they opened Southern Tier Distilling Company in 2016 with a range of spirits, including hopped whiskey and a line of canned craft cocktails. They now welcome Southern Tier Cider Works to their family. Southern Tier will always stay curious and continue to find new ways to deliver quality craft flavor.

Check out the website to learn more: https://southerntiercider.com/

This is not the first time Southern Tier has put their toe in the cider water's. I reviewed their DeMunck's as part of a round up in 2014:  http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/12/cider-roundup-grocery-store-ciders.html

There’s not a ton of specifics in Southern Tier’s official description, but here’s what Southern Tier tells us about this new cider, “Unfiltered Apple Our Unfiltered Apple is hazy and dry from a perfect assortment of homegrown apples. 5.0% ABV”

Appearance: Cloudy, pumpkin, no visible bubbles

This cider goes beyond hazy into full cloudiness. The color reminds me of fresh pumpkin. I didn’t see bubbles in my glass, but they would be hard to see with that level of turbidity.

Aromas: stony,fresh apple, citrus, sulphites

The Unfiltered Apple smells like fresh apples, sweet citrus, and dusty stones. I think I can smell some sulphites as well, but that's a maybe.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-sweet

This is a balanced and highly drinkable semi-sweet cider. 

Flavors and drinking experience: Citrus, high acid, full body

This cider comes across as stony and sweet but also loaded with fruity citrus notes. The Unfiltered Apple pais its medium sweetness with high acidity. The whole thing is balanced and drinkable. Other fruits that suggest themselves in this cider are mandarin orange, ripe apple and pear. 

It’s no surprise that this cider has a fun full body; that’s something sweet ciders do really well! I’d describe the bubbles in this cider as medium in number and size. I enjoyed this with a veggie burger, fries, and mushroom gravy. Judge if you dare, but fries are delicious dipped in a mushroom gravy. This cider was an ideal match for all of that richness  because of the bubbles and acidity. 

#PickCider Review: Austin Eastciders' Blood Orange

Bonus review this week just to help us count down to July 4th! I want to highlight as many summer ciders as possible, so we can all #pickcider for the upcoming holiday.

Here are my previous special Summer #PickCider reviews.

Citizen Cider's Companion: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-citizen-ciders.html

Mainiac Blueberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-of-rickers-hard-cider.html

Gumption's Citrus Freak: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/06/pickcider-review-of-gumption-hard.htmlToday's review is Austin Eastciders' Blood Orange. 

This review marks my first taste of Austin Eastciders, and my first experience of cider with orange included, so I'm pretty excited to taste something doubly new. Again, an aside, This was shared with me as a review sample. This doesn't ever change how I interpret a cider.

https://austineastciders.com/

The official description reads, "We blended blood oranges from Italy with bittersweet heirloom apples to create a cider with a zesty twist. With just the right amount of sweet and citrus flavors, our Blood Orange Cider is sure to brighten your day." 5% ABV

The other fascinating feature on the page about this cider is a simple mixed drink recipe designed to use this exact cider. It's called The Bigger Better Cider and its worth a trip to the website just to check this out. 

https://austineastciders.com/products/blood-orange-cider

I took a can of this cider to a casual wedding reception, just so I could get in a review with some awesome summer party food pairings. Congrats again Sarah and Mara! The beautiful table decorations were a bonus.

Appearance: Cloudy, sunny orange, ring of small bubbles

This is one of the more cloudy ciders I've seen from the United States. As the photo shows, the color is a fun sunny orange and the only visible bubbles ring the glass at the cider's surface.

Aromas: champagne, mimosa, orange, wood

The Blood Orange smells like apple, orange, wood. Not like orange juice, but instead with a slightly champagne-esque note. Pleasant.

Sweetness/dryness: sweet but after an initial zing of bitter

I love the action in this sweetness curve. The Blood Orange pops with a gentle hit of citrusy bitter that soon mellows into easy honeyed sweetness.

Flavors and drinking experience: sweet, peppery, lots of orange, fruity

The first note is bitter and black peppery, and that quickly gives way to sweetness that lingers pleasantly. High acid but the acid is citric, not malic. My tongue puckers a bit. A long aftertastes that reminds me of Orangina.No tannins, despite the bitterness. Manages to be both crisp and warm in its taste. 

This cider is only mildly bubbly. I'm starting to think this is a feature of ciders in cans. Can other canned cider drinkers weigh in on this? 

Overall,  my impressions centered around this cider as sweet, very blood orange and pleasantly complicated by the hint of  bitter and peppery spice.

For pairings, I had this with so many good foods! I had pesto pasta, fresh green salad with pomegranate seeds, Thai-style summer rolls, brie and watermelon. And then cinnamon sugar popcorn and wedding cake. There were so many amazing summer party foods at this wedding potluck! Of those, I really liked the Blood Orange with the summer roll and peanut dipping sauce. Something about sweet citrus plus rice paper, tofu and veggies was out of this world!

As an aside, I feel like I have to share a funny video inspired by my friend Jonathan Honefinger. He makes sommeliers try Malort and captures their reactions. At this reception, I spied a bottle of Malort. Curiousity won the day. Or perhaps the Malort did.

Watch and see...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYFz4pKclyA

Cider Review: Crispin Georgia

 
I've reviewed a fair number of Crispin Ciders and drunk a few more, but this is my first experience with any of their barrel aged limited releases. If you want to check out my previous Crispin post, you can find it here: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/05/cider-review-crispin-ciders-saint.html. I've also reviewed a few of their sister company Fox Barrel's perries, http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/07/and-now-for-something-completely.html and http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/08/perry-review-fox-barrel-blackberry-pear.html.

Crispin has a fantastic website: http://www.crispincider.com/ with gorgeous photos, recipes, and mixed drink ideas. They've clearly put tons of effort into their brand image and it shows. I wish more companies were as thoughtful in how they present their ciders as Crispin.

I don't know if you can forgive the cheese, but this official press release has tons of good information. It just presents in a way that's a bit over the top.

Let’s kick off this ride with the sweet goodness of Georgia peach juice.  Georgia peaches have a high quality combination of sugars, acidity, aromas and textures making it a seamless integration into the unpasteurized, fresh-pressed juice already being used in Crispin’s super premium artisanal ciders.

An elegant, spicy blend of Crispin’s Colfax Classic apple-wine superbly aged in bourbon American whisky barrels.  The final blend is finished with Georgia peach juice, a mention of mint and a touch of Tupelo honey, also aged in bourbon barrels.

Georgia offers a drinking experience and flavor profile like no other.  Georgia has full, rich whiskey notes right up front with smooth toasted oak and vanilla.  The peach juice provides a velvety lushness with a mere hint of mint to bring it all together.  This 6.78% (678 being a Georgia area code) alcohol by volume cider packs full flavor and full body.

So how might one enjoy this beverage? The optimal sip scenario for Georgia is at the cellar temperature of 50/55 F. Grab a snifter or a tulip glass and get ready for greatness. When pouring, use a solid bottoms-up tilt and swirl the bottle to disperse the sediment evenly. This unlocks the whiskey aromas and a unique bouquet.

This is nearly the first time, if not the very first time, that I've seen pouring instructions and glassware recommendations with a cider. Frankly I like it. It gives the cider even more of a sense of identity and tradition.

Appearance: Cloudy, nectarine, plenty of bubble

After pouring this cider, I noticed immediately how cloudy it looks. It is easy to be a casual cider fan and never see a truly cloudy cider, so let this picture illustrate. I couldn't tell how many fingers someone was holding up behind this cider. This cider shows off a gorgeous nectarine flesh color and lots and lots of visible bubbles. It looks like a meal.

Aromas: Asian pear, fresh apple, honey

So fruity! This cider is so cool and refreshing to smell. The Georgia begs for warmer temperatures, but even now it reminds me beautifully of summer with the ultra clean fruit notes of asian pear and fresh apple.  The honey is more understated but definitely supports the fruits. Upon repeated sniffs, this really reminds me of a light-bodied perry in aroma. Alex (my frequent co-taster and husband) noted a distinct aroma of caraway seeds. Interesting.

Sweetness: Semi-sweet/sweet?

It is difficult to decipher the level of sweetness in Crispin's Georgia. Ultimately, I think this is a sweet cider, but the flavors go so far beyond just fruits and sweetness that this measure is made much less meaningful for this particular cider. The sweetness is definitely not the dominant impression as I'm drinking it.

Flavors and drinking experience: crazy (minty), complex (honeyed) and fun (peachy)

The complexity on this cider truly overwhelms me. First, I taste the cool and delicate fruit, getting bolder. Mint hits the mid palate and intensifies at the finish. Crazy. Seriously. Certifiable. I keep drinking it, and I keep being surprised by a few of the notes. The peach isn't overly strong and it melds well with the whisky. I like the honey and the mint. I'm not sure the Georgia needs to have all four notes, because, in the end, it becomes a mixed drink more than a cider. That said, I'd love to see this divided into two summery ciders, a whisky peach and a honey mint. Even so, as an intense punch this is a lovely drink.

 I'm enjoying this with an old fashioned fish fry, cole slaw, and some sweet cooked carrots. It is a lot of flavors, but it works. The Georgia is a summer time drink; for me, it reminds me of summer because December in upstate New York is a far cry from summer. I think this cider would work best as a summer picnic cider. Use the cooling mint when you really need it.