Cider Review: Raw Cider Company's Brut Nature

I’m an introvert, and yet I love good events. It feels like a paradox. I need quiet time away from people to recover energy rather than gaining energy from time with people, but at the same time both attending or hosting many different kinds of events remains satisfying to me. I’ve been slowly reading bits of The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker, and so much of what she writes resonates with me. I’ll share one quote and then I’ll get into this week’s review. 

Why do we gather? We gather to solve problems that we can't solve on our own, we gather to celebrate, to morn, and to mark transitions. We gather to make decisions, we gather because we need one another. We gather to show strength. We gather to honor and acknowledge. We gather to build companies, and schools, and neighborhoods. We gather to welcome and we gather to say goodbye. .. But here's the great paradox of gathering. There are so many good reasons for coming together that often we don't know precisely why we're doing so. ― Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters

I love that kind of reflective thinking and acting to deepen connections. I had the honor to attend not one but two wonderful parties this weekend. Thank you again to my hosts! And to the first of these gatherings, I brought a cider from my cellar that I thought would be pleasing to my hosts and shared it. Here’s how it went. 

I brought a bottle of Raw Cider Co.’s Brut Nature to the birthday party of a friend who just happens to be an amazing artist. She and her partner have wonderfully adventurous palates, so I wanted to bring something a bit daring for them. 

This is my first ever review for anything from Raw Cider Company. This cidery is based out of Oregon, and they focus a lot on letting nature guide their processes. 

Visit the cidery online here: https://rawcider.com/

Here’s a bit of info about the Brut Nature.

This blend of Airlie Red and Karmijn de Sonneville apples were sourced from family orchards in Oregon. We work with growers that are passionate about their produce because the best flavors come from nature. Our gift at Raw is to share these naturally cultivated flavors with you so you can enjoy them in the company of friends or a good book.

Aged on the lees for a minimum of 12 months. Bottled May 2021.

 ABV 7.5%.

Appearance: medium intensity, transparent, warm straw

The color is the classic warm straw hue that I associate with many American ciders made with heirloom apple varieties. It’s not brilliant, but neither is it hazy. I think transparent would be the right word.

Aromas: leather, salt, funky, UK cider, melon, grape leaves 

I chose this cider hoping for something a bit challenging and different, because that’s a profile I know my hosts enjoy. As I hoped, the Brute Nature smells like some Cornish ciders I had when traveling. I get notes of salt, leather, fusil oils, grape leaves, and melon.  There’s a fully present funk but it’s not out of balance.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry!

This is a dry cider! There’s a lot else going on, but it’s decidedly a dry cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: honey, pear, tannic, medium full mouthfeel, leather, medium acidity

Exactly as I hoped, this cider was a huge hit at the party. Everyone who tried it raved about the taste. I noticed notes of honey and pear. It’s very sparkling texture with some substantial tannins made it very popular. The Brute Nature offers a medium full mouthfeel with medium high acidity; the two features balance one another nicely. In terms of secondary flavore notes, I got lots of leather, some citrus, and overripe apple as well. 

Many thanks to the creative and daring friends who pulled us all together to celebrate this weekend. You've reminded me how much a good event can mean even to an introvert at heart.

Cider Review: Turncoat Cidery's Madeira Cask Cider

It’s not everyday I get to try a cider that’s as new and mysterious as Turncoat Cidery’s Madeira Cask Cider. I wanted to try something new on a dark winter night in that strange time of lull after the holidays. 

Turncoat Cidery is an up-and-coming small cidery on Benedict Arnold’s historic farm, using all Rhode Island apples. Madeira Cask Cider intrigued me especially because I’ve never actually tasted Madeira. For me, it's always been one of the near infinite list of beverages that show up in novels that have piqued my curiosity for years. For some additional background information, I turned to both online sources and Turncoat’s cider maker. 

I’ll link to Turncoat Cidery’s website more for the future than for the present: https://turncoatcidery.com/

According to the Connecticut and Rhode Island Beverage Journal, “Employing 16 heritage cider varieties—including Golden Russet, Ashmead’s Kernel, Harrison, Arkansas Black, Whitney and Roxbury Russet—Turncoat! farms organically and follows low-intrusion fermentation techniques to add great character to their small-batch production.” The cider is available via distribution and at restaurants. 

Here’s what the cider’s label reads.

Madeira Cask Cider Turncoat ciders are made from heirloom cider apples grown at Fox Hill Farm, a beautiful saltwater farm at the base of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island and the colonial era farm of Benedict Arnold. Today we honor the traditions of cider making past through thoughtful blending of bittersweet and bittersharp apples to give our cider both nuance and character.  

This particular cider went into the bottle about 6 months ago.

Appearance: hazy, medium intensity shortbread color, no visible bubbles 

The Madeira Cask Cider’s color reminds me of perfectly baked shortbread; its golden but gently so. I don’t see any visible bubbles, and the cider has a soft haze. 

Aromas: petrol, apricot, leather, walnuts, mushroom

These descriptors paint a picture for me, just like the Madeira Cask Cider’s aromas do. This is a story of mature, earthy and wild scents. Its very foresty with apricot, walnut, and mushroom notes. The cider doesn’t just smell like fairy woodland though; I also get petrol and leathery elements as well. I so appreciate the multi-dimensional funk going on!

Sweetness/dryness: bone dry

This cider is dry. Don’t ask for it to be sweet. 

Flavors and drinking experiences: sparkling, lemon, smoky and funky

This cider’s  flavors grow very naturally from its aromas. The Madeira Cask Cider has some of the barrel and oxidation-related notes more associated with Madeira itself: walnut, hazelnut, and orange peel. There’s more though; this cider is sparkling, with notes of lemon, barrel, and smoke.

This is a funky cider that I think will appeal most to fans of both UK cider profiles and genuinely dry ciders. Luckily for me, I’m very fond of both! I like the cider’s acidity, austerity, and challenge. The whole experience is angular and savory. It could stand up to a hearty meal beautifully, but the cider is complex enough to enjoy on its own. Lovely.

Cider Review: Reisetbauer Qualitätsbrand's Apfelschaumwein Vom Kirchdorfergut

I get a small but consistent number of requests for more coverage of international ciders here. That’s something I’m happy to do by opportunity, and I was thrilled to have the excuse to drink a very hyped Austrian sparkling apple wine recently. The name Reisetbauer is more associated with spirits, mostly Eau de Vie and Gin, than with cider. Some folks wouldn’t even allow the word cider here; they would insist on calling it Apfelwein or apple wine. I’m not ready to wade into such a debate, but since it’s fermented apple juice, its certainly something I find worth covering!

This is my first inclusion of anything by Reisetbauer. The company is associated with the distiller Hans Reisetbauer, based in Austria. The company was founded in 1994, but its predated by the orchards planted for it in 1990. The small company’s spirits consistently win awards.

You can visit the website here and learn more about the company’s distilled spirits: https://www.reisetbauer.at/

Here’s how the Reisetbauer website describes the Sparkling Apple Wine.

REISETBAUER SPARKLING APPLE WINE

The base for the sparkling wine is apple juice from the Kirchdorfergut of Hans Reisetbauer.

After producing the apple cider, it rests for 24 months on the yeast. This is the "Champagne Methode" or "Méthode traditionnelle". Instead of sugar, only the juice from the Jonagold apple is used for the "Dosage".

Because of its lower alcoholic volume of 7% the Reisetbauer sparkling apple wine is such a perfect summer drink and a high quality alternative to champagne.

"In the nose ripe apple notes, fine and elegant perlage. Fresh and spicy in the mouth, in the finish is the unique taste of the ripe Jonagold apple of the Kirchdorfergut."

Serve the Reisetbauer sparkling apple wine cool and in a big white wine glass.

And now for my notes!

Appearance: Brilliant, warm straw, medium intensity, few miniscule bubbles 

This is a lovely cider. I can see just a few of the tiniest bubbles. The color is a classic shade of warm straw with medium intensity. It poured with a disappearing head like champagne. 

Aromas: Dust, intense fruit notes, red grapes, cantaloupe, apricot,

The apple wine smells mostly of fruit, but there are mineral and dust notes floating around in the mix. The fruit notes come across intensely, almost as though they have been concentrated. I get aromas that remind me of red grapes, cantaloupe, and dried apricot.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry

This is completely dry. It’s fruity and has big flavors, but the flavors do not come from sweetness.

Flavors and drinking experience: white flowers, light honey, tannic, funky

I found the Apfelschaumwein Vom Kirchdorfergut tasted complex and stimulating without being too challenging. It opens with notes of white flowers and light ethereal honey. It wasn’t just gentleness; this cider has a bit of fusel oil funk to it too. One note of bitterness slightly recalls red pepper. The flavors are so savory. This is wonderful!

I love that this beverage brought me all of the strong bubbles I was hoping for based on what I saw when it poured. The mouthfeel was drying with just a bit of cotton mouth astringence. The cider completes its experience with a long, gentle apple finish. 

I had this cider with some cheeses, homemade bread, and fruit shared with good friends. We enjoyed it all on my porch before the weather got too terribly warm. There’s not a lot I can imagine as more enjoyable than delightful company, good cider, and tasty cheese. This cider would work well with many pairings, but I don’t think you’d find a better one. 

Cider Review: Forward Ferments' Bare Brut

By the time this post goes live, we’ll be more than halfway through February. It's such an odd month: short but it feels endless. It’s cold (in many places I’ve lived)  but some years February is when we get a strange 1-3 days of thaw or a massive snowstorm. So far this year, we’re leaning towards snowstorm. I can’t say that I’m a fan, but I can tell that we’re getting longer days. That’s unabashedly wonderful. This is the setting for a review of one of my last remaining ciders snagged at GLINTCAP in 2019. Here’s my review of Forward Cider's Bare Brut.

Foward Ferments is a cider and other beverages project coming out of Wisconsin. The brand also has a foot in Chicago. The beverage maker is Alec Steinmetz. It has a young orchard. I know the company works with a mix of local and imported fruit, while the orchard matures.

Instead of maintaining a website, Forward Ferments, relies on social media. You can see updates to Facebook about the latest projects here: https://www.facebook.com/forwardcider/

I’ve reviewed one cider by Forward Ferments before, the PenPal: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/01/cider-review-scrumpy-ewes-golden-crab.html

Unfortunately, it means I wasn’t able to find a lot of information about this cider. The label calls it still and dry. I did fine some info about Forward Ferments and cider maker Alec Steinmetz here: https://www.jsonline.com/story/life/food/2020/03/17/forward-cider-wants-educate-wisconsinites-how-hard-cider-should-taste/4830416002/

So here’s what I thought of Forward Ferments’ Bare brut.

Appearance: hazy, cedar wood, few visible bubbles

I love how intense this color looks! It reminds me of the color of cedar wood. I’ll call the cider hazy as it has a bit of soft haze in terms of its opacity. I can see just a few bubbles around the ring of the glass, not many.

Aromas: reductive, dusty, overripe apple, low acid

What an interesting set of aromas. The Bare Brut smells of overripe apples, but the smell isn’t too intense. Something in this bouquet makes me think the cider will be medium or lower in intensity, but I’m having a hard time putting my finger on where that is coming from. There’s a bit of reductive funkiness, which I know will excite some cider drinkers. I also get some notes of dust and wood.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry

This is a dry cider that has a whole carousel of flavors, none of which come from sweetness.

Flavors and drinking experience: petillant, funky, barrel-y, medium low acid, soft finish

The Bare Brut will shock many american cider drinkers; it’s just so different. To me, some of these elements remind me of some drier UK or French ciders. This cider is tannic with medium low acidity. It’s not an exact match with international profiles, but that feels like the inspiration to me. I did find it petillant rather than still as the label led me to expect. I’m also seeing that influence in the funkiness. The Bare Brut tastes wild. I love that it’s different. The profile suits a cold winter night and a dessert with dark chocolate ganache.

 

Her Father's Cider Bar and 3 Windswept Orchard Ciders: Ida Red, Crimson Crisp and Golden Russet

I spent Memorial Day weekend in Toronto celebrating a birthday; This meant three amazing days, eating, walking, gawping at fish in the aquarium, and generally exploring this cool new city. No exploration is complete without checking out a new cider scene, and I was stoked to see what Toronto has to offer cider-wise. 

After a shockingly intense thunderstorm, we headed off to Her Father’s Cider Bar for dinner and cider. I’d heard about this particular spot for more than a year. When we arrived, I was instantly charmed by seeing how the world-class cider selection is stored and displayed. Looking at the menu only increased my excitement. The cider menu didn’t fit in a paragraph, or a column, or even a page. It was a book and a chalkboard. I knew we’d come to the best place in all of Toronto, and that was before we tried the chickpea fries!

You can see some lovely photos and check out the extensive menus online: https://www.herfathers.ca

I love how the ciders are divided into styles in the menu of bottled and canned ciders. That gives the drinker enough information to really hone in on a style they like and still try something unfamiliar. Plus the flags make identifying cidery location very simple too. Check out this cider by the glass page. It's positively swoon-worthy.

My cider co-pilot Woody had an adventurous flight of ciders with different additives and fermentation technique experiments, and I tried the Single Varietal Flight from Windswept Orchards. I love apple blends, but I am always curious to try a single varietal from an apple I've not tasted singly before and this flight had two: Ida Red and Crimson Crisp. And the one apple I did know from other single varietals is the Golden Russet which has contributed some fantastic ciders.

Windswept Orchard Ciders is a relatively young Ontario cidery: started in 2016. From what I read on the website; Windswept uses foraged fruits from abandoned orchards and has invested in the future with a young orchard on the farm.

Visit the cidery website to learn more and to peek at all the gorgeous labels: https://windsweptcider.com/

Ida Red

Here’s Windswept Orchard Cider’s official description:

Ida Red apples are known for their sweet aromas and zippy tart finish. Light, crisp and delicate, great on it's own as an aperitif. Crafted with 100% Ida Red apples from a single orchard overlooking the shores of Georgian Bay near Thornbury, Ontario. Bottle conditioned, contains lees. 7.4% 500ml 101 cases produced.

I found the Ida Red a bubbly dry, delicate cider. I loved it’s pear-apple aromas and clean fermentation. It brough an airy  light body and lots of bubbles to the experience. This is definitely one I’d like to seek out again. 

Next up was the Crimson Crisp: a GLINTCAP Silver Medalist

Here’s the official description for Crimson Crisp: 

A modern varietal with heirloom appeal, Crimson Crisp apples are rich, tart and full of flavour. Lush, vinous and textural. Crafted with 100% Crimson Crisp apples sourced from a single orchard and grown on the slope of the Niagara escarpment on Georgian Bay. Bottle conditioned, contains lees. 7.4% ABV 500ml 101 cases produced.

For me the Crimson Crisp smelled just like homemade apple sauce; it reminded me of ciders with a lot of Northern Spy. I like the super vivid apple aromas that make me think of the texture of ripe apples as much as the taste. When drinking, I found this cider a bit more yeasty and fermented. Something about it connoted cold though it’s serving temperature was the same as its compatriots.

I want to finish up with the Golden Russet, starting with its official description:

Rich, lively honey apple finish. Coveted amongst cidermakers, Golden Russet apples are known for their perfect balance of sweetness, acidity and tannin. Crafted from 100% Golden Russet apples grown in a single orchard overlooking the shores of Georgian Bay near Meaford, Ontario. Bottle conditioned, contains lees. 7.4% ABV 500ml 155 cases produced

Oh boy! This cider smells mature and farmy! The Golden Russet is the funky one of the flight! It was smart to put it last on the list, as it’s a build up to this wild and barny cider. The aromas remind me not only of barn wood but also a dry sherry. The tastes are very different from the cider’s smells. The Golden Russet tastes like pear and like a soft overripe apple. I love this one.

The food was absolutely as good as the cider, and I wouldn't trade the whole experience for anything. Toronto was a great place to visit and a fun place for cider. 

Cider Review: Weidmann + Groh: Cydonia Apfel Perlwein, Art + Science West Valley Cider plus News!

Chances are, if you are reading this page, you love cider. That’s why I write here week after week. But last year, I set aside a whole month to learn about perry: Very Perry May. I took that deep dive by writing five weeks of perry or pear cider reviews. Next month, I’ll be doing it again, but pears and apples aren’t the only pome fruit. I don’t want to forget about quince!

Today, I’m sharing my thoughts on two ciders that blend apple with quince. For a bit of background, quince is in the Rosaceae family but it’s the only member of its genus: Cydonia. The primary taste attribute of quince is its tartness. It can be cooked and eaten; some varieties are even palatable raw, but quince jam is far more common. Not very many cider makers use quince, and these blends still draw primarily from apples. I’m drawing from two very geographically disparate makers here: Germany and Washington State. Let’s see what quince adds to what we know about cider.

The first comes from German beverage producer Weidmann + Groh. The name of the drink is: Cydonia Apfel Perlwein.

Weidmann + Groh makes fruit wines and distilled spirits. The company has been selling fruit spirits since the late 1980s out of Friedberg. Before distilling, the company had an orchard and fruit farm in the location, hence the start of a very locally oriented agricultural business. I apologize that I don’t have a more complete picture of them to share, but I’m hesitate to paraphrase from a Google translation of the webpage for my only direct source of information.

Feel free to explore here to find out more and see some lovely pictures, but the website is in German: https://weidmann-groh.de/

Official description (again translation provided by Google.)

Variety: Our Cydonia is made from different apple varieties. Friedberger Bohnapfel, Landsberger Renette, Goldparmäne, Boskop, Kaiser Wilhelm, Gewürzluiken and of course quince. 

Production: We place special emphasis on the correct maturity of the quince. They ripen after harvest for about 2 weeks before they are processed. About 25% quince must is then added to the cider and fermented. After the fermentation of the must, the wine is taken from the Hefedepot and then stored for 8 weeks. This clarifies the wine and is then completely clear. Now it can be filled. Compared to still wines, endogenous carbonic acid is added to our Cydonia just before filling. This gives a sparkling fresh taste experience, which is particularly popular in the warmer months of the year. 

Taste profile: Fragrant, fresh, typical Quittentuft, fruity tart, with fine Perlage and a slight residual sweetness.

Serving suggestion: Best in a tulip-like glass. Serve chilled, between 4 and 7 degrees. After opening, keep the bottle cool to avoid carbon dioxide loss through heating. Use emergency bottles at the latest the next day.

Appearance: brilliant, corn kernel, some bubbles

This is a lovely cider. The color reminds me of unpopped kernels of popcorn with that intense warm yellow. I can see some bubbles such that I anticipate a bubbly cider, and it’s totally brilliant.

Aromas: juicy apples, wet grass, floral

The Apfel Perlwein smells juicy and appley in a very immediate way, but there are lots of other layers as well. The cider smells herbal, floral, and aquatic: the image that comes to mind is a swift moving creek in a wild forest. The wildness hints at what might taste a tiny bit like Spanish French cider styles. 

Dryness/sweetness: semi-sweet and honeyed

This has a notably honey like sweetness, that feels totally natural. It does remind me of some french ciders.

Flavor and drinking experience: tart, medium bubbles, herbal, briney, tannic

Wow! This does taste a little different and I wish I knew if this was the German cider making style, the unfamiliar apples, or the quince. There are too many unknown factors here! There's a pleasant high herbal note of rosemary in a generally herbal field.

The Apfel Perlwein offers up gentle to medium carbonation, a nice wet mouhfeel, and a friendly balance of sweet and salty elements. This cider speaks with high lingering tannins, lots of malic acid, and a little funk. I’d definitely describe it as briney. In terms of geographic and historic styles, it's like Spanish and English ciders had a sweet French baby. I know that’s far from precise, but that starts to paint the picture.

We drank this cider with sweet cake, which overrode the sweetness and brought out the tannins. I’d definitely recommend this pairing! 

Art + Science West Valley CiderThis is my first review of anything by Art + Science. The company was founded in 2011 originally as a winery in Oregon. Soon after, Art + Science branched out into cider. Dan Rinke and Kim Hamblin founded the small company and have an orchard featuring not only apples but also pears and quince in addition to making their biodynamic ciders.

Read more about this cool company on the website: http://www.artandsciencenw.com/

The official description reads, “The apples (90% of the blend) and quince were foraged from friends, neighbors and strangers in the Oregon countryside. With no sugar or sulfur added, the cider is dry and tart, with a lively sparkle in its eye.” ABV6.5%.

Appearance: hazy, sunset orange, visible bubbles

Such an interesting appearance! I am not surprised to learn that this is a very natural cider as its both intensely colorful with a sunset orange tone and solidly cloudy.

Aromas: peach, pear, quince

This cider smells very fresh, immediate and fruity, with specific notes of pear, peach, and quince. Something about the nose of this cider tells me that this is going to be seriously tart.
Dryness/sweetness: dry

This cider comes across as dry but super fruity.

Flavors and drinking experience: rustic, tart, fresh, tropical

I like this funky, fruity, dry cider! It tastes tropical and just a little sour/acetic but mildly so. The natural fermentation shows with a fresh yet rustic character. When I say rustic, I do not mean barny; this cider is instead very fresh and wild. I’d even call it tangy in a citrus way. I don’t get much of a tannic presence from the West Valley Cider but the acid is powerful enough to make it feel like the cider is curing the insides of my ears and causing a salivary reaction! Whoa tart!

Overall, the West Valley Cider was a fun cider to have with gourmet grilled cheese and salad. It could also go with some fun pinxtos bites. I think the quince really pushes that tartness to an intense but really tasty level. I know fans of natural cider styles or sidra would absolutely adore it.

NEWS!

And we’re just over a month until GLINTCAP and Cider Week Grand Rapids! The Michigan Cider Association will be putting on the annualCider Week GR, happening May 13-19. The week will feature tap takeovers, cider tours, and Gillett Bridge Festival. Be sure to check out the website to learn more: https://www.experiencegr.com/cider-week/. I know I can’t wait!

If you want to submit your ciders to be judged at the world's largest cider competition- register your ciders here: http://glintcap.org/register/. You have until April 30th.