Cider Review: South Hill Cider's Stone Fence Farm

One of the cideries making the Finger Lakes cider explosion happen has to be South Hill Cider. Steve Selin's small cidery uses local fruit, heritage varietals of apple, and foraged fruit. They've not been around for many years yet, but their ciders have certainly made a name for themselves quickly. You can read about everything they do on the website.  

http://www.southhillcider.com/

I have reviewed two South Hill Ciders before. 

First a single batch blend with hops and cherries, the Hypothesis:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/05/cider-review-south-hill-ciders.html

I also reviewed the 2014 batch of the foraged PackBasket also blended with foraged pears:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/04/cider-review-south-hill-ciders-2014.html

What I'm realizing only just now, this review of the Stone Fence Farm is my only review of a cider made from only apples. How novel! 

Here's how South Hill Cider introduces it.

2015 STONE FENCE FARM 

A single-orchard cider, all of the fruit came from a small homestead cider orchard planted by our friend Peter Hoover between 1995-2000 near Trumansburg, NY. 

Still, DryBalanced and expressive. Aromas of wet slate, rich soil. Starfruit, lychee, walnut. Mouth-watering finish.Apple varieties: Golden and Roxbury Russets, Redfield, Tremletts Bitter, Bramleys Seedling, Zabergau Reinette, Kingston Black, Major, Michelin, Medaille d'Or, Chisel Jersey, Brown Snout, Esopus Spitzenburg, Sops of Wine, Granny Smith, Foxwhelp, Winter Banana, Calville Blanc, Cox's Orange Pippin, Sheepnose, and more.RS 0.3% / TA 7.6g/L / 7.5 ABV750 mL 

I want to take a moment just to emphasize that all of the apples for this cider came from one small orchard. And look at those varieties! These are not easily found apples. The orchard isn't a commercial operation, just the labor of love of someone who loves cider and apples very much. Its a tremendous window into this fruit to see it come together as a single batch of cider. I'm very curious!

Appearance: just a little hazy, warm saffron yellow, virtually no visible bubbles

Please forgive the helpfully labeled Chardonnay glasses in the picture. I assure you, this is cider and not Chardonnay. I love the color, its so warm and mellow. It isn't a brilliant tone of color and there are no bubbles to speak of. I predict a still cider.

Aromas: soft apples, paper, minerals, fermentation

This smells subtly floral and just a little powdery. I get tons of apple with some soft papery notes. The cider also seems a little minerally while still giving off airs of gently boozy fermentation. What a charming overall impression!

Dry/sweet: just off dry

This cider seems almost totally dry. The experience is not dominated by this factor, but I find the barest hint of sweetness quite pleasant in the context of the other flavors. Primarily though, it does come across as dry.

Flavors and drinking experience: Still, great mouthfeel, mellow, high tannin

I was right; this cider is completely still! It also resembles the aromas I noticed by being high tannin, high acid, and just off-dry. I mean its pretty functionally dry. but also warmly rich and flavorful. I adore its gentle mouthcoat. This is decidedly finger lakes in profile but well-balanced. 

It tastes like fermented fruit, not fresh fruit. This means its a little yeasty a little spicy, very mellow and offers up a golden nice long finish. I had this cider at a friends house with homemade pasta with a red cream sauce and a super flavorful salad with lots of balsamic vinegar. The cider was not overpowered by these bold combinations, but you could also let it be even more central with some more simple gentle pairings like burrata cheese, grilled peaches, and toasted almonds. At least, that's how I would do it.

Cider Review: Tandem Cider's Smackintosh

I love that Tandem Ciders has a section on their website labelled "Cidery Philosophy." That's something I want to know from every cidermaker I encounter, but usually I find it by bits and pieces gleaned through reading their histories, cider descriptions, about sections and social media presence. Usually it is gleaned between the lines as much as by direct statements. But Tandem is making it easy for me, which says to me that they care about having and sharing a cider philosophy. Here's the opening sentence, "The intention at Tandem Ciders is to produce ciders that reflect the beauty of the apple." Very direct and bold. Much of the following section is a loving paen to apples and their mythos, but the last paragraph begins to get specific, and I love that.

Here's what Tandem Ciders say about their cider philosophy.

As with any craftsman, the ability to transform raw materials into a composition requires patience, passion, and a little elbow grease. With these ideals in mind, Tandem Ciders strives for culinary artistry in its ciders. Our products will begin with superior apples that will echo farmers’ time and hard work. Each small batch of fruit will be turned into juice with a traditional rack and cloth press. The juice will then be fermented using standard styles, and the resulting cider will be bottled ‘straight’ or blended with a little Leelanau County imagination. As we keep on fermenting, we hope to keep on improving with each passing season.

You can read much more about them at: http://www.tandemciders.com

I was given a bottle of the Smackintosh at GLINTCAP with only the context that it is one o their sweeter and more popular ciders. Fair enough, but I wanted to know more, so I found their official description.

POW! Right in the Kisser

McIntosh, Rhode Island Greening, and Northern Spy. Everything's better with a little Smack. This crowd pleaser is sweet and tart with full apple flavor.

Apple Growers: Smith-Omena Heights Farm, Steimel Brothers, Christmas Cove Farm, & Schultz Orchards

These apples are classic varieties. Northern Spy have been popular for pies and baking for decades, and Rhode Island Greening has been a sauce apple for longer than most of us have been alive. The McIntosh serves as a fantastic apple in a number of contexts: raw, cooking, and processing. There's so much neat history there that I recommend reading the Wikipedia article about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McIntosh_%28apple%29

What I can surmise though is that this blend of apples will offer more sweetness and less acidity and virtually no tannins. I'm curious about what "full apple flavor" means in this context, but I'm hoping for a nice rich mouthfeel. The ABV for this cider is listed as an unusually low 4.5%. 

Appearance: straw, tiny visible bubbles in the glass, clear

This cider looks lovely with its mellow straw color and unusually tiny bubbles. It appears clear rather than brilliant.

Aromas: fresh apple all the way

Just smells exactly, almost freakishly, like an apple. The aroma is so fresh that it seems luscious and wet.  How a smell can seem wet, I don't really know, but that's how it was.

Sweetness/dryness: sweet

This is going to get repetitive, but I must emphasize how much like eating a fresh apple this cider tastes. The sweetness is the sweetness of fresh pressed juice, and there's plenty of that sweetness present.

Flavors and drinking experience: apple, apple, and more apple and relatively low level of carbonation

The Smackintosh tastes like a dessert apple, rather specifically like a McIntosh or a Golden Delicious. It's nearly goofy to me how much this tastes like an apple; partly I attribute this to halted fermentation and a relatively low ABV.  It tastes great with pieces of real apple. The taste feels low in the mouth in a way that reminds me of many French ciders. The mouthfeel is not super crisp or tart but rather soft and mellow. The cider is juicy iwth low acid, making it not bright but nicely minerally. Very low level of sparkle. I find it very pleasant and natural for its type of a cider: arrested fermentation, low abv, and sweet. 

I enjoyed this cider with a little picnic on my porch: fresh mozzerella, lemon and raw garlic hummus, cucumbers, carrots, grape tomatoes, apples, and fresh brown bread. Perfect balance for the sweetness.

Last blog post before England! I've stored a few entries and set the blog to post them automatically, but I still feel like I'll miss this (and all of you) while I'm gone. Drink some tasty ciders for me! I promise that's what I'll be doing in London and Cornwall.

Cider Review: Bad Seed's Belgian Abbey Hard Cider

 

Though the Hudson Valley cider scene is physically close to us here in the Finger Lakes, I've felt surprised by the relative separateness of our cider scenes. Nonetheless, I always try to pick up these ciders when I see them for sale. Hence, my review of Bad Seed's Belgian Abbey Hard Cider.

The last time I reviewed a Bad Seed cider it was their IPC (India Pale Cider) back in September of 2013. You can read the review here: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/08/cider-review-bad-seed-ipc-india-pale.html Theyve come a long way since then and even longer since Bad Seed was started by two friends in 2011. Now they even have website: http://www.badseedhardcider.com/ in addition to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Badseedcider.

In reading Bad Seed's website, the most fascinating writing I found says, "We seek to advance the craft cider industry through mixing both old and new cider techniques and craft beer influences. Making ciders from 100% fresh pressed apples grown by us on a 6th generation family farm with no Alchemy used, after all this is cider not science. You wont find the endless list of chemicals, artificial sweeteners, and excuses on our label because we don't use them." Alchemy, eh? I hadn't known that was a major issue in the industry, but what a fascinating idea.

This is what Bad Seed says about their own Belgian Abbey Hard Cider: "If Belgian Monks only found this the higher purpose of the apple, Crafted from apples grown in the Hudson Valley , fermented with a Belgian abbey beer yeast, unfiltered and bottle conditioned. Tart, tangy, Dry and a little off beat like a Bad seed should be." This cider has a very middle of the road 6.3% ABV, making it nice and easy with meals.

 
Appearance: Hazy bubbly lemon sorbet color

Aromas: beery, yeasty, citrusy

First and foremost, this cider smells like beer. Behind the intense beer smells, I can also detect some citrus and maybe maybe a hint of apple. Mostly though the yeast choice makes itself clear in the aromas of the Belgian Abbey Hard Cider.

Sweetness: Dry

Absolutely bone dry. Both from the copy on the website and the dryness of this cider, I'm confident saying that the Belgian Abbey Hard Cider has been bottle conditioned.

Flavors and Drinking experience: beer-like, bitter, bubbly

Unsurprisingly based on the aromas, this cider tastes very beer-like to me, mind you I don't usually drink beer. Somehow though, the bitterness and citrus notes just say beer to me. The Belgian Abbey is very bubbly too, but not very appley. This isn't a problem; ciders don't have to be very fruity or appley and this one is not. As I drink on, it seems almost burly and definitely burpy. I can taste hints of something savory: celery, fennel and pepper. And I get a consistent minerality. The only true fruit note is grapefruit pith. Very interesting. This cider is definitely low in tannins, medium low acid, and no sweetness.

My impression is that it is so dominated by the yeast choice that if you like that you'll like the cider and if you don't, you won't. The Belgian Abbey even pours with a lot of yeast at the bottom if the bottle when compared to other bottle conditioned ciders.

This cider made a great match with vegetarian chicken dumpling soup. I would always choose to pair the Belgian Abbey Hard Cider with salty food. Its combination of citrusy notes, extreme bubbliness, and bitter beery edge complement salt and heft extremely well. With food, I liked this one a lot, but I think it needs food: at least for me.

Cider Review: Blackbird Ciders' Orchardist's Reserve

So, one of my goals for Finger Lakes Craft Cider Week was to try as many of the unfamiliar cideries as I could. While I didn't make it out to all of the Cider Week events, I did what I could to try new things and this is my first review from that process. I got my hands on some Black Bird Cider Works' Orchardist's Reserve. But before I dive right into the cider, let's learn a bit about the folks who make it.

This is how Black Bird Cider Works introduces themselves on their website (which you can visit here http://blackbirdciders.com):

BlackBird Cider Works is proud to be Niagara County’s sole craft hard cider producer. Nestled on a beautiful farm overlooking Lake Ontario, we produce hard ciders made from apples grown in our own orchard. We boast a variety of ciders ranging from dry to sweet, including some made from certified organic apples. Our on-property tasting room is open seven days a week, offering samples of our current craft cider selection, as well as bottle sales. Stop by the cidery for a tasting, grab some BlackBird merchandise, and discover why we’re Western New York’s premier craft cider producer.

 Their exact location is Barker, New York and one of the really cool things about Black Bird Cider Works is that the cidery and orchard are all part of one location. Black Bird grows all of their own fruit, including both cider varieties of apples and organic apples. Both fairly rare situations and quite special.

I love that Black Bird Cider Works has a tasting room. Perhaps I've become partial over the months I've been involved with one, but there's really something wonderful to say about both seeing the premises for the beverage you are trying and about seeing how customers respond to your ciders.

Now onto Black Bird Cider Works' Orchardist's Reserve!

As I often do, I think it is useful to begin with the cidermaker's official description: "A Blend of six varieties of apples including New York State favorites like the Empire, Cortland & Jonagold apples. With an apple essence on the nose & a light refreshing taste, this cider has a clean finish." To me, this just gives me a good baseline for what to expect so that I approach the cider on its own terms.

Appearance: lots of color, no visible  bubbles, brilliant

This cider shows great color, a deep autumnal gold with hidden hints of green. As the photo shows, there are simply no visible bubbles or haze. It looks so unbubbly that there might not be any sparkle in this cider at all. We'll see.

Aromas: warmed apples, wood, booze

This smells immediately of warm overripe apples, yum. I can get notes of wood shavings, things that remind me of both beer and wine, so I guess I'm just smelling a more notable than usual booziness to the bouquet. Somehow the smell also makes me think of dusty hot slow afternoons in an attic or a barn. Perhaps thats more memory than smell though.

Sweetness/Dryness: Semi-sweet

I know the bottle tells me that this cider will be semi-dry, but I don't get that at all. Semi-sweet is my official recommendation even taking into account that my personal palate is calibrated with some real sensitivity to sweetness. 

Flavors and drinking experience: petillant, fruity, green, sweet finish

As the appearance suggested, this cider is just slightly petillant. In terms of flavor, what I notice most is the fruity mid-palate. At that moment, I can taste tangerines, cucumber, all kinds of summer fruit backed with hints of green ultrafresh bitterness. Pleasantly complex. Somehow this just tastes so much like summer. Perhaps it is the hits of lake water minerality. Or somehow the combination of tannins and a sweet powdered sugar finish. I'm not entirely sure. My only real critique has to be in mouthfeel. I prefer a crisper feel with real acid but the Orchardist's Reserve offers more of a soft giving mouthfeel, especially after the initial burst of texture and flavor.

As for pairing, I'd put this with one last summery salad. Even up here in upstate New York, I can still get really good bell peppers and greens. So, I'd chop up every fresh crisp vegetable in the house into a grand finale of a salad, add a good splash of lemon and feta dressing, then drink up this cider right with it.

Cider Review: Appeltreow Kinglet Bitter

Tonight, I am finally able to post my review of Appeltreow's Kinglet Bitter. I say finally because I tasted this cider weeks ago. Spoiler alert: I loved it. But I temporarily misplaced the photos I took of it, so I didn't want to post a review with no pictures. Tonight, I found them, so no more waiting!

First things first. You can find out plenty about AeppelTreow Winery and Distillery at their website:
http://aeppeltreow.com/

I have reviewed one AeppelTreow cider before, their Barnswallow. Interested parties can read that review here: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/03/cider-review-appeltreow-barnswallow.html

The briefest version of AeppelTreow's description of their Kinglet Bitter reads, "Semi-dry, medium tannic traditional English and French cider apples."

While mouthwatering, that doesn't go as deep as I would like in terms of information, and, luckily for us cider nerds, AeppelTreow gives us more. Here's the full rundown of what they say about the Kinglet Bitter.

English and French traditional cider apples. Complex and tannic.
Fermented to highlight cultivars and terroir.
Subtle apple and tannins, tart, slightly bubbly.

• Body: Medium
• Sweetness: 1
• Tartness: 4
• Alcohol: 6
• Apples: Dabinette, Domaine, Frequin Rouge, White Jersey, Muscadet Deippe and other bittersweet cider apples of English and French heritage.

Kinglet Bitter is one of our proud ‘estate’ ciders.  It’s all grown at Brightonwoods, within sight of the Winery.   It’s more subtle and complex than Barn Swallow – being fermented from 100% bitter English and French cider apples.  It differs from an authentic European cider by being ‘immature’.  Kinglet has very little post-ferment changes made by wild Lactic Acid Bacteria.  Instead, we ferment it with a Sangiovese yeast that we think really brings out the tannin characters of the cider-specific cultivars.  These apples are rare, and not easy to grow.  When we get the question "Then why use them?", we pour a glass of Kinglet.

I've had a fair number of ciders that use only cider apples, and it changes the landscape of flavors tremendously. What excites me especially is that this list goes beyond the ten or so cider apples I've tasted most often and includes totally unfamiliar apples! The comment about relative 'immaturity' caused by post-fermentation changes makes me curious. What does that really mean? How will that translate into taste?

Appearance: marigold, few visible bubbles, brilliant

This is a deeply colored cider. Its marigold hue bespeaks tannins; this is not a surprise given the description.

Aromas: Tons of overripe apple aroma, some minerals, spicy.

 Wow! I feel completely entranced by the aromas here. This smells sweetly spicy but oh-so appley. Laying atop this balance, I pick up a subtle drift of minerality. Gosh, this is going to be good.

Sweetness: semi-dry

This has some sweetness, but not too much. Definitely not enough to call it semi-sweet. The thing about this sweetness that I notice most is its depth. This is a real rich apple taste that expresses itself partly with sweetness.

Flavors: high tannins, medium sweetness, rich, creamy, yet a bit tart

This cider tastes highly tannic but not too dry. I'll chalk that up not only to deep fruits in the mid palate but also no overkill in terms of acidity. The Kinglet Bitter offers rich flavor without being heavy. Instead the mouthfeel is more creamy but with hints of zest. The flavor is one that you can fall into but that just bounces you back up. It really is tannic and sweet but still refreshing; I just cannot get over how well those two elements are balanced.

I just absolutely adore this cider.

The level of sparkle is more one of spritz or petillance. My one complaint is that it did lose its sparkle fairly quickly in the glass. This is not a sincere critique. We need ciders at all levels of bubble and stillness. I just happen to like sparkle a lot.

Thinking about pairings for AeppelTreow's Kinglet Bitter, I'd like to pair it with foods that play up its tannins well. I think a totally smooth sherried mushroom soup, a salad with big herby croutons, and gruyere would taste amazing. Mind you, I enjoyed my own glasses of this cider with a good book instead of food. I assure you, it delights the senses either way. I just like tasty cider more than I like cooking, so I don't always prepare the meals that I think the ciders deserve.

Thanks so much to AeppelTreow for making the Kinglet Bitter. Yes, it is worth growing the difficult cider apples. Keep up the great work.

Cider Review: Original Sin Hard Cider's Premium Apple Cider

Lately, I've been a very social creature, and this means going out to restaurants and bars with friends for conversation and merriment. Fun, yes? Yes! But, this isn't always easy for the dedicated cider drinker. I don't always have any cider option at all, or if I do there will be between one and three very familiar choices. For two of my recent escapades, I've had the option of Original Sin Cider and I've chosen it. It amazes me actually that I've not yet reviewed their flagship cider because it is frequently my favorite option when I go out. A restaurant served it to me in a bottle and a local institution of a bar poured mine from their tap. So, my notes for this particular review come from both bottled and draft versions of Original Sin Cider.

Original Sin's official Brand Description gives the briefest of overviews of their history and priorities as a company, "Original Sin is a critically acclaimed cider launched in 1997. From day one we’ve been committed to producing premium quality cider using the finest ingredients. Original Sin contains no artificial flavors or colors allowing the natural qualities of the apple to speak for itself."  What this does not detail is the really interesting New York City and New York State connections of the company or its unique brand identity largely shaped by the graphic design by R. Black. You can read more about these elements and other at Original Sin's website: http://www.origsin.com/.

A while ago I did review their Newtown Pippin: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/02/cider-review-newtown-pippin.html and their Elderberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/09/cider-review-original-sin-elderberry.html It feels like an oversight at this point not to have reviewed a cider that I drink regularly and that is far more available than many of the ciders I try. Folks can buy Original Sin in more than 30 states in the U.S.

I do with that Original Sin's official cider description gave me a bit more to work with, but here's what it says, "Dry Traditional cider, fermented with two types of Champagne yeast." I'm glad to hear about the yeast varieties. Traditional is not really a useful term at this point in American cider. Anyhow, on the review!

Appearance: brilliant, straw, lots of fairly active bubbles

I can't see it very well when this cider is served in the bottle, so I saved my photos for its appearance on tap. The color is a classic pale straw. Completely brilliant. Plenty of bubbles that are fairly fine and very active in the glass.

Aroma: cooked apples, sweetness, yeast, vanilla

What I can smell most strongly is exactly baked apple. Secondarily I can detect a blendy smell of yeast and vanilla. The overall impression is very much like a bakery! On some sniffs I could detect a tiny chemical after smell, Alex thought a touch vinegar, but to me it was a bit more bleachy. Overall definitely a sweet smell.

Sweetness: Semi-sweet to sweet

Much less sweet than the smell would imply. Oddly enough the sweetness of this cider seemed to vary for me based on vessel from which I quaffed it. From the bottle, I'd call it a semi-sweet but from a pint glass it tasted more sweet. Perhaps that could also have to do with having the bottled Original Sin with fish and chips or with super salty popcorn which was how I enjoyed my pint glass. I also totally acknowledge that my tastes have gone pretty extreme in terms of finding nearly everything either sweet or semi-sweet. It is a flaw in my personal calibration. Oh well.

Flavors and drinking experience: clean, balanced, low tannins, low acidity, green walnuts

This is a mass-market cider which means that crazy levels of tannins or acidity are just not part of the picture. What's great about it though is that this cider is smooth and balanced and clean. I also love that the smell and the taste offer two very  It somehow reminds me of greenness and pleasantly under-ripe fruit. It has a freshness like that to it. Very clean finish with hints of bitter apple skins, most of the sweetness is on the initial taste after which it backs off. I am reminded of green grapes and green walnuts, but nothing too sharp.

As if it wasn't apparent by now, this is my preferred bar cider. I don't really buy it to drink at home; that's where I imbibe my rare and exotic pretties. But, this is my top choice when I'm out and meeting friends, playing games, or eating salty bar snacks. That is exactly what this cider was designed for, and it does the job very very well.

Cider Review: Crimson Ridge Vintage Dry

Apologies for the photo of an empty bottle. I took this with me to a New Year's Eve celebration and it recieved such an enthusiastic response from my fellow cider drinkers that I didn't have time to get better pictures. That's a recommendation in and of itself, I suppose.

Getting to the basics, I'm opening Along Came A Cider's second year of cider reviews with the Crimson Ridge Vintage Dry. The cider is part of a small premium line by Virginia Cider producers Bold Rock. I reviewed one of Bold Rock's six-pack draft style ciders a few months ago, as part of my cider tastings on vacation. You can see what I said about the cider and the company here:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/08/cider-review-bold-rock-virginia-draft.html

In terms of an official variety introduction, I cannot say that Crimson Ridge/Bold Rock tells us much, even on their about page: http://boldrock.com/OurCiders.html This one description is meant to serve for both of their premium offerings, "In the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains at Wintergreen, Virginia is a cidery overlooking the Rockfish River. Here a custom blend of Virginia apples is crafted to make a premium hard cider with a rounded, full-bodied apple taste. Rich and beautifully effervescent, Crimson Ridge is exceptionally well-balanced, bringing out the very best in Virginia apples." It is lovely to know that they use local Virginia apples and that their goals include body and balance, but I think they could tell us more about each cider specifically.

Appearance: light straw, some degree of visible effervescence, brilliant

Even in my red plastic Solo cup (I should have thought ahead and brought my own glass, oops.), I could see that the Vintage Dry's color is light straw. It appears brilliant in the clear bottle; most 750ml cider bottles are not clear, so I was a bit surprised when I first saw this. Once opened the bottle showed visible signs of effervescence but not to any unusual degree. Just a lovely sparkling cider.

Aromas: overripe apples, powdered sugar, other fruits

I immediately noted the warm overripe apple smell on this cider. Now, please don't get me wrong. Overripe is a way to describe the intensity of the apple aroma, not implying any negative aspect to the apple smell at all. This cider has a strong apple scent, especially when compared to other craft ciders. Secondarily I can smell strawberries and pineapple; the Vintage Dry smells very fruity.

Sweetness: Dry

Surprisingly after those buckets of fruits on the nose of the cider, it actually tastes fairly dry. Crimson Ridge's Vintage Dry offers some degree of fruit without tons of sweetness.

Flavors and Drinking Experience: minerality, soft fruits, spice

At first the Vintage Dry offers up hints of minerals and almost metallics, but that develops into  golden ginger spice. The fruits soften the midpalate to my tastes, and the whole show closes with a lovely clean finish. This cider is lightly and naturally sparkling; I enjoy that its bubbles are not too harsh. In terms of mouthfeel, the Vintage Dry coats the mouth to a medium degree. It doesn't disappear on the tongue.

This was a big hit with my friends as our first New Year's Eve cider. We enjoyed it while playing board games, eating copious amounts of gorgeous food (beer battered asparagus!), and watching the snow fall out the windows. This was a great cider for a great New Year's and in general I'd recommend the Crimson Ridge Vintage Dry as a celebratory beverage. But don't make yourself wait a full year to try it. Celebrate the little things too. Celebrate snow, or a pet birthday, or a completed knitting project, or successfully writing 2014 on something. The Crimson Ridge Vintage Dry goes with all of the above.

Cider Review: Arsenal Cider Cannoneers Bone Dry Sour Cherry and a Cider Event!

Today, I’m sharing my review for another cider from Pittsburgh’s Arsenal Cider and Wine Bar , The Cannoneers Bone Dry Sour Cherry. I previously reviewed their signature cider, the Fightin’ Elleck which has since gotten a silver medal at the 2013 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. If you want to find information about their current offerings, rather than using their website, I’d suggest going to their frequently updated Facebook page. This Pittsburgh cidery sells by the 1 litre refillable growler, and their local tap list grows by the week.  

At first I was skittish about even trying a free sample of the Cannoneers Bone Dry Sour Cherry  because I tend to dislike most cherry flavors. Even most varieties of cherries themselves. Once encouraged, I will try most ciders, and this one was full of surprises.
 
The ABV clocks in at a whopping 11.5% which means that our 1 litre growler is a pretty potent sell. I had some very interesting tasting help from my husband and our good friend Aaron (who is usually a scotch or beer drinker). Arsenal ciders are carbonated right at the bar, so I was curious how this one would do after waiting unopened for about five weeks.  On to the review!
 
Color and appearance: deep pink, a few visible bubbles, no cloudiness
I tend to love the ciders with deep naturally occurring color. This one is beautiful. It looks like a sparkling rose in the in the glass.
Aroma: Funky, farmy, fruity
 
The Sour Cherry doesn’t actually smell very much like cherry. Its dominant impression is resinous and funky. The fruit comes through more as apple core and red currants. Some of our tasters noticed some mineral elements that reminded them of shellac, but for me this has a very pleasant farmy barnyard smell. Many of my favorite English ciders have aromas in this family.
 
Sweet-dry scale: off dry
 
Though Arsenal calls it bone dry, I’d call it pleasantly off dry. It is too fruity to taste completely dry, but it could not be called sweet.
 
Drinking experience and flavors: Carbonized cherry crumble, Chestnut, pulp
 
Between all three tasters, we got associations and impressions in a few different directions. We each tasted the cherry more than we had smelled it, but between the carbonation (which remained good and strong in the unopened growler) and the dryness, the cider does not taste like fresh cherries. It has a pastry quality, more like a cherry crumble. We also agreed on a warm nuttiness that probably connects to the fairly full and oily mouthfeel. I love a robust mouthfeel in my ciders! I also tasted hints of wet paper pulp amidst the green pear and slight tannic puckering. The Sour Cherry is a cider that is better than the sum of its parts, some of which are a bit weird. The overall experience, however, is truly enjoyable.

Finish:  Salt, lime, well water
 
For Aaron, the finish reminded him of the saltiness of Islay Scotch, but for me it was all citrus and minerals. That’s how I understand tasting salt and lime.
 
Drinking Notes: The added carbonation remained strong in the unopened growler quite well for more than a month. I’ve been drinking the cider little by little and the carbonation has waned understandably after the growler has been opened.
 
The Cannoneers Bone Dry Sour Cherry pairs very well with potatoes. I'd be more specific, but I think this cider shows real flexibility in terms of food accompaniment. I'd love to drink the Sour Cherry with an au gratin or with garlic mashed potatoes or even with fries and a sandwich. I'd stick with savoury pairings, but within that category, you can go nuts.
 
The cider is available in house and at some local Pittsburgh bars and restaurants. I can heartily recommend Arsenal's Sour Cherry Cider to folks who enjoy the funkier side of the beverage. It singlehandedly changed my mind about cherry ciders.
 
Also, Arsenal is organizing a Pittsburgh Cider and Mead Festival for April 27th!

Check out the info on their handy dandy flier.

Cider Review: West County Cider, Reine de Pomme

West County Ciders hail from Colrain, Massachusetts where they have been made by cidermaker Judith Maloney and her family since 1984. They mention hailing previously from California’s wine making traditions which they have blended with New England cider making and blending techniques. They only use pressed apples and no concentrate. Their website has much more information.

As a varietal intro I mostly want to share what West County says about their own cider. The story comes from their discovery of “a classic French bittersweet apple” described as having strong tannins, complexity, a note of iron. Their blurb says, “Reine de Pomme is an archaic French Apple. We found it in the Geneva Reference Orchard. In 1987, in France, the only reference to it we found was a listing in a nursery catalog from the 1920’s at an apple museum in Normandy.” And this is just the apple. When described the cider as they have created, cellared, and blended it, they say, “As a cider it has a deep, dark-fruit, honeyed taste. We blended it with our Dabinet to round out the tannins, and Redfield to add bright fruit and to balance the bitter-sweets. Though blended, Reine de Pomme leads the taste, and the Dabinet and Redfield fall in nicely as supports. It is the fullest-bodied cider we have made. And the closest in taste to a French Cider.”

ABV: 7.3%

Color and appearance: Deep glowing apricot

The appearance of this cider is truly unique. Its color is glorious. When we cannot stand a moment more of grey winter, pouring a glass of the Reine de Pomme can temporarily transport us to sunnier days. This cider also shows tremendous levels  of bubbles. So many active bubbles. A bright white head formed when I poured my first glass, and then vanished quickly.

Aroma:  candied citrus, nectarine, and dusty granite?

As crazy as this may sound, the end of the each sniff of this cider brought strong grey rock in the sun to my mind. As an inveterate basker and lounger who would always prefer to sit or lay on the ground, I’ve smelled rocks aplenty and the Reine de Pomme smells like a sun-warmed rock. It also smells like fruit and sugar with a citrus pinch.

Sweet to dry: Off dry

The bottle describes the cider as dry, and for many cider drinkers it would be quite dry. For those more attuned to independent, small-batch ciders though, the range is wider and dryer than that made up only of more widely available ciders, making the Reine de Pomme a very pleasant off dry. This an ideal level of sweetness and dryness in my mind.

Flavors and drinking experience: tannic, heavy, creamy mouthfeel,

The citrus from the scent develops fully when I taste this cider. I can taste the mineral element from the smell also, but it fuses with the fruit notes more, almost adding a shadow of depth behind the brighter notes.

Finish:  slow but still creamy with residual flavors of lemon

The finish is luscious, less dry than the initial taste. It dallies and gives a second impression of creaminess united with lemon or sweetish citrus.    

Pairs with: a full meal with strong flavors, maybe a risotto or shepherd’s pie.

The unusual mouthfeel would allow drinkers to pair this with something usually less available for cider pairings. Maybe even something with more than a hint of spiciness. Alternately, the cider drinkly beautifully on its own. I’d take this particular drink sunbathing, maybe because of the aroma. Still, I think the Reine de Pomme would be a lovely companion for unwinding in the out of doors. Quite a fascinating cider, especially for one so drinkable.