Cider Review: Wilson Orchard's Late Harvest

What a scare! Life without much of a sense of smell really felt different for me. I didn’t like that difference either. Thankfully, it’s back. I couldn’t be happier about it. We have guests and holidays arriving imminently. It’s just so much more fun to enjoy the scents of every meal and every moment. On this last evening before the happy chaos begins, I took a moment for a quiet asian meal with my tall companion and a cider that I suspected will be delicious.  I chose Wilson Orchard and Farm’s - Late Harvest.

This is the first time any Iowa cider has made it onto the blog, and I’m so excited to taste another place. When investigating Wilson’s Orchard and Farm, I noticed the strong emphasis not only on local produce but on communicating the larger environmental and economic reasoning behind their investment in the local. The site made succinct points about their goals. I’ll quote one section because I liked it so much. 

Giving Back

The strength of our food supply chain relies on farmers providing reasonable access to locally-grown food and beverages to the entire community. Each season we partner with various local food pantries and community programs that support our neighborhoods and make our products easily available to as many as possible.

Here’s a link to Wilson’s Orchard’s page about the cidery’s beverages: https://www.wilsonsorchard.com/wilsons-beverages

Here is the full description of this seasonal release.

Late Harvest

Spontaneously Fermented hard cider rested on oak

With a chill in the air, even sometimes snow on the branches, late harvest is a time for our orchard staff to exhale and start to unwind. Only a few more varieties to pick - one of which is our favorite apple, Gold Rush. The perfect time to slow down and celebrate a season of hard work, a fruitful harvest, and of course plan the coming winter’s Wassail. 

Tasting notes: Light, fruity with hints of plum, melon, and subtle toffee.

Sugar at harvest: 14.6 degrees brix

Residual Sugar: 0 degrees brix

Appearance: shining trumpet brass, brilliant, fine bubbles

The color is just so strikingly shiny. I’m reminded of my years playing in band and seeing all of the brass instruments with their shining gold hue. I see just a few little bubbles in the glass.

Aromas: white wine, lemon, minerals, tropical fruit, dust, and cedar

The Late Harvest smells immediately like a white wine in a wonderfully appealing way. I also get notes of lemon, dust, minerals, cedar wood and tropical fruit. Somewhere in the mix, you can find a deep note of dark ripeness.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry

This is a perfectly dry cider, and I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.

Flavors and drinking experience: petillant, barrel character, candied orange peel, butterscotch, paper tannins

What I notice first about the late harvest is its petillance. The bubbles are present but not intense. The cider uses its barrel aging beautifully. I’d say that barrel character creates the headline for the cider’s flavors: candied orange peel, butterscotch, dried pineapple, and ripe apple. The cider brings high acid and slight papery tannins as well. I appreciate its full body with some zesty tartness.

The overall impression I gather is that the cider is robust and vigorous but not too boozy. There’s just a hint of warmth on the finish. It manages to simultaneously be stony and yet pervasively apple-y.  The cider’s spontaneous fermentation is a tertiary quality that doesn’t overshadow the apples or the time on oak. Instead the fermentation feels clean and straightforward. This is a lovely cider that I’m so glad to enjoy peacefully with all of my senses returned. 

Along Came A Cider Goes to England Pt. 3: The Cider Tap

Here comes the last post about my glorious trip to England and the ciders consumed there. By the time we rode the train out of Cornwall, we'd walked more than one hundred miles. My husband and I had about a day to enjoy London before flying home, and I hoped we could manage one more cider adventure. Luckily we were able to find The Cider Tap.

You can read about the place at their website: http://www.eustontap.com/pages.php?navid=9

On my way in.

 The building is a victorian gatehouse, making it very small but tall, which gives the place a snug and intimate feel. The cider list was too big to fit easily into one photo, so I took two to capture the whole range of cider chalked up on the board.

I started with a half pint of Severn's Kingston Black. (To read about Severn, check out their website: http://www.severncider.com) I chose this one because the Kingston Black is one of rare apples with all of the necessary characteristics to be wonderful single-varietal cider. In the glass, this cider looks hazy and dark. It smells horsey and tannic with hints of bruised grapes. Once I actually started drinking the cider, I was struck with its amazing mouthcoat. My amazing cider helper/husband and I noticed hints of cucumber, pea shoots, and honeydew melon through an intense dryness and tannin blast. It is a challenging and exciting cider that shows its characteristics best in big draughts rather than delicate sips.

Next, we really wanted something sparkling after the severity of the Kingston Black. I chose Orchard Pig's Reveller. (http://www.orchardpig.co.uk/index.php) I noticed lots of fruit and vanilla in the aromas. It reminds one of citrus and fruit salad. This makes for some extremely easy drinking. Tasty! On the finish there is a subtle edge of bitter strawberry that makes the whole thing more complex and interesting. Medium tannins and medium body and relatively low acid.

In my other hand, you can see the Hawke's Urban Orchard Medium. This cider has a fairly low abv of 4.5%. (Their very attractive website is here: http://wearehawkes.com/hawkes) I can tell from the number of exclamation marks on my notes and my own memories, that this was our favorite of the evening. It smells yeasty and almost yogurty but also bakey and bready. It does not smell like fruit. The taste develops really interestingly. At first it is funky and salty, but after those flavors start to intensify it goes into its medium sweetness. I get notes of banana and caramel in this phase; it just reminds me of Bananas Foster! But that's not all; it also shows off some leafy tannins, notes of blackberries, and medium sparkle.

We finished our cider exploration for the evening with one last half pint: this time of the Sheppy's Oakwood. (http://www.sheppyscider.com) It smells tannic and oaked immediately and mouthwateringly. It also smells like overripe apples. I get some leatheryness and fresh bread as well. Tastes were dominated by tannins; it's sweet at first and then there is a quick tannic burst. The bigger the drink the dryer it tastes. I get some nectarine, pineapple and a subtle sugarcane finish. It is tart and zingy with some spice on the palate. Very very interesting and good.

This was a great evening and a simply fantastic way to end our trip!

Oh, British ciders, how I do love you!

Reviewing Ciders for Winter: Sheppy's Vintage Reserve Oak Matured Somerset Cider

Winter is barely beginning to release its salty, icy, blustery hold on upstate NY, but I think we can slip at least one more winter cider in the series before spring takes hold.

This is my first review of any Sheppy's Cider. Like many of my import finds, I got it at The Cellar D'Or. Like always, I checked out the Sheppy's website to learn a bit more about the company and their approach to cider. What I found is absolutely charming, from the encouragement for visitors to walk their orchards to their organized orchard information to the newly redone tea rooms. I can barely emphasize enough just how approachable and lovely I find Sheppy's presentation of their brand. (Again, I'm an admitted Anglophile, so your mileage may vary.) Here's the link if you want to check it out for yourself: http://www.sheppyscider.com

This is what Sheppy's says about themselves:

Farming 370 acres at Three Bridges Farm since 1917, three generations of the Sheppy family have weathered the ups and downs of farming and cidermaking by embracing change and opportunity.

Craftsmen cidermakers for over 200 years.

Quality is central to all our ciders, which are produced from local and home-grown apples here at Three Bridges Farm. Modern technology has been used to assist the completely traditional production of fine English cider, but never to compromise the quality which is associated with the name Sheppy’s Cider.

The cider of theirs that looked the most winter friendly on the shelves was their Vintage Reserve Oak Matured Somerset Cider. I know I like oaked ciders and that sometimes the effect is a warm one, so I tasted it recently in hopes it would fit into this winter series.

Here's how they introduce this one.

A fine full-flavoured sparking vintage cider in a medium taste, created from the best varieties of cider apples of a single harvest here at Three Bridges Farm.  Always matured in oak.  Winner of many prestigious prizes including overall winner of the Quality Drink Awards competition,  2010.

BEST SELLER

Recently placed in the top 50 of the Great Taste Awards for 2014, out of over 10,000 products and winner of the cider category of the Quality Drink Awards!

Alcohol 7.4% by volume.

Appearance: Brilliant, pumpkin colored, few visible bubbles

The color certainly strikes me as warm, specifically the orange of a harvest moon or a ripe pumpkin. I see no haze and very few bubbles. The ones that do appear clustered glittering at the bottom of the glass.

Aromas: leather, overripe apples, oak

The Oak Matured Cider smells like leather with a hint of overripe apples and softness. My hunch that this will be a very winter friendly cider seems correct so far. It also smells salty, oaky and woody but not vinous at all, like seasoned dry firewood. The smell promises many good things.

Sweetness: Semi-dry

Sheppy's is entirely on target to call this a semi-dry cider. The sweetness doesn't hit right off because the opening is more a first note of bitter orange.

Flavors and drinking experience: rich mouthfeel, tannins, phenolic, drinkable

This Somerset Cider is not syrupy, not sour, but rather rich in mouthfeel. Definitely a winter friendly cider because of how it manages to be thick and creamy but not cloying. I get a continuation of the leather aromas in the flavors, like a Doc Marten boot soaked in apples. It tastes gentle but with astringency, rather than too much bitterness.  It has the rare clean phenolic; just a little bit of barny Englishness, but it's very tasteful, with no geranium or olive brine notes.  Highly drinkable.  complex, refreshing in small and large drinks. I remain struck by the cider's beautiful long velvety finish.  this is a cider to covet year round, but especially in the winter. 

The seasonality is something I get not only from the tannins but also the relatively gentle carbonation.  Somehow it is warm and crisp at the same time. I had this cider on its own, and it didn't need any accompanying food, but it would taste wonderful I'm sure with a jacketed potato with beans and cheese or other hearty warming foods. Hopefully we won't need to many more winter ciders, but try this one for sure!

Cider Review: Millstone Cellars Hopvine

Today makes Millstone Cellars' third appearance in this blog. I'm lucky to have friends in the Maryland DC area and a phenomenal local cider seller (https://www.thecellardor.com of course!) who hosted the cidermaker from Millstone (bringing in the current line of ciders for tasting and sale) because normally these ciders are only available in the Maryland and Washington DC areas. Ask me another day about the extremely difficult hurdles of distribution for small craft cider producers. I'll talk your ear off. Anyhow...

Here are my two previous reviews of Millstone Cellars ciders.

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/02/cider-review-millstone-cellars-cider.html

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/07/cider-review-millstone-cellars-gingeroot.html

Millstone Cellars makes really interesting ciders. You can read about them on their website here: http://www.millstonecellars.com/artisanal-cider/ They aren't afraid to try interesting additives, unique apple varieties, and the most nuanced use of honey as a backsweetener that I know. Combine my good feeling for Millstone Cellars' style with the fact that I love hopped ciders. They are the absolute best for hot summer afternoons. The world can consider me very excited to try Millstone's Hopvine.

Obviously the Hopvine is an apple cider with hops, but we can do better than that for some useful information. Here's what Millstone says, "Cask cider aged with Maryland dry hops and blended with a touch of raw honey. Wrap your taste buds around a cascade of lemony and spicy hop flavors." Further reading or even just admiring of the beautiful label shows that this cider uses York Imperial apples, wildflower honey, and Cascade hops. This cider has an ABV of 8%. It is also listed as being bottle conditioned and dry.

Prepared with this details, let's pour and taste. Today is 88 degrees in Ithaca, perfect for hopped cider.

Appearance: Hazy, lemon curd color, not too many visible bubbles once the initial head disappears
 

The Hopvine pours with some belgian lace that quickly dissipates.

Aromas: Wow, alfalfa, citrus

The reason for the wow is that this cider is intensely aromatic. I love it when a cider gives me plenty of good smells! This one has alfalfa, hay, citrus, grapefruit pith, and a background of apples. But as it warms up a bit, the smells develop and give me additional notes like baseball glove or soft patent leather. Mmm! Wow indeed.

Dryness: Dry

Like many bottle-conditioned ciders, the Hopvine manages to exhibit loads of flavor while being bone dry. I really appreciate this in a cider. 

Flavors and drinking experience: zesty, astringent, sour, fruity

I must preface my description with the fact that this cider tastes milder than it smells. It is dry, phenolic, and astringent. I love the intensity that astringency brings to mouthfeel; it makes everything zesty. The cider finishes with notes like straw, leather, and sour yeast. The hops make it spicy yet vegetal or herbaceous. I love how totally insane the Hopvine is with leather and acidity. This does not strike me as a sipping cider. I was tasting with a few friends who faulted it for moments of bracing funk that approach sweatiness, but I really enjoyed those facets. What can I say? I like a little stink in my cider. I like it a lot.

What we can all agree on is that Millstone's Hopvine pairs with strongly flavored aromatic dishes. Bring out the Rosemary bread, olives, and feta. I flipping love Rosemary and never get to eat it often enough, but the salty rosemary bread and briny feta just complemented this cider perfectly. My love for hopped ciders continues! This is probably one for the lovers of sour beers, unusual ciders, and deliciously complex tastes. I'd not share this with just everyone, but then again I say that about most of my favorite discoveries.

Roundup of Angry Orchard Reviews: Strawman, The Muse, and Traditional Dry

I realize that I am not always an organized person. This leads to me having scattered bits of cider notes in my phone, in my husband's phone, and on every computer I ever approach. It is a problem, perhaps. Eh. Besides not being able to find what I want at the moment I want it, there is an upside. Sometimes I find sets of cider notes that I thought had been lost forever. That's the story of this post.

Dear friends of mine host dinner at their home most Thursday evenings. I frequently bring ciders and write up my notes there. Last Thursday I brought Angry Orchard's new Ciderhouse offering, The Muse. This was a very nice coincidence because someone else brought a six pack of the brand's Traditional Dry. I thought doing a double-header Angry Orchard post might be a good way to actually see what's going on with both of those ciders. So we did notes and pictures and several folks gave me their impressions. Then we all ate way too much delicious food: two vegetable based no pasta lasagnas, two meat lasagnas, and a vegan pesto with sun-dried tomatoes and walnuts. Then milkshakes made with local ice cream. And we do stuff like this every week and most weekends. It is a good thing.

Once I recovered from my food coma, I realized that I've really not covered Angry Orchard's offering very much in this blog. I don't drink them often, so they don't show up. This is a real oversight on my part because so many other folks drink Angry Orchard a lot. Depending on who you ask, Angry Orchard might sell the most cider in the United States these days. 

So this post aims to fix that. Here are three Angry Orchard reviews appearing together. I'll go in the order what I liked most to least.

#1. Angry Orchard Straw Man

This is the only Ciderhouse selection that I've liked enough to purchase more than once. Definitely my favorite. I'll let Angry Orchard explain what they were going for with this particular cider.

For centuries Farmhouse Cider making has been a tradition celebrated by farmers in the English and French countryside. Strawman combines a distinct blend of juices from traditional culinary and bittersweet apples, which is then aged on oak. The result is a full-flavored, complex, and balanced cider with wine-like characteristics, rounded out by apple and citrus notes. Its lingering, earthy finish is an homage to the origins of this unique cider. 10% ABV.

Appearance: coppery orange, foamy, hazy

In the glass, this cider looks deeply colorful like a brand new penny. It does create an unusual amount of foam when poured. Not brilliant but more hazy. It does look more like an english style cider, especially when compared with Angry Orchard's other ciders.

Aroma: boozy, surprisingly not fruity

The Strawman exudes a strongly alcoholic scent, but it is not fruit-forward. I get more dust and minerals than fruit. Maybe, I can smell a little pear and wine. There is definitely some straw and hay smells, but the cider does not smell farmy. Once the cider warms up a bit in my glass, fruit scents of overripe apple emerge, but that took some time.

Sweetness: Dry

Wow! Angry Orchard is capable of making a dry cider. I would never have guessed. What I find particularly fascinating is that the official product description does not place it on a dry to sweet scale. Pleasantly tart with some fruit that still remains dry.

Flavors and drinking experience: Medium tannic, high acidity, high carbonation, warm

My first impression is of the high  but not soda-like levels of carbonation. I like a lot of bubbles and this delivers almost more than enough. Strawman's very high alcohol content makes for a lingering warmth; it recalls a harder drink in its aftertaste. Though the cider is dry, it's mouthfeel is so coating and full as to be slightly cloying. I note an immediate aftertaste of wood which is where the medium level of tannins come out. There's a lot going on, but I like it.

#2. Angry Orchard Traditional Dry

One of Angry Orchard's "core ciders," the Traditional Dry is one of the most widely available ciders across the United States. I'm curious to see Angry Orchard's interpretation of both traditional and dry. I have my suspicions that I might disagree on one if not both. I found a few different descriptions on the Angry Orchard website, including: "This traditional English-style cider is bittersweet and slightly spicy with a bright apple aroma and a dryness that makes you pucker." 

These online tasting notes give a bit more information, "Our Traditional Dry cider is made in the style of English draft ciders. This cider is bittersweet and slightly spicy with a bright apple aroma. It is a leaner cider with a dry finish and without any juice added to impart extra sweetness." The cider has a more standard ABV of 5.5 and the color is listed as amber. I have my doubts about the color description considering almost any cider or beer coincides with one shade or another of amber, but I'm heartened to see some suggested food pairings; they are:

• Sweet and sour chicken or pork
• Grilled bluefish and scallops
• Seafood Alfredo
• Roast chicken with mushroom cream sauce

Now let's actually try the Traditional Dry.

Appearance: deep caramel color, brilliant, no visible bubbles

Like the Strawman, Angry Orchard's Traditional dry has a darker color than most ciders. this one looks a bit less warm and orange and more rich caramel brown. No haziness here, just brilliant clear cider with almost no visible bubbles.

Aromas: Not a lot of smell, a bit bready and dusty.

This cider does not offer much in the way of aroma. I poured half of the bottle into a wine glass in an attempt to open up the aromas and make them more perceivable, but I didn't get much more. When I try I can smell some yeasty bready notes and similar hints of dust and must like I get from the Strawman. Not much going on.

Dryness: Semi-dry

Though I could not smell much sweetness on the nose, this cider is not truly dry. I cannot say that I am surprised; many many many ciders sell themselves as dryer than they taste. This isn't completely sweet either though and the sweetness I get is a fresh fruit sweetness. More on that in the flavors section.

Flavors and drinking experience: distinct tastes not melding, grapes and fruit, lingering sweetness

To my tastebuds, The Traditional Dry divides into a thin fruity layer of taste and a much larger watery one. This cider falls right in the midle of what I am reviewing to day in terms of sweetness; it tastes drier that the Muse but still not dry. I taste plenty of grapes, either juicy white or concord depending on who you trust. Everyone tasting this cider got grape notes but we did not agree on the details. The finish is mostly clean but sweetness lingers. I can definitely tastes the added citric acid. Overall, it tastes cleaner and colder than either the Muse or the Strawman; I think the lower ABV of 5.5% versus Muse's 7.7% and Strawman's 10%.


#3. Angry Orchard's The Muse

This was the cider that I felt compelled to share with my friends at dinner, and yet this is the cider that comes in last in my group of three. I do love the bottle though. This is not a bad cider, it just goes for a number of goals that aren't my favorites. Here's what Angry Orchard has to say about this one.

Inspired by the festive nature of slightly sweet demi-sec champagnes and sparkling wines, The Muse is a bubbly, effervescent cider made from traditional culinary and bittersweet apples and aged on French oak. The cider is sweet upfront with a juicy apple aroma and bright acidity, and slightly drying on the finish with a lingering sweet apple note. The French oak adds a subtle wood impression, imparting notes of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and hints of vanilla. 7.7% ABV

Appearance: brilliant, apricot, lot of active visible bubbles

This was the lightest of the three reviewed here, and still this is a more pronounced color than many ciders. I see this color as a rich apricot. You can see all of the motion of the bubbles in this shot; it looks a bit champagne like in that regard. This is also an extremely brilliant cider. I would have no trouble reading text right through it.

Aromas: oak, sweet, sour, fruit

Angry Orchard's Muse definitely has more going on in the aroma department than their other ciders. I cannot quite tell how these notes of sweetness, sourness, fruit and oak will translate into taste, but I do expect some depth of flavor and sweetness.

Dryness: Uncomplicatedl sweet

This is where the french cider influence is coming in. Many Normandy ciders have some real sweetness to them but also complexity, woodiness, and farminess. Angry Orchard imitated the level of carbonation and aroma but didn't really obtain the necessary complexity to give the cider enough identity.

Flavors and drinking experience: green apple candy, minerals, lychee

My biggest disappointment with this cider is that the flavor goes a little candyish at the midpalate. The Muse drinks pleasantly, a little French, very nice minerals, not outweighed by its caramel flavor. In terms of fruit, I mostly taste lychee rather than apple. The Muse has been carbonated brightly with tons of big bubbles making it a little soda-esque. The phrase on the bottle "Carbonated apple wine" should have led me to expect that, but I was so distracted by the mention of oak that I completely passed it up.

There you have it folks, I've been trying a few Angry Orchard ciders here and there, but now I've organized my thoughts and put them together. If you want to go back to my Angry Orchard Elderflower review from last year, you can find it here: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/06/cider-review-angry-orchards-elderflower.html

What do you think? Should I track down their other flavors? Does the combination format work?

Uncle John's Cider: American 150

 
At GLINTCAP, I got to meet Mike Beck who graciously helps put the event together and hosts so many cider folks. He does so much for the cider community all over the United States. He's also the man behind Uncle John's Cider. Part of his graciousness extended to sending me home with a whole lotta samples! So, I'm thrilled to be reviewing quite a few Uncle John's Ciders over the next few months. This is the best way to really get to know a cider company in my opinion. Try the whole line up but interspersed with other brands.

Uncle John's Cider Mill is a huge destination in Michigan apple country. It is farm, a cider mill, a restaurant, a winery, a distillery, and more. The company has many faces, but the one most relevant to us is Uncle John's Fruit House Winery from St. Johns, Michigan. This is the right part of the website to visit to find out more about the ciders: https://www.ujcidermill.com/.

Read about the new distribution deal that will be bringing Uncle John's cider to a lot more locations right here: http://beerpulse.com/2014/03/uncle-johns-cider-signs-distribution-deal-with-louis-glunz-in-chicago-2714/ Five of the ciders will become available in the Chicago area before too long, but sadly tonight's cider is not a part of that list. Tonight I'm trying the American 150.

Here's the official description right off of the bottle:

Now that you have come to love our initial line of ciders, it is time to introduce this line of specialty ciders -- made from fruit that is unique in nature, and is not always available publicly. American 150 is a blend of 6 classic American Heirloom varieties that have been a part of apple growing in America for at least 150 years. The apples used in this cider include: Baldwin, Grimes Golden Northern Spy, Winesap, Winter Banana and Rhode Island Greening. Fermented in stainless steel and oak barrels American 150 is an extra dry cider

I love this description because it names the apples used in this particular cider. Several of these are particular favorites of mine, most notably Rhode Island Greening and Northern Spy. The latter lends excellent aromas in spades and the former just tastes like golden summer goodness. One last fact: the ABV of this cider is 6.5%. Nothing too extreme in either direction.

Appearance: hazy, quickly disappearing foam, creamy golden color

This cider has sediment in the bottle, so it must be stored upright. Even so, it doesn't pour brilliant, which in my mind is just fine. I have no particular preference between brilliant, hazy, and cloudy. In color, this one looks like a creamy gold to me. A touch of lacy foam appears as the cider is poured but it quickly vanishes.

Aromas: ripe apples, hints of spice, citrus, stone

This makes my mouth water.  Something about this smell hints at lively acidity and a hint of sweetness, but I'm not putting my finger on exactly what says that to me.

Sweetness: Semi-dry

The sweetness is not the most notable factor about this cider. On the other hand, it is not extra dry to my palate though it is labelled that way on the bottle. I imagine for many new cider drinkers or those who prefer a sweeter cider, this might seem quite dry. For me, I notice a fair amount of fruit character and acidity but along with a little bit of sweet. Just a little though.

Flavors and drinking experience: Some petillance, plenty of acidity, medium tannins.

I really enjoyed this cider tremendously. The level of carbonation is just perfect for enjoying with a meal; it isn't distracting, but it also doesn't let the cider slip by so fast that you accidentally finish a bottle without realizing it. Quite an important balance to strike. I enjoyed the acidity which is sometimes a stumbling block for me. Lots of serious cider drinkers like more acidity than I do, but this showed verve and brightness without getting too aggressive. Medim levels of tannins and sweetness. This is very much an heirloom cider with lots of the Northern Spy and Rhode Island Greening characteristics that I relish.

I enjoyed my cider with too many pieces of veggie pizza, and I have no regrets whatsoever. The American 150 is a well balanced cider with plenty of flavor and character. I'd pair it with heartier foods, especially anything with a creamy or cheesy element. The acidity can really shine in that kind of pairing. As for activities, just eat, drink, and be merry.

Cider Review: Thatcher's Green Goblin

 
I usually only review American ciders, but I do enjoy ciders from many different places. My palate doesn't discriminate by region. When I was on a trip home to Kentucky recently, I promised to look at what I could find in terms of local cider selection and write about it. The most interesting thing I found had to be Thatcher's Green Goblin. I got the very last bottle at a Liquor Barn in Louisville KY and I had to climb on the shelves to get. And this wasn't even on Black Friday! In any case, I was thrilled to see something I do not usually see, hence a review of a decidedly English Cider. Hopefully in coming years, I'll see some Kentucky ciders. We do have the apples after all. If you've ever heard of a Kentucky cider, please let me know!

Thatcher's Green Goblin has its own website at http://www.greengoblincider.co.uk/ and for more information, this page has more detail http://www.greengoblincider.co.uk/cider.htm. The promotional copy isn't particularly descriptive, but it does emphasize that the apples are English and that the cider is oaked. Here's how they put it: "The Green Goblin from deep in the wood - 100 year-old oak vats, that is. Made with English apples, and matured in oak vats, Green Goblin cider is a full-flavoured, bittersweet blend, beautifully balanced to give a fresh character with a medium dry finish." When reading about their cider process, they list two apple varieties Somerset Redstreak and Dabinette both grown in the West County region. I know both of those apples from several US ciders that use them for tannins, so I'm even more curious than I had been before.
                                                                                                                                                       

Appearance: brilliant, papaya, no foam

Seriously, the color is deep papaya. I've never seen another cider like it. When poured, this cider had no foam or head. As I hope the photo shows, it has no haziness and is instead clear and brilliant. What a beautiful cider!

Aromas: stone, wood, subtle aura of persimmon

This earthy smell is delightfully cidery but in an unexpected way because it offers almost no apple, and absolutely no yeast. Instead I smelled stone and wood with just a smidge of acidic fruit. Thinking about that fruitiness, ripe persimmon rather captures it.

Sweetness: Fairly dry

While the dryness is not extreme, this cider defnitely comes across more dry than sweet. I think the dryness combines with the tannins to emphasize those elements more than sweetness or fruit.

Flavors and drinking experience: high tannins, low acid, dry. Woody.

I taste tannins most predominantly in the Green Goblin and I love it. The tannins are soft and not overly aggressive because they are balanced with some lovely apple notes and low acidity. The cider tastes very woody in that almost drying way. Some folks don't care for this, but I'm totally into it. I get hints of leather but those are restrained. Some subtle spicy fruits and farminess give character to the apple. The Green Goblin has fairly intense levels of carbonation, but they lighten up what is otherwise a fairly dark-tasting beverage, so I'm not complaining. The finish lingers with more wood and spice, but at this point the farmyard notes have all disappeared, giving it an evolving taste.

This cider strikes me so deeply enjoyable because of its maturity and balance. I shared the Green Goblin with my mother who doesn't usually care for cider, but she loved the complexity and drinkability of the Green Goblin. She's totally right; it is exceptionally good. I can now add oaking to my list of techniques that make a cider more likely to make my list of repeat buys. Nice.

When thinking of food pairings, I can see a few different directions suiting the Green Goblin. In summer, I'd drink this with a capese salad with loads of fresh mozzarella and some aged balsamic vinegar. In winter, pair the Green Goblin with pasta in cream sauce with walnuts and broccoli. In terms of activities, I'd bring this to a gathering full of new people. The cider has so many different nuances that it makes a great conversation starter, and I'm confident most folks who try would find it both enjoyable and interesting. Besides, I'm always looking to use parties as a way to make more drinkers into cider drinkers.

Trying Virtue and Oliver's Ciders at The Queens Kickshaw and having a blast

I'm really sorry, but every reader is about to get jealous.  My husband and I finally made it out to The Queen's Kickshaw in Astoria last night to sample their extensive and thoughtful cider menu. We knew we'd have a good cider or few and a nice time, but we were simply blown away. The experience was so great, I had to write it up in a whole new style. There are some cider reviews imbedded here, but I want to share what a fantastic evening we had at The Queen's Kickshaw.
First a few facts. Here's the restaurant's website: http://thequeenskickshaw.com/ They can be found at:

40-17 Broadway
Astoria, NY 11103

The atmosphere in this small restaurant is very homey and understated yet up to date. I love their embellished hardwood floors, their mix of seating, and the fun music choices.

What we drank:

Virtue Red Streak. 5.2% ABV http://www.virtuecider.com This is what Virtue's official description says, "RedStreak is a proper English style draft cider. With its hazy lemon hue, scent of ripe apples and just a touch of oak, RedStreak has a crisp, tart finish that pairs perfectly with your favorite mature cheddar. First discovered in Herefordshire in the 1630s, the Redstreak bittersharp apple produced a cider so delicious it was deemed to be ‘fit for kings.’"

There is description is largely spot on. The Red Streak is a barely cloudy lemon color with almost no visible bubbles. The scent also evoked lemons, but with a creaminess that takes it from lemon into a lemon dessert with whipped cream. I also smelled minerals in a pleasant almost vinous way. The taste is floral and grassy. I thought of fresh pea shoots. It rewards big full drinks that fill the mouth. The farminess is understated but adds to the pleasure of the cider. The finish gives a brief impression of dark concord grapes. A lovely fresh springy cider! All of the good things I've heard about Virtue's RedStreak are true and all of the anticipation I had for trying this cider completely paid off.

Oliver's Gold Rush http://www.oliversciderandperry.co.uk/ 

This comes from a collaboration between UK cider maker Tom Oliver and Virtue Cider's Greg Hall. The ABV is 6.8%. Here's some information from the press release: "The 6.8% sparkling, medium dry cider with a deep, burnished color was made from 100% bittersweet and sharp vintage cider apples from traditional Herefordshire farms. The juice was slow fermented by wild yeasts in old oak barrels through a cold winter and underwent malolactic fermentation in the warm spring.  Oliver then added fruit sugar and lambic yeasts for a second alcoholic fermentation, adding a touch more alcohol and complexity. It was finished in oak, for maturity, before final blending and bottling."

In terms of appearance this was fairly dark and red brown; the color reminded me of some teas. The aromas that came from this cider were fascinating: wood, pickled ginger, and farminess. After a bit of time a second smell drifted to the fore, a spicy leather scent. I knew I'd be in for something exactly up my alley when I could smell the wildness of the cider. When drinking the flavors include sour cherry and tons of tannins all supported by the dry oaky farminess that makes English-style ciders my favorite. The level of sparkle hits just right in that it does not prevent a drink from enjoying a big gulp, but it livens the taste. The finish is dryly effervescent and fast. The cider tastes complex and mellow at the same time.

All in all, the Gold Rush has to be the best cider I've tasted in 2013.

What we ate:

Fontina and Hard Cider Arancini: I loved this. Arancini are little fried balls of risotto, which basically takes my favorite food in the world and adds to it the sinful deliciousness of being fried. The Queen's Kickshaw version was made utterly mouthwatering by using cider in the risotto and pairing that sweetness with a tomato spiciness and Fontina cheese. Eat it and die happy.

Polenta Cake: This was the biggest risk for me because I have a love/hate relationship with mushrooms, and this dish uses a mushroom sauce. It worked out really well because of how the sauce added richness to the roasted vegetables and polenta cake. The cake itself was super tasty with the egg yolk confit and sauce.

Gouda Grilled Cheese, but the title does not begin to describe it. The bread was sweet and the sandwich had not only gouda but also black bean hummus, pickled jalepenos, and guava jam. Totally insane. I'm a sucker for pairing sweet and savoury (as if that isn't obvious from what dishes we chose)

Apple Cobbler with fresh whipped cream: since there was an apple dessert, we just had to try it. The apple cobbler was delicately-spiced, rich and crumbly and the whipped cream was so light and fluffy. It had a tasty garnish that I think was micro-grated chocolate.

Many thanks to Chef Youngsun Lee!

Last but far from least, I got to meet one of the owners, Ben. Sadly I didn't get to meet his wife, but we had a great conversation. I heard a bit about his cider-loving staff, distribution, and the growing enthusiasm for cider he's experienced as a restauranteur. We talked a bit about cider in the sphere of social media and blogging.

 What a wonderful night! I hope to go back soon and try their brunch and breakfast menus and even more ciders. The Queens Kickshaw cider menus is deep and international, it has a lot to keep cider fans coming back.