Cider Review: 1911's Shandy Hard Cider

I’m recovering from the afternoon sun in my living room and listening to The Tall One record takes for a strange new song. It’s peaceful and summery; before this, I was in my garden harvesting cucumbers, chard, tomatoes, yellow squash and checking on the carrots. I’m sure that we’ve done something wrong such that the carrots are still exactly the size of one bite, but gardening is always seeing changes to make for next year. In the meantime, I found a supremely summery cider to review: 1911’s Shandy Hard Cider.

1911 is a cidery, distillery, and part of Beak and Skiff’s Orchard playground in Lafayette, New York. This Finger Lakes Staple is home to many exciting and innovative beverages as well as a full calendar of music and events. I'm happy to say that I can pick up cases of canned 1911 at multiple grocery stores in town, so it tends to be a cider I bring regularly to outdoor gatherings. 

I’ve reviewed a few 1911 Ciders  before; check out some earlier reviews for more background information on this cidery. Here’s the list!

Cranberry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/12/cider-review-1911-cranberry-cider.html

Rose: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2020/02/cider-review-1911-rose-and-virtue.html

New England Style Hopped IPC: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/09/cider-reviews-1911-hard-cider-new.html

Tropical: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/06/cider-cans-crush-it-1911-tropical-cider.html

Somerset Original Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/06/cider-review-beak-and-skiffs-1911.html

Founders’s Reserve Hopped: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/09/cider-review-1911s-founders-reserve.html

You can find out about all the ciders, spirits, and events at 1911’s Apple Campus online:  https://1911established.com/product-type/hard-cider/

Here’s the official description for 1911’s Shandy Hard Cider.

Shandy Hard Cider 6.5% ABV

Why should the beer drinkers have all the fun? Cider fans are just as deserving of some lemonade love! Grab a bikini, a towel, some screen, and a can, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for some fun in the sand!

1911 includes a sweetness scale from 1-6 and rates the Shandy a 4. 

Appearance: hazy, pale yellow, few visible bubbles

The Shandy looks pale and hazy. The color is gently lemony, but it’s not intense. There are just a few little bubbles that I can see, but I have a feeling the Shandy Hard Cider will have some fizzy action.

Aromas: lemon, spice, salt, just a hint of apple

1911’s Shandy Hard Cider smells salty and minerally. There are even more lemon and spicy notes to the aroma. There’s some apple, but its more in the background. These aromas are all about citrus.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-sweet

This is a tart and sweet cider, but the balance comes across as plausibly semi-sweet.

Flavors and drinking experience: lemonade, nectarine, high acid, full body

I picked up the Shandy Hard Cider hoping for a fun summery blast, and it totally is! 1911 has released a lemonade acid bomb that brings a party to each sip. Not only do I get a zesty lemon vibe, there are also notes of nectarines, peaches, and apples in supporting roles.

I appreciate the ciders’ ear and jaw curling salivary action. That’s the acid at work. I find the cider comes across as semisweet and tasty. As it’s a shandy, it’s very lemonade like and that totally works. 

This cider succeeds at being an easy summer charmer. I find it totally enjoyable with a buffalo faux-chicken burger and sautéed zucchini. You could also just pair it with barbeque chips and a lazy afternoon. 1911’s Shandy Hard Cider makes a fun and drinkable good time!

Cider Review: McKenzie's Lazy Lemon

McKenzies Hard Cider is produced in New York State south of Buffalo in West Seneca. I reviewed the flagship cider from this brand earlier in the summer. You can can see a more complete brand intro and how that cider fared here. You can also find out some information about the brand from their own website.

Here's what they say about themselves, "McKenzie’s Hard Cider was founded in 2011 by Lenny Ciolek in Buffalo, New York. Lenny played a crucial role in the success of the Mike’s Hard Lemonade brand and was able to secure distribution for McKenzie’s utilizing existing relationships and a grassroots method of marketing. McKenzie’s currently produces 5 different varieties of hard cider; Original, Black Cherry, Green Apple, Seasonal Reserve (cinnamon and nutmeg) and Lazy Lemon (lemonade blend). Its varieties have received several awards including Double Gold Medal for Black Cherry, and Silver Medals for Original and Green Apple at the 2012 New York Wine & Food Classic. McKenzie’s can be found at a bar near you, or at Wegmans and Tops grocery stores, where it is the best‐selling hard cider." Now that I live in Ithaca, that Wegmans reference has a whole new meaning for me. It is the grocery chain of the region and much beloved. (For my Florida friends, people here love Wegmans as much as Floridians love Publix.)

Today I'm reviewing McKenzie's Lazy Lemon. This is definitely the first lemon cider I've seen for sale, but many ciders have citrus notes, so the pairing is fairly logical. Furthermore, I've enjoyed shandies, a mix of beer and lemonade served ice cold, and this could well be the cider answer to a shandy. Informed by these two associations, I have hope that this will surpass many of the six-pack ciders I've tried lately.

Their product description is more playful than informative, but I'll share it here since it has disappeared from the official website for the year. "Pucker up! You're going to love this little tart. Lazy Lemon has a burst of citrus without the acidic bite, giving long carefree days a zesty punch of refreshing flavor. Serve Chilled. Kick back and enjoy often."

Color and Appearance: Brilliant, fresh corn

When poured I see almost no visible bubbles in the Lazy Lemon. It has a lovely pale color, almost like fresh corn on the cob. The clarity, as the picture suggests is brilliant. You could read text through this easily.

Aromas: musty, lemon, minerals

The cider gives off a genuinely intriguing aroma. It smells very pleasantly rocky and citrusy. Rather like some white wines. So far, my hopes are not disappointed.

Sweetness: Sweet!

The Lazy Lemon is sweet like lemonade. It left my mouth a bit sticky like lemonade also.

Flavors: Boozy lemon soda

I'm tempted to just leave it at that. It doesn't taste like apple or cider. The Lazy Lemon is easy on the carbonation, which is a plus. It has some mild tartness that cuts the sweetness pleasantly, but that could be stronger. It really does taste like a slightly boozy sparkling lemonade.

Drinking Experience: Needs ice

Ice actually helps mend the level of sweetness, so I'd say break the traditional cider rules. Pour this one on ice if you want to enjoy a the Lazy Lemon at its best. It isn't very cidery, so I'm not sure the rules really apply.

The other two things you could do are either add a scoop of super tart sorbet or gelato and just turn it into a float or get a lager and make a shandy-esque lemon + cider + beer blend. If anyone tries either of these, please comment and let me know.