Tasting notes from my thirteenth visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA.  Check out my past posts with tasting notes here.  I was there on a random Friday, as I was in the mood for some cider shopping and had some extra time as my hubby was out of town (I may have also gone to three other bottle shops that week…).

I brought some dinner with me from the PCC down the street, and ordered a flight of six ciders–Elemental Margarita Randall, Schilling Vanilla Clove, Liberty Cellar Series #G15, AEppelTreow Sparrow Spiced, Portland Cider Crooked Cock Scrumpy, and Zeffer Crisp Apple (left to right in photo below).

Elemental Margarita (Jalapeno Lime Cilantro) Randall with Strawberries, Mango, and Lime, 6.5% ABV, Woodinville WA:  Schilling took Elemental’s Margarita (Jalapeno Lime Cilantro) cider and put it through a Randall (flavor infuser) with fresh strawberries, mango, and lime.  The Cider House does a Randall most weekends.  I’ve had this cider before, and its nice and flavorful without a real discernible spiciness when drinking small quantities.  The additional lime and fruitiness was tasty, and would be awesome in summer.  The additional ingredients however took away the cilantro and jalapeno flavor notes of the base cider.  Semi-dry to semi-sweet.  Moderate tartness from the added lime.  Light to medium bodied.  Moderate to strong acidity.  This one really hit the spot as we’ve been having summer-like heat in Seattle.

Schilling Vanilla Clove, 6.3% ABV, Auburn WA:  I’ve had a lot of ciders from Schilling.  This appears to be a tap-only release (weird time of year for a spiced cider though?).  Smells rather strongly of vanilla with a hint of clove spice.  Semi-dry to semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Mild acidity and tartness.  Very vanilla with hints of spice.  It tastes dessert-like without being overly sweet.  Moderate length finish.

Liberty Cellar Series #G15, 8.6% ABV, Spokane WA:  I’ve tried a number of their ciders.  This is a special tap-only release.  Its made from Golden Russet, Chisel Jersey, and Empire apples, wild-yeast fermented, then barrel-aged.  Semi-dry to dry.  Light bodied.  Mild acidity, tartness, bitterness, and tannins.  A hint of sourness, but not as much as I’ve found with other wild yeast ciders.  Notes of oak, spice, honey, stone fruit, and hops?.  Moderate length finish.

AEppelTreow Sparrow Spiced, 5.8% ABV, Burlington WI:  I’ve had a few ciders from them.  This one is made from Red Delicious, Cortland, McIntosh, and Greenings apples, with mace, cinnamon, star anise, and cardamon.  Its also available in bottles.  It smells of cinnamon.  Semi-sweet to semi-dry.  Medium bodied.  Mild to moderate tartness.  Low acidity.  A hint of bitterness.  More cinnamon flavor than anything else, but the base cider had a bit of richness to it.  There were also notes of oak (although not barrel aged), vanilla, and other spices.  Moderate length finish.

Portland Cider Crooked Cock Scrumpy, 13.5% ABV, Portland OR:  Wow!  Quite boozy, without much else going for it.  I think with some sweetness or flavor (richness or tannins) this would have been better.  I wonder where the pinkish hue came from?  Semi-dry to dry.  Light bodied.  Low acidity and tartness.  Moderate bitterness.  Long warming boozy finish.

Zeffer Crisp Apple, 5.0% ABV, Matakana New Zealand:  This is my first time trying anything from this brand.  I found it rather bland and apple juice-like.  Semi-dry.  Low tartness and acidity.  Light to medium bodied.  I didn’t really pick up any flavor notes besides apple juice, apple pomace, and yeast.  I’d guess this is made with dessert apples and back sweetened.  Quick finish.

My favorites of the evening were the Elemental Margarita Randall, plus Liberty #G15 and AEppelTreow Sparrow Spiced.  I really didn’t like the Portland Scrumpy one though, and especially once it warmed up, didn’t feel like finishing it.

On my way out I picked up bottles of Aspall Imperial (blue instead of black label this time…I’m curious whether they are different) and E.Z. Orchards Poire (French-style perry).

Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says!  Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?