Review of Kinda Dry from Portland Cider.  They have two flagship ciders, Kinda Dry and Sorta Sweet.  Pretty creative naming and to offer two ends of the spectrum.

Cider:  Kinda Dry
Cidery:  Portland Cider
Cidery Location:  Portland WA
ABV:  6.8%
How Supplied:  22oz bottle

Availability:  OR & WA

Cider Description:  Traditional English cider is dry, lightly carbonated, has very subtle apple flavors, and a lingering fresh finish. It is in the spirit of this traditional cider that we blend our Kinda Dry. We use fresh pressed juice from a blend of NW grown culinary apples such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Gala, Golden and Red Delicious, carefully ferment them with a yeast that preserves their subtle characteristics, give the cider time to develop to its full potential, then bottle or keg at just the right time. Just off dry, light, clean, refreshing, with a pleasant finish, Kinda Dry is the cider to always have on hand.

Cidery Description:  What do you do when you’re frustrated by the quality of the commercial cider available?  You start making your own!  What do you do when friends and family keep telling you it’s the best cider they’ve ever had?  You start a business!  That is the essence of how the Portland Cider Company got its start.  Founded by Jeff Parrish, an Oregon native, and his wife Lynda, an ex-patriot from the Somerset region of England (the Mecca of cider), the Portland Cider Company is based on the belief that good cider comes from good fruit, honest practices, and attention to detail. Our cider starts with fresh pressed juice from Northwest grown apples.  We then carefully ferment it using yeast that protects the delicate characteristics of the fruit.  The results are cider blends that are easy to drink, refreshing, and downright delicious.  Drink it, it’s good!

Portland Cider started in 2012, and they have a taproom in Portland (with their ciders and some others).

Price:  ~$7
Where Bought:  My husband brought this home from Whole Foods for me.  I had joked for him to bring me home some cider, and he did!
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  I’ve had my eye on Portland Cider after trying their Passion Fruit and Pearfect Perry on tap at the Schilling Cider House (see tasting notes here).

First Impression:  High carbonation with tiny bubbles.  Shiny light gold amber.  Dry clean apple scent.

Opinion:  On the drier side of semi-dry.  Moderate acidity and bitterness.  Mild tannins.  Nice higher carbonation level.  This has a pretty standard flagship cider flavor and I didn’t pick up too many distinctive flavor notes.  I’m surprised there is so much bitterness from dessert apples, but I’ve also found that in other ciders, and its something I’m sensitive to.  I think my favorite thing with this cider was the higher carbonation.  For me, the more bubbles the better most of the time!  Many ciders seem to be lacking in carbonation, which may be due to the current taxation levels which penalize cider and tax it as champagne above a certain carbonation level (one of the main points of the CIDER Act).

Most Similar to:  Other flagship ciders with higher bitterness.

Closing Notes:   I found Kinda Dry to be kinda boring, but its a solid craft cider choice.  For what you get (a 22oz bottle of craft cider from PNW apples and no additives), its a nice price point.  I think it just needs more flavor in general.  I found the dryness and bitterness to overwhelm the cider a bit.  I also wasn’t impressed with their Passion Fruit and Pearfect Perry, also thinking they needed more flavor.  I may be convinced to try their Sorta Sweet, but I heard it is quite sweet, and I’ve been moving towards drier ciders.  I see on their website they offer “Bourbonator” in their taproom, which sounds more to my liking, as I love anything barrel aged.

Have you tried Portland Cider Kinda Dry?  What did you think?