Review of “Scourge of God” by Attila Hard Cider.  I honestly bought this just because the name was funny.  I haven’t tried any Attila ciders, but they also offer at least one other cider (Rapture, with Concord grape juice in addition to Granny Smith apple juice), and have been around since 2013.

Cider:  Scourge of God
Cidery:  Attila Hard Cider (for Elevage Wine Company in Ellensburg WA)
Cidery Location:  Milton-Freewater OR
ABV:  5.9%
How Supplied:  22oz glass bottle

 

Availability:  WA only, in bottles & kegs.  Distributed through King Beverage (Budweiser house) in Eastern Washington and American Northwest in Western Washington.

Cider Description:  Attila’s flagship lightly carbonated, slightly tart, perfectly blended cider with a clean, crisp finish. In the finest tradition of American Craft cider we only source the highest quality apples from Washington State . Drink what the Founding Mothers and Fathers used to enjoy after a hard day’s work. Made from only fresh-pressed apples with no juice concentrates or added sugars, make Attila, “The Scourge of God” the most refreshing cider on the market today, and at 6.99% Alc, you can bring this cider to any revolution!

Cidery Description:  In 2011, we noticed an influx of people asking for draft cider at our wine bar in Ellensburg. Knowing very little about cider we tried them all, yet after our year long research, we only found two that we liked—both from Oregon. The winemaker in me thought, it can’t be that hard. Finally, after a long trial and error process, three years and several thousand of dollars of cider given away to friends (aka “guinea pigs”) Attila “Scourge of God” was born.   Why Attila? Glad you asked. Attila was a true-life badass; a simple man with leadership abilities that would rival any modern day leader. Down-to-earth Attila that lead by example and enjoyed a good drink. Dubbed the “Scourge the God” by Pope Leo, Attila was feared by everyone and found joy intimidating the Romans; a businessman, he demanded up to 2000 kilograms of gold a year in lieu of being pillaged by Attila’s misfits.  For us, we were not looking to conquer the cider business, but to grow Attila’s army into a band of local misfits who enjoy drinking a damn good cider. Our secret, using only locally-sourced apples, which are always fresh pressed creating a high quality craft cider for the masses.  We look forward to seeing you at our wine bar Brix in Ellensburg or our tasting room in Leavenworth or better yet your favorite watering hole soon as we continue to grow and thrive here.

Price:  ~$8?  It was awhile ago…
Where Bought:  Schilling Cider House
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  Browsing

First Impression:  Crisp acidic dry slightly musty scent.  Pale straw yellow.  Very light carbonation which quickly cleared.

Opinion:  Semi-dry.  Simple, crisp, and refreshing.  High acidity, which I really liked.  Very apple-forward, which I also liked.  Lots of granny smith apple flavor (made from golden delicious, gala, and granny smith apples), but the tartness remained mild.  No significant bitterness or astringency.  Some citrus notes.  I didn’t pick up any funk (it remained clean), which I had expected a bit from the scent.  This was definitely made from dessert apples (ie. low complexity), but it was well-balanced and not very sweet at all, which is nice.  Quick finish.  My only suggestion for this one is that more carbonation would be a good addition, but I say that about most ciders.

Most Similar to:  Other drier flagship ciders, except this one was higher acidity.

Closing Notes:   Pretty good.  I’d rate this as above average, especially for a flagship cider, which I typically don’t care for (as I like bolder flavors).  Its great they are doing so many good things, such as using fresh juice from WA apples, no additives, etc.  I’ve been wanting to try their Rapture cider, which sounds interesting, but appears to be sweeter than this one.

Have you tried Attila Scourge of God?  What did you think?