Review of Woodchuck’s Raspberry variety.
Cider: Raspberry
Cidery: Woodchuck
Cidery Location: Middlebury VT
ABV: 4.0%
How Supplied: 12oz bottles (six pack)
Availability: wide release, year round
Cider Description: Raspberry is a well-balanced cider that is light and refreshing. Delicate in body with a little extra zip that takes everything great about hard cider and kicks it up a notch with a fresh sweet raspberry finish.
Price: ~$4.50 / bottle at a bar
Where Drank: Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse in Snohomish WA. We were in the area to go to dinner at The Repp for our anniversary, and my husband requested a trip to Fred’s, due to their huge rare Scotch selection. They had a decent cider selection…Ace Pineapple and Schilling Sriracha Lime on tap (apparently they usually also have Blackthorn but were out), and Woodchuck Raspberry in bottles. I wasn’t feeling the Pineapple and wouldn’t fathom drinking a pint of Sriracha Lime (not a fan of more than a sip of spicy ciders), so Woodchuck it was. I’ve had their Raspberry a few times and its a solid selection, albeit not one of my favorites. The last time I had Woodchuck Raspberry was here as well. Sorry for the horrible photo, but we had a crowded bar seat.
First Impression: Very pale straw yellow with little carbonation and a foam ring.
Opinion: Semi-sweet (Woodchuck says sweet but I don’t find this one all that sweet oddly enough). Its definitely an easy drinking cider, especially at only 4%. Moderate carbonation in the mouthfeel. Low acidity and tartness. No bitterness. The raspberry flavor is pretty mild, but on the fake side.
Most Similar to: Woodchuck’s other fruity ciders, such as the Summer Time (blueberry), and Wyder’s Raspberry. This one has a different flavor than other “berry” ciders however; more raspberry syrup than raspberry fruit.
Closing Notes: Not a bad choice, but its pretty predictable. I kinda question how they did the raspberry flavor without adding any raspberry color though? I’d drink it again in a similar situation, but it isn’t one I’d buy a six pack of, like some of their other ciders (Winter Chill, Barrel Select, and Gumption).
Have you tried Woodchuck Raspberry? What did you think?
Cider Says 
I love raspberry, but despise fake raspberry. I was excited to look for this one. But I think I’ll pass. Thanks for the review!
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Most craft cider would use real raspberry juice, so you may want to look for raspberry ciders made by small local cideries. I had a raspberry cider recently by Cockrell (Puyallup WA) called Valley Red, but I doubt its available outside of WA. 2 Towns (Corvallis OR) makes a lot of berry ciders and is more widely available, so that may be an option. Doc’s (NY) makes a Raspberry cider, but I haven’t tried it (they also have pretty wide distribution). Thanks for reading!
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