Review of Schilling Cider LumberJack, their Rhubarb variety, from Seattle Washington.
Cider: LumberJack (Rhubarb)
Cidery: Schilling Cider
Cidery Location: Auburn Washington (Seattle area)
ABV: 6.0%
How Supplied: boxed six pack of 12oz cans (and kegs)
Style: American craft fruit-infused canned cider
Ingredients: fresh pressed apple juice, pear, rhubarb, yeast
Availability: At least AK, AZ, CA, CT, ID, MN, NC, NV, OR, SC, VA, and WA.
Cider Description: This axe-swinging Lumberjack will make you want to get lost in the woods! He’s earthy, rugged, and just the right amount of dry. But, underneath all of that rough and tough, he’s as sweet as an early autumn pear.
Cidery Description: In 1881, Colin Schilling’s great-great-grandfather, August, founded the Schilling Spice Company in San Francisco. He brought pure, natural, spices to everyone, at a fair price. Today, at Schilling Cider, we carry August’s core values forward and pair them with innovative cider-making techniques to produce quality, complex, hard ciders.
Based in Seattle, Washington, Schilling Cider captures the essence of the Pacific Northwest by creating ciders that are deliberately innovative, bold and flavor forward. Never back-sweetened, we use only 100% fresh pressed apples, locally sourced non-GMO ingredients and individually hand select yeast strains to create a cider experience that is truly unique.
Price: I’ve seen it sold anywhere from $10.99 to $13.50 / six pack
Where Bought: n/a (a fellow customer at the cider house shared a can with me from the six pack he bought – thanks John!).
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing the Schilling Cider House
First Impression: Light pink-peach hue. Low carbonation (large bubbles) and foam. Smells lightly fruity.
Tasting Notes: Semi-dry (2 Brix). Moderate tartness and acidity. No bitterness, sourness, or tannins. Notes of rhubarb, pear, tropical fruit, peach, and honey. Light bodied with a smooth buttery texture. A bit champagne-like although not nearly as bubbly (only low carbonation). Moderate finish length. Moderate apple flavor. Moderate sessionability.
My Opinion: Tasty and refreshing. I think this one would be a great summer cider. However, its a tad on the tart side for my liking, and overall fruity ciders aren’t my favorite. I also don’t know if I would have been able to specifically identify rhubarb as the flavor.
Most Similar to: Other semi-dry fruity ciders. The only other rhubarb cider I’ve had is 2 Towns Rhubarbarian, and I’d say Schilling’s LumberJack is more flavorful.
Closing Notes: This is part of Schilling Cider’s re-launch. I’m curious to see what else they will come up with. They discontinued their Hopped and Oak Aged ciders, and have had a number of new releases in their cider lineup lately.
Have you tried Schilling LumberJack (Rhubarb)? What did you think?
Cider Says 
I do not like ciders, really, at all, because they are too sweet (the ones I have tried), but this one is damn tasty. I love the tartness and has become a staple for summer drinking. I’m normally a red wine drinker, but it’s hard to feel refreshed after mowing the lawn with a nice warm class of cab. I gave up beer a while back, so this hits the spot. I wish it was in a bottle, though. My husband has informed me that hipsters have made cans “cool” again. Whatever.
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weebroad – Thats great you gave it a try. There are plenty of drier ciders (I’d call this only semi-dry…some ciders are completely dry), so do a bit of pre-buying research on dryness of what is available in your area and look more at craft ciders (not commercial brands like Angry Orchard, Woodchuck, Smith & Forge, Strongbow, etc). Its a common misconception that all ciders are sweet like the most readily available brands. Similarly, like wine, high quality ciders often don’t taste like apples. Also, I’d recommend pouring either canned or bottled ciders into a glass, because like wine, scent has a lot to do with the flavor of a cider. Even a plastic cup is better than drinking straight from the can. 🙂 If you’d like some cider recommendations, let me know what state you are in and I’ll give it a try.
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If you like dry cider I highly recommend Seattle Cider Company’s Dry. It is delicious and bone dry.
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I found Shilling Lumberjack Rhubarb at Barbarian Brewing- Downtown Boise in cans.
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