Tasting notes from my fourteenth 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 Saturday afternoon with my husband and a friend, who was here from out of state.

I started with a flight of four ciders.

<left to right:  2 Towns Return of the Mac, Red Tank Sour Cherry, Reverend Nat’s Hallelujah Hopricot, and Schilling Cider Raspberry Smoothie>

2 Towns Return of the Mac, Corvallis OR, 8.9% ABV:  This is an unfiltered special release cider made with McIntosh apples, tap-only.  Darker slightly unfiltered hue.  Semi-sweet.  Smells and tastes very apple-forward.  Mild tartness and acidity.  A hint of bitterness.  Medium bodied.  Simple in flavor, but tasty.  This reminds me some of their Out Cider, but its sweeter and even more apple-forward.

Red Tank Sour Cherry, Bend OR, 5.4% ABV:  A seasonal tap-only release made with Montmorency cherries.  Mild cherry hue and scent.  Semi-dry.  Mild to moderate tartness and mild acidity.  There was (thankfully) no sourness, so I think this could be more accurately called Tart Cherry not Sour Cherry.  Light bodied.  True but mild cherry flavor.

Reverend Nat’s Hallelujah Hopricot, Portland OR, 6.7% ABV:  This is their flagship cider, but I’m not a huge hops fan, so I hadn’t tried it.  My husband however requested I get a taster (he’s a big Rev Nat’s fan).  Semi-dry.  Very mild floral scent.  Mild tartness and medium acidity with a hint of bitterness.  Medium bodied.  Stone fruit, floral, citrus, and hops notes.  The hops remained quite mild, more floral & citrus than hops.

Schilling Cider Raspberry Smoothie, Auburn WA, 3.5% ABV:  This is a new tap-only release, and literally a smoothie.  I imagine this wouldn’t have the shelf life of a regular cider due to its high fruit content and low alcohol content.  I couldn’t taste any alcohol or apples, but it was quite tasty and refreshing on a warm day.  Semi-sweet.  Mild to moderate tartness.  Very raspberry-forward, and they definitely used the real thing.  Very full bodied.  I actually ordered a full pint of this one, although that ended up being a bit much for me (it was quite filling, although I think it was just cider and fresh raspberries).

While I was there they tapped a new keg, Cockrell Brewing’s Edgewood Heirloom cider.  I asked for a taste.

Cockrell Brewing Edgewood Heirloom, Puyallup WA, 6.5% ABV:  This is their first cider made exclusively with apples from their own farm.  Smells mild, of crisp apples, champagne yeast, and citrus.  Semi-dry to semi-sweet.  Light bodied.  Mild tartness and acidity.  Mildly flavored.  Apple-forward.

My favorite was surprisingly the Raspberry Smoothie (I’d be interested in some background info on that one…very unique).  I also really liked 2 Towns Return of the Mac.  The Red Tank Sour Cherry, Rev Nat’s Hallelujah Hopricot, and Cockrell Edgewood were all rather average for me.

I actually didn’t buy any bottles, as I have quite a few at home at the moment.

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