Review of Colorado Cider Company’s Ol’ Stumpy.  My husband brought this back from Colorado for me (I may have given him a shopping list…), and its the first cider I’ve tried from them.

Cider:  Ol’ Stumpy
Cidery:  Colorado Cider Company
Cidery Location:  Denver CO
ABV:  6.7%
How Supplied:  500ml clear bottle
Style:  American craft cider made from cider & dessert apples, aged in oak chardonnay barrels with oak spirals

  

Availability:  Limited release, and only in Colorado.  See the list on their website for availability.

Cider Description:  Made with bittersweet apples, Ol’ Stumpy has a silky mouth feel, aromas of earth, and oak and a touch of tannins. Our modern take on an early American cider. Aged for a full year, including 4 months in oak Chardonnay barrels. (they now age it with oak spirals)

The bittersweet apples are sourced from New Hampshire while they are waiting for their own orchard to mature.  Also see this fact sheet on Ol’ Stumpy.

Cidery Description:  Colorado Cider Company was founded in 2011 to produce fresh hard cider for the discerning Colorado drinker. With a well-developed craft beer market and an educated populace, Hard Cider has been a missing choice in the cacophony of craft drinks in local pubs and liquor stores.  We set out to remedy that.  We bottled our first batch of Glider in April of 2011 – Celebrating 5 years of cidering in the spring of 2016!  Glide On!!!

Here are some great writeups on Colorado Cider Company from Drinking Cider and Cider Sage.

Price:  $9.48
Where Bought:  Hazel’s Beverage World in Boulder CO
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  I browsed the websites of all the Colorado cideries with an online presence and made my husband a list of ciders to look out for when he was in Colorado.  This one sounded the most to my liking from Colorado Cider Company’s lineup, as I love anything with bittersweet apples and/or barrel aged.

First Impression:  Light orange amber hue.  No carbonation upon pouring.  Smells rich and sweet, of bittersweet apples and honey.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-dry to dry.  Still.  Medium bodied.  Mild to moderate tartness.  Mild tannins.  Mild to moderate bitterness.  Moderate to high acidity.  No sourness or funk.  Notes of bittersweet apples, apple pomace, citrus, honey, and oak.  Earthy and moderate to full flavored.  Moderate length finish.  Moderate apple influence.  Low to moderate sessionability.

My Opinion:  I enjoyed this cider.  However, after the AMAZING scent, the taste was honestly a bit of a let down.  I think the high acidity and bitterness combined with the dryness made the flavor a tad harsh.  I imagine that with a bit of honey this would be even better.  I also imagine aging it in neutral oak or anything but chardonnay barrels would decrease the acidity.

Most Similar to:  Despite using bittersweet apples, Ol’ Stumpy definitely doesn’t taste like an English cider, due to the addition of dessert apples (including granny smith) and aging in oak chardonnay barrels.  Its rather unique and I have a tough time finding any similar ciders that I’ve tasted.  I’ve had other bittersweet ciders though, such as from Sea Cider and Locust, and both were sweeter, with less acidity and less bitterness.

Closing Notes:   I’m usually a huge fan of bittersweet apples in cider and barrel aging, and although I wasn’t blown away by this one, it was definitely pleasant to drink and I’m glad I got a chance to try it.  My husband was an even bigger fan than I was (probably as it was on the dry side but remained really flavorful).  Hopefully I’ll get to try more ciders from them in the future.

Have you tried any ciders from Colorado Cider Company?  What did you think?