Review of Crispin’s The Saint.  I tried this a couple years ago, pre-blog.  I’ve previously tried most of Crispin’s line-up:  Original, Venus Reigns, 15 Men, Browns Lane, Blackberry Pear,  Pacific Pear, Bohemian, Honeycrisp,  and Steeltown.

Cider:  The Saint
Cidery:  Crispin
Cidery Location:  Colfax CA
ABV:  6.9%
How Supplied:  22oz bottles
Style:  unfiltered American commercial cider
Ingredients:  fresh-pressed hard apple cider, filtered water, Organic maple syrup, apple juice concentrate (finishing sweetener), malic acid, contains sulfites
Yeast:  Belgian Trappist

  

Availability:  Wide release

Cider Description:  The Saint Artisanal Reserve unfiltered hard cider is made with racked apple-wine and smoothed with pure maple syrup, which balances the bold flavors of sweet, ripe apples.  Best served cold for bold, crisp refreshment. Give a full bottoms-up tilt and swirl to disperse unfiltered apple-wine sediment evenly.

Cidery Description:  Crispin ciders are naturally fermented using the raw, unpasteurized juice of fresh-pressed American apples and pears. Through classic cold-fermentation and specially selected wine yeasts, we always stay true to the fruit with authentic flavors and unique aromatic notes that are only present in fresh-pressed cider.

Price:  $6.99
Where Bought:  Albertsons
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  My husband brought this home for me randomly.  He hadn’t remembered I had already tried it a couple years ago.

First Impression:  Hazy unfiltered apple juice hue.  Smells of apple juice and honey.  Nearly still.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-sweet to sweet.  Medium bodied.  Moderate tartness.  Moderate to high acidity.  No bitterness, sourness, tannins, or funk.  Notes of apple juice, baked apples, honey, maple, and hints of pie spices.  Quick finish length.  High apple flavor.  High sessionability.  Moderate flavor intensity.  Low complexity.

My Opinion:  Not bad.  Its a bit too sweet and low complexity for my liking though.

Most Similar to:  Other sweet unfiltered ciders such as Downeast Original Blend and JK’s Scrumpy Orchard Gate Gold.  Of the three, my favorite is the Downeast, as its slightly less sweet, more cider-like than juice-like, and tastes more “real”.

Closing Notes:  This is a popular cider in Crispin’s Artisanal Reserve line, available year round.

Have you tried Crispin The Saint?  What did you think?