Tasting notes from my 29th 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 Tuesday afternoon with my husband, following the Washington Cider Week preview at Capitol Cider.  These definitely aren’t my best tasting notes, as we were in a rush to beat the traffic home, and my husband distracted me from taking notes.

<left to right:  Whitewood Jonathan, Double Mountain Dry, 2 Towns Afton Field, Newton Court Perry, Seattle Cider City Fruit, and Finnriver Lavender Black Currant>

Whitewood Cider (Olympia WA) Jonathan (6.9% ABV):  This is a single varietal cider from Jonathan apples, also available in bottles.  Dry to semi-dry.  Light to medium bodied.  Apple forward with citrus and honey notes.  This is one of my favorite dry ciders ever, as it is very approachable, without a harsh acidity, and more flavorful than expected.

Double Mountain (Hood River OR) Dry (6.7% ABV):  This cider is made by a brewery, and appears to be draft-only.  I tried their Jumpin Jack Heirloom Cider on draft at Cider Summit Seattle last year (see here).  Dry.  Low sourness and funk.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  Primarily heirloom apple and citrus notes.

2 Towns (Corvallis OR) Afton Field (6.4% ABV):  I thought I had tried this one, but can’t find any reviews, so maybe not.  Also available in bottles.  This farmhouse-style cider is part of their Traditions line, and also available in bottles.  Dry.  Low sourness and funk.  Moderate acidity and tartness.  Notes of citrus and mineral.

Newton Court (Herefordshire England) Panting Partridge Perry (5.3% ABV):  This is an English perry, also available in bottles, new to the Seattle area at least.  They also have a bottled (and likely draft) cider available, Gasping Goose.  Semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Low sourness and funk.  Pear-forward and fruity.

Seattle Cider (Seattle WA) City Fruit (6.3% ABV):  This cider was made using community apples from City Fruit, and is also available in bottles (this was previously only exclusively sold at Whole Foods).  Dry.  High acidity.  Moderate tartness.  Notes of citrus and stone fruit.

Finnriver (Chimacum WA) Lavender Black Currant (6.5% ABV):  I’ve had this cider on numerous previous occasions, but I never turn down having some on Nitro tap.  Also available in bottles.  Semi-sweet.  Awesome fluffy texture.  Moderate acidity and tartness.  It is a yummy flavorful combination of fruity black currant and herbal lavender.

My husband’s favorite was Double Mountain Dry, mine was Finnriver Lavender Black Currant, and the most unexpected (in a good way) was Whitewood Jonathan.  There were a surprising number of sour / farmhouse-style ciders (3), which isn’t my thing, but maybe I’ll eventually acquire the taste for them.

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