Review of Understood in Motion 03, Angry Orchard’s third release in the collaboration series, this time with Tom Oliver, of Herefordshire’s Oliver’s Cider & Perry.  The first collaboration was with Eden Specialty Ciders (see my review here), and the second was with EZ Orchards (see my review here).

>>This is a review of a sample bottle provided to Cider Says by Angry Orchard.  Although I will take care to treat it the same as any other review, there is always the potential for bias as I received it for free.  The only consideration I knowingly made was pushing this up in my cider review cue.  I love free stuff, especially cider!  Want your cider or cider-related product reviewed here?  Contact me.<<

Cider:  Understood in Motion 03
Cidery:  Angry Orchard and Oliver’s Cider & Perry
Cidery Location:  Walden New York U.S.A & Herefordshire England
ABV:  7.2%
How Supplied:  750ml corked & caged bottle
Style:  American & English craft cider from Dabinett, Northern Spy, & Foxwhelp apples, wild yeast fermented, oak aged, dry, still

 

Availability:  Angry Orchard’s facility in Walden NY, released March 2018

Cider Description:  Understood in Motion 03 started over two years ago, as two different natural ciders fermented with wild yeast. The Dabinett apple was the principle apple variety used in this collaboration, an 18^th century English bittersweet apple that is favored for its reliability to yield fruit annually, and is now grown in the United States. The result, a still, tannic, dry, wild and funky cider that pairs well with a hearty meal enjoyed with friends.

Angry Orchard’s Ryan Burk and Oliver’s Cider & Perry’s Tom Oliver worked together on this cider over the last two years.  This article has more information.

Price:  n/a (retails for $25)
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  I read about it online.

First Impression:  Hazy orange amber hue.  Very low carbonation.  Smells of cider apples, sourness, and funk.

Tasting Notes:  Dry to semi-dry.  Light bodied.  Low tartness, sourness, funk, and bitterness.  Moderate acidity and tannins.  Notes of bittersweet apples, pomace, orange, leather, grapefruit, and oak.  Long tannic sour finish.  Moderate apple flavor and flavor intensity.  Low sessionability.  Moderate to high complexity.

My Opinion:  I liked it.  However, I would have much preferred it without the sourness; I don’t mind funk, but for some reason I’m not a fan of sourness.  I liked it better closer to room temperature, but even then it still had the sourness on the finish.  The bittersweet apple flavor and aging was great though.

Most Similar to:  English cider (rich bittersweet apples, tannic, funky), with a hint of Spanish sidra (sour, citrus)

Closing Notes:  I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to try these special releases not available locally – I’m spoiled with these samples!

Have you tried any of the Angry Orchard special releases?  What did you think?