Review of Westons Caple Rd Blend No. 3 cider.  It is my first time trying anything from this cidery.

Cider:  Blend No. 3
Cidery:  Westons Caple Rd
Cidery Location:  Ledbury, Herefordshire, England
ABV:  5.3%
How Supplied:  four pack of 500ml cans
Style:  English cider, craft per their website, although per the ingredient list, they add water & sugar, presumably to obtain their desired sweetness and ABV levels (note in the U.S. it would instead be more common to backsweeten with unfermented juice)

  

Availability:  semi wide release

Cider Description:  The UK’s first canned cider produced with genuine craft credentials.  Slowly fermented fresh pressed English apple juice – no concentrate.  Small batch production.  Matured for up to 18 months in both oak and stainless steel vats.  Produced by an independent cider maker.  An uncompromising and challenging cider, with taste and flavour at its heart.  Matured in both oak and steel for a refined, full-bodied flavour.  Full bodied dark straw / amber sparkling cider.  Oaky, smoky, with subtle notes of leather…Fresh English apple juice.  A first for canned cider.  Unique authentic provenance.  Genuine, true cider.

Cidery Description:  Being the fifth generation of the Weston family line, Guy inherited a fine cider making heritage, which he uses to create contemporary and pioneering ciders. Try as he might, Guy can’t help but go against the grain, determined to challenge cider-lovers palates.  —  Great ciders are in my blood, Caple Rd is no different. I demand the finest yeast and fresh bittersweet English apple juice to craft ciders I am proud of.  My patience for a slow fermentation and up to 18 months maturation, is challenged with the anticipation to taste the complex, full-bodied cider I have crafted and nurtured.

Price:  $9.49 / four cans
Where Bought:  Total Wine
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  browsing; I was excited to see a new-to-me English cider available

First Impression:  Light gold hue.  Moderate carbonation.  Smells musty, of rich sweet apple.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-dry.  Light bodied.  Low to moderate tartness.  Moderate acidity.  Hints of tannins, bitterness, and funk.  No sourness.  Notes of juicy apple, lemon, caramel, and leather.  Moderate length tart finish.  Moderate apple flavor and flavor intensity.  High sessionability.  Low to moderate complexity.

My Opinion:  Great!  I liked the flavor profile.  It is more fitting for warm weather than most other English ciders, being more fruity than rich.  It still has plenty of characteristic English cider flavor, and more complexity than I expected for a canned cider.  From the taste I’d believe this was craft, and in a much higher price range than under $2.50 / pint.

Most Similar to:  a higher quality version of Crispin Browns Lane, one of the fruitier Aspall varieties, or Sheppy’s Somerset Draught if it was more fruity (as its one of the least rich English ciders I’ve tried)

Closing Notes:  I hope this will continue to be available.  Seems like all my favorite English ciders are no longer sold locally.

Have you tried Caple Rd?  What did you think?