Woodinville Cider Tasting – Locust, Elemental, & Woodinville Ciderworks

March 11, 2016March 4, 2016 cidersays Elemental, Locust, review, Woodinville Ciderworks cider, cider tasting, Elemental, hard cider, Locust, tasting notes, washington, Woodinville, Woodinville Ciderworks

Recently I spent a Saturday in Woodinville with my husband and a friend. I planned to just go to Locust as I wanted to try their new Bourbon Barrel Aged cider, but ended up visiting all three cideries / tasting rooms in the area, which was nice. Locust Cider, Elemental Hard Cider, and Woodinville Ciderworks are all within walking distance of each other, and each has both cidery and tasting room in the same location. It was my first time visiting any of them, although I’m very familiar with their ciders and have met or communicated with the owners. We started with lunch at Big Fish Grill, which was very tasty. They even had local cider on tap (Schilling Mischief Maker Pom-Cran, which I reviewed here).

Next we went to Locust Cider. My husband and friend tried a couple ciders, then left me to finish up mine (and visit the other cideries) while they went wine tasting.

I only tried two of Locust’s ciders, as I had tried all the others or wasn’t interested (and the first one was a large pour of a high ABV cider!). They were offering Original Dry, Winesap, Dark Cherry, Chipotle, Thai Ginger, and Aged WA Dessert Apple on tap, and bottle pours of Bittersweet Reserve and Bourbon Barrel Aged. See my tasting notes on Thai Ginger, Pumpkin, and Dark Cherry, and reviews of Aged WA Dessert Apple and Bittersweet Reserve (plus I’ve tried Original Dry and Green Tea Infused).

Bourbon Barrel Aged (14% ABV) – This is their newest bottle release, originally only for their club members, but sales were opened up to the public as they had a bit extra (tap room only). Aged 9 months in bourbon barrels. Smells like bourbon with only a hint of apple and oak. Golden orange amber hue. On the sweeter side of Dry. Still. Served room temperature. Light bodied. Moderate acidity, mild tartness, mild bitterness, and mild tannins. Moderate to full flavor profile. I could definitely tell it was 14% ABV, and I think I would have liked to try it cold (or even, shudder, with an ice cube or two), as I think it would have smoothed out a bit. As is, it was a bit much for me. In addition to bourbon, notes of oak and vanilla, and a slight bit of maple and must. Long warming boozy finish. Moderate to high spirit influence. Moderate barrel influence. Very low sessionability. Mild to moderate apple flavor.

Winesap (6.0% ABV) – This is a new cider for them (tap only), a single varietal from Winesap apples. They experimented with a Sidra-style fermentation, aiming to smooth out the tartness of the Winesap apples, and aged it a few months (I assume tank as Ryan didn’t specify barrel). Smells mildly sour and of citrus. Hazy light lemon straw yellow hue. Semi-dry. Only very mild sourness (and I’m admittedly sensitive), less so than in the scent. Mild tartness and acidity. Medium bodied. Frothy mouthfeel but low carbonation. Mildly flavored, with citrus, earthy, yeast, and mineral notes. Quick finish. High sessionability. Mild to moderate apple flavor. This was one of the most unique ciders I’ve ever tasted–very textural more than flavorful. This would be a great refreshing summer cider.

They had a neat handout for tasting notes (reminiscent of this source):

Next I walked down the street to Elemental Hard Cider. I hadn’t realized they had so many taps (12, in comparison to 6 at Locust, although 1 was out). The owners Brian and Christina Callahan were tending bar (I had met them previously at Around the Table in Lynnwood). They were offering Dry (Carbon), Acai (Nitrogen), Ginger, Pomegranate-Rose, Margarita (Jalapeno Lime Cilantro), Apple Pie, Pomegranate (Oxygen), Blood Orange (Calcium), NW Atomic Root Beer, Lavender-Rose Petal, and Grapefruit (Hydrogen).

I’ve previously tried Cherry, Dry (version a & version b), NW Atomic Root Beer (version a & version b), Blood Orange, Seasonal Spiced Apple, Pom-Cherry, and Pomegranate. They are unique in that they have made significant tweaks to their recipes after releasing them, and even bottling them in some cases, thus I have very different tasting notes on the same cider in two cases. I learned they plan to release some ciders in six packs (previously they have only done 16.9 or 22 oz bottles).

<Margarita, Lavender-Rose, and Grapefruit>

Margarita, Jalapeno Lime Cilantro (6.5% ABV) – Smells like lime with hints of cilantro and jalapeno. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Only very mild spiciness (although apparently it can sneak up if you drink a couple pints). The flavor was also mostly lime, although surprisingly only mildly tart. Moderate acidity. A hint of bitterness. Light bodied. Moderate finish length. This would pair really well with mexican food.

Lavender-Rose Petal (6.5% ABV) – Sweet. Full bodied, almost syrupy. Floral and herbal flavor, although I’m not sure I could have guessed it was infused with lavender and rose petals (apparently more rose than lavender with this batch). Low acidity and tartness. Too sweet for me (apparently this is their response to requests for sweeter ciders).

Grapefruit, Hydrogen (6.5% ABV) – Very mild grapefruit scent. On the sweeter side of semi-dry. Mild refreshing grapefruit flavor. Low tartness and acidity. Medium bodied. I’m usually not a huge grapefruit fan, but this was surprisingly nice.

Brian at Elemental had mentioned that Leroy at Woodinville Ciderworks was now pouring Asian Pear cider out of his Flying Dreams Winery tasting room (which specializes in Spanish red wines). I was walking to try to meet up with my husband & friend and walked right by it, so I decided to drop in. They only have one other cider, Tropical, which I tasted at Cider Summit Seattle last summer, but they haven’t bottled yet.

Asian Pear (6.5% ABV) – Semi-dry. Mildly flavored with only a hint of pear (the apple also remains mild). Low tartness and acidity. Light bodied. Citrus, pear, and mineral notes. Moderate finish length. I can see why this is popular, especially with fans of white wine, but its not really my thing, as I like a very flavorful cider.

While I was there I learned they will be bottling Tropical in about 6 weeks, and also a new cider, Pomegranate Dark Cherry, this summer.

I actually ended up back at Elemental to meet my husband and friend as they thought I was still there. They tried a few ciders, and Ginger was their favorite of those.

Locust Bittersweet Reserve remains my favorite Woodinville cider so far. I opened my bottle the night before this group of cidery visits–yum!

Have you been to any cidery tasting room lately?

Locust Cider Bittersweet Reserve

January 29, 2016January 29, 2016 cidersays Locust, review bittersweet, Bittersweet Reserve, cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Locust, washington, Woodinville

Review of Bittersweet Reserve from Locust Cider in Woodinville WA. This variety was released in late 2015, only 1,000 bottles and some kegs, to benefit Hydrocephalus (which the owner’s daughter has). This review is from a half growler of the cider, although I also picked up a bottle for future consumption, so I photographed the bottle which is much prettier and informative. I’ve had a few varieties from Locust, including Washington Dessert Apple Aged Hard Cider (which I enjoyed), and Original Dry, Green Tea Infused, & Dark Sweet Cherry (which I wasn’t a huge fan of…they were all very mildly flavored, definitely sessionable).

Cider: Bittersweet Reserve
Cidery: Locust Cider
Cidery Location: Woodinville WA
ABV: 6%
How Supplied: 750ml bottles, kegs
Style: American unfiltered craft cider made using bittersweet apples

Availability: Limited, only sold from their Woodinville WA tap room and a few locations around Seattle WA

Cider Description: A full-bodied hard cider made from French and English bittersweet apples, with caramel and dried fruit aroma, and subtle citrus and baked apple. Only 1,000 bottles exist.

Apple Varieties: Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, Michelin among limited others

Cidery Description: Real, Creative Hard Cider from fresh pressed Northwest Apples. Locust Cider is THE SESSION cider. Every cider we make, from smooth and light Original Dry to full flavored Aged Dessert Apple, is designed and made to be extremely drinkable. Sessionable cider. What is The Locust? Tough. Hard. Real.

When you are done with your hard day taking over the world, you deserve good hard cider. The Locust stems from the a near death experience had by the founder during childhood. Now motivated by the sensory memory of that moment, his life is about being tough, being insistent on the best, and never giving in. Locust Cider is real people. Founded by 2 brothers from Texas who wanted a great cider that they could drink more than one of, the company remains small. Everybody who works in the tap room also has a hand in making cider. We obsess over making drinkable, session cider for real, tough people to enjoy.

They have a tap room in the Woodinville WA warehouse district.

Price: $18 for a 750ml bottle or $8.50 for a 32oz half growler
Where Bought: Schilling Cider House in Seattle WA
Where Drank: home
How Found: Facebook

First Impression: Orange-amber hazy sweet (unfermented) cider hue. Smells of bittersweet apples, sweet cider, orange citrus, spice, raisins, and honey.

Tasting Notes: Semi-sweet to sweet. Low acidity, tartness, and bitterness. Low to moderate tannins. The slightest bit of earthiness & oakiness. No funk or sourness. In the flavor I picked up bittersweet apples, orange, spice, raisins (less so), and honey that I smelled, plus caramel and oddly enough, coffee? Although it has a lot of characteristics of sweet non-alcoholic cider, I wouldn’t call it juice-like (which as my tastes have evolved I’ve found to be a negative). I found the cider to be slightly alcohol-forward, but I enjoyed it (I would have guessed it had a higher ABV). Full bodied. Moderate to long finish.

My Opinion: Yum–rich, smooth, and luscious! It reminds me a lot of English cider, but with the additional residual sweetness, unfiltered flavor & mouthfeel, and less tannins than your average English craft cider, it may be more approachable. Overall this is a very easily likeable unique cider. However, I liked the sample I had from a bottle better. I believe my growler was from the bottom of the keg, and it seemed to have more tannins, spice, bitterness, etc (and the odd coffee note). Still plenty enjoyable though. I’m looking forward to drinking the bottle I bought. Overall my only feedback would be to have slightly less sweetness, and that bottled (or not from the end of the keg) may have more desirable flavor, or that its a bit variable (which often happens in ciders, especially if they are from different batches).

Most Similar to: Other ciders made from bittersweet apples (such as most English ciders, Sea Cider Bittersweet, Finnriver Fire Barrel, Angry Orchard Stone Dry, and Woodchuck Gumption & Hot Cha Cha Cha) and those which are of an unfiltered style (such as from J.K.’s Scrumpy & Downeast, and Locust Washington Dessert Apple). I’ve found that for the most part I really enjoy ciders from bittersweet apples.

Closing Notes: Its crazy how good of a deal Schilling must have got on that keg, as the price on tap was almost 1/3 of the price for bottled (by ounce), a deal I couldn’t pass up. I was quite surprised the keg lasted on tap a couple weeks. If you can find this one and don’t mind a sweeter cider, I highly recommend it (in fact, Schilling still has a few bottles left as of earlier this week).

Interesting Fact: I was told that this cider should stay refrigerated, as the high residual sugar content makes it prone to re-fermenting in the bottle (becoming too dry or sparkling). Being a small batch they didn’t filter and process it as much like their other ciders. This wasn’t noted on the bottle, and is basically unheard of for a commercially produced cider (more of a homebrew thing). I think its impractical to rely on stores to tell their customers this, and many stores don’t have significant refrigerated shelf space. I imagine this explains what happened to my Washington Dessert Apple cider (a similar small batch sweeter cider release from them), which didn’t stay refrigerated. It turned crazy fizzy even though I bought it not long after it was released, and a sample from a friend’s bottle later a few months later was much drier than mine.

Have you tried Locust Bittersweet Reserve? What did you think?

Schilling Cider House Visit 9 Tasting Notes

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016 cidersays Blue Mountain, E.Z. Orchards, Finnriver, Grizzly Ciderworks, J.K.'s Scrumpy, Locust, review, Schilling, Sea Cider, Seattle Cider cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, hard cider review, hard cider tasting, Schilling Cider House, seattle, washington

Tasting notes from my ninth visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA. Check out my past posts here. I hadn’t thought I’d have time for another visit in December, but managed to fit it into my schedule.

I was there for a Finnriver Bingo event, although I didn’t have much interest in the actual game & prizes, just used it as an excuse to go. The event was a packed house! There were six Finnriver ciders on tap: Habanero, Black Currant, Barrel in the Forest, Cranberry Rosehip, Fresh Hopped, and Pear (all of which I’ve had except Fresh Hopped).

I started with a flight of six ciders.

Blue Mountain Estate Winesap, 6.75% ABV, Milton-Freewater OR: This is a single varietal made with Winesap apples which Blue Mountain sells year round. Nearly clear. Tart, dry, and slightly funky smell. Dry to semi-dry. Moderate tartness and acidity. Mild bitterness. Very mild tannins. Hint of funk. Slight floral and oak notes. Light bodied. Moderate to long finish. I thought this was a basic dry & tart cider, and pretty low on flavor.

Seattle Cider Oaked Maple, 6.9% ABV, Seattle WA: This is one of Seattle Cider’s winter seasonals (they also did a Cranberry cider this year). I couldn’t remember if I had tried this before, but I’m leaning towards yes. Dark straw yellow hue. Smells of sweet maple and oak. Semi-dry. Moderate acidity. Mild tartness. Light bodied. Very light oak and light maple flavor. Quick finish. I thought this was pretty good, but I would have liked more flavor.

Finnriver Barrel in the Forest, 6.5% ABV, Chimacum WA: This is a limited release of a barrel aged version of Finnriver’s Forest Ginger cider (which I haven’t tried). I usually don’t like ginger, but this sounded interesting. Smells of sweet ginger. Semi-sweet. Light oak notes. Very mild ginger notes, much less than most ginger ciders (which usually seem to hit me at the back of the throat and linger). Low acidity, tartness, and bitterness. Light bodied. Moderate length finish. The ginger flavor however increased as it warmed up. This paired well with the Thai food I had for dinner. Overall I didn’t mind this one, despite the ginger, but probably wouldn’t get it again.

Locust Ciderworks Pumpkin, 5.0% ABV, Woodinville WA: This is a seasonal release from Locust, apparently draft-only. Hazy pumpkin orange-yellow hue. Smells of sweet pumpkin spice. Very sweet. Mild pumpkin and spice flavors, but overall very full flavored. Low acidity and tartness. Full bodied. Moderate length finish. I really liked this (even though I usually don’t go for pumpkin or spice), except it was too sweet for my liking, so not something I could have a pint of.

E.Z. Orchards Semi-Dry, 6.9% ABV, Salem OR: This is a regular release cider from E.Z. Orchards which uses French bittersweet apples. After ordering this I remembered I had tried it before, at Cider Summit Seattle 2015. Light amber. Smells slightly rich. Semi-dry. Herbal notes. Very light boded. Low tannins and tartness. Low to moderate acidity. Quick finish. Overall mildly flavored. It tasted a bit off, and I wondered if the tap line could have used more flushing. I also liked it much better at Cider Summit. Different batches can turn out much differently.

Grizzly Ciderworks Pomnivore on Nitro, 6.7% ABV, Woodinville WA: This is a tap-only release from Grizzly. Light ruby red. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Low acidity and tartness. Moderately flavored. Quick finish. I liked the pomegranate flavor without too much tartness like many pomegranate ciders have.

I met Nathan from Cider Chronicles (we just happened to sit next to each other at the bar!), who was awesome enough to share bottle pours of a couple ciders with me. He said Sea Cider Wassail, J.K.’s Scrumpy Winterruption, and Elemental Seasonal Spiced Apple were his three favorite seasonal ciders, although Reverend Nat’s Winter Abbey Spiced may be replacing J.K.’s Scrumpy Winterruption in his cue. I haven’t seen Rev Nat’s Winter Abbey, but picked up a bottle of Elemental Spiced, and tried the other two.

Sea Cider Wassail, 14% ABV, Saanichton BC Canada: This is Sea Cider’s winter seasonal. Rich amber-orange hue. Smells like orange and holiday spices. Semi-dry. Well-hidden ABV! Low acidity, tartness, and bitterness. The orange and spice notes continued into the flavor. Rich and full-flavored. Medium bodied. Moderate length finish with lots of heat. I liked this a bit more as it warmed up from fridge temperature. Overall this was enjoyable, but I like their Prohibition best.

J.K.’s Scrumpy Cuvee Winterruption, 6.9% ABV, Flushing MI: This is J.K. Scrumpy’s winter seasonal. Very sweet. Honey, orange, and mild spice notes. Mild acidity and tartness. Moderate to full bodied. Apparently this cider usually has much more spice. It was very easy drinking, between the sweetness and low ABV. Overall I found it ok.

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

Schilling Cider House Visit 7 Tasting Notes

December 3, 2015November 26, 2015 cidersays 2 Towns, Attila, Avid (prev. Atlas), Greenwood, Julian, local, Locust, Portland Cider, review, Schilling, William's cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling, Schilling Cider House, Seatttle

Yes, I made yet another trip to the Schilling Cider House! Check out my past posts here. This time it was for a monthly potluck, with a “Thanksgiving Recipe Trial Run” theme. I actually opted out of the potluck as I’m not a big Thanksgiving type food fan (and it ended up having a low turnout anyways), but there were plenty of folks at the cider house.

I started with a flight of six ciders.

2 Towns Ciderhouse Nice & Naughty, 10.5% ABV: I started off not really liking this one much at all, but it became one of my favorites of the night once it warmed up to closer to room temperature. This one had less spice scent than the other two spiced ciders I had in this flight. Semi-dry. The spice hit more at the back of the palate, and wasn’t so much cinnamon as it was clove and nutmeg. I bet this would be amazing served warm. The alcohol remained pretty well-hidden, and it reminded me of Imperial-style cider.

Atlas Hard Cider Company Cinnamon Pear, 8.5% ABV: Very mild cinnamon scent, and I don’t detect any pear scent. This one is an apple-based cider with some pear juice (not perry). Semi-sweet. A bit boozy (alcohol-forward). Only a hint of pear flavor. The cinnamon came across more in the finish. This one remained rather mild flavored.

Portland Cider Company London Dry Gin, 6.8% ABV: Dry. Smells like tannins, spice, herb, and dry cider. Quick finish. Acidic with some bitterness. Higher tannins but light bodied, which is an interesting and rare combination. Quite herbal. This one grew on me a bit and I ended up liking it. It reminds me of Liberty Ciderworks Abbess, which used gin botanicals.

Julian Hard Cider Apple Pie, 6.9% ABV: Very strong cinnamon scent, but less so in the flavor. Semi-sweet. I was surprised with the moderate tartness. I’m not a huge spiced cider fan to begin with, but this was my least favorite of the three spiced ciders I tried in this flight. Its fairly popular though.

Attila Hard Apple Cider Rapture (Concord Grape), 6.5% ABV: Deep berry color with foam from the Nitro process. Semi-sweet to sweet. I pick up grape, with hints of pomegranate, cranberry, and huckleberry. Juice-like and the apple is well-hidden, but it was tasty and full flavored.

Schilling Cider Company Grumpy Bear Cold Brew Coffee Nitro, 5.0% ABV: Another very unique cider. Deep hazy amber with froth from the Nitro process. Semi-sweet. Smells mildly of coffee grounds, and I don’t pick up any apple. Moderate to full bodied. Some spice and herbal qualities. The coffee comes across more in the scent than the flavor, but still, the apple remains hidden. Its a bit like an iced coffee drink with some alcohol. This one became a bit more bitter as it warmed up. Its not really my thing, but not as bad as I was expecting.

I got handed a sample of Greenwood Sweet Orange Cinnamon. This batch ended up having the carbonation really mellow out the flavor (per the cidermaker), so it mostly had a hint of spice in the scent and that was it. They put together a Randall while I was there to add additional orange and cinnamon flavor, using ingredients from the cidery.

Next I got tastes from some sample bottles.

I had a few sips of Locust Washington Dessert Apple Aged Hard Cider. I had this one a few months ago (review here), but this batch definitely was a bit wonky, as it continued to aggressively bottle condition. Like my bottle, it was very fizzy, even after being open for awhile. However, the additional time in the bottle had made it significantly drier than mine.

William’s Excalibur: This one tastes like a typical sweet commercial cider (and has an ingredient list to confirm this). It had the slightest bittersweet flavor, but was otherwise quite disappointing. I can’t believe they import this type of cider!

William’s Sir Perry: A bit more drinkable than Excalibur, but its still a sweet commercial cider. I don’t pick up much pear flavor at all. Slightly less sweet than Excalibur.

Locust Bittersweet Reserve: This is a special release cider for them which benefits Hydrocephalus (which the owner’s daughter and 1/1,000 babies has). Only 1,000 bottles and some kegs were released Nov/20/2015. Made from French and English bittersweet apple varieties. Bittersweet apple scent with hints of orange and spice. Semi-sweet to sweet. Rich, smooth, and luscious! Caramel notes, full flavored, and medium bodied. Lovely mild to moderate tannins. This reminds me of English-style cider, but its a bit more approachable than some, and the hints of orange and spice are nice (even though I usually don’t like those sorts of flavors). No bitterness, which can be difficult to pull off. This was definitely my favorite cider of the evening! I’m happy I was able to pick up a bottle (so look for a future full review of it here). $18 for 750ml, likely only found in the Seattle WA area. Oddly enough I was told it must stay refrigerated (although it didn’t say that on the bottle)?

I definitely tried a lot of cider and had a blast, as always. Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Locust Washington Dessert Apple Aged Hard Cider

September 17, 2015September 13, 2015 cidersays Locust, review Aged Hard Cider, barrel aged, cider, cider review, hard cider, hard cider review, Locust, Locust Cider, Washington Dessert Apple, Woodinville

Review of Washington Dessert Apple Aged Hard Cider from Locust Cider. This is their first limited release offering, and also the first to be packaged in a large bottle (instead of a multi pack of cans or bottles, or on tap only).

There is a bit of a funny story with this bottle of cider: Upon arriving home from the bottle shop with this cider I found it on its side in my car in my bottle tote in a small puddle of cider. Thank goodness for waterproof floor mats… The bottle was hissing slightly. I guess the cap hit something in my car when it rolled around a bit and the edge got lifted slightly. It definitely could have been worse though. After cleaning up the mess I decided I needed to finish opening the cap and put on the attached flip-top cap before putting it in the fridge. I hadn’t been planning to drink it that night, and it wasn’t cold anyways. The following night I opened the bottle and it proceeded to violently foam over! So, I had cleaned up after this cider twice before even drinking any… I definitely got a foamy bottle which went a bit overboard in bottle conditioning! Thankfully only a few ounces of cider was lost in those messes.

Cider: Washington Dessert Apple Aged Hard Cider
Cidery:  Locust Cider
Cidery Location:  Woodinville WA (Northeast of Seattle)
ABV:  6.9%
How Supplied: 750ml clear flip-top bottle

Availability: Locust Cider is currently available in WA and ID. This is a limited release however so it may not be available everywhere that Locust Cider is sold.

Thanks to Jason Spears, co-founder of Locust Cider, for extra info on this cider!

Cider Description: Made from Golden Delicious, Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith dessert apples. Fermented with wild yeast (the yeast on the fruit itself, in contrast to most ciders which add new yeast). The outcome of a wild yeast fermentation is more unpredictable, and Locust described losing several batches of cider that didn’t turn out well. The cider is then tank aged for 6 months, where they allow a small amount of oxygen into the system to initiate malolactic fermentation. This is from secondary bacteria, as opposed to yeast, and changes the cider, reducing acidity and adding body & mouthfeel. This technique is not always desirable, but is what they were going for with this cider variety. Then the fermented cider is blended with fresh pressed juice and bottled ulfiltered, to allow for bottle conditioning.

Cidery Description: Real people making a cider for real people. They aim to make extremely drinkable ciders, with balanced flavors, not overly sweet or sour. All ciders are made from Pacific Northwest apples and fruit, with no artificial sweeteners, only apples and yeast. Founded by two brothers, Jason & Patrick Spears, from Texas, in early 2015. Their name is a reminder to embrace life without compromise, after Jason was calmed by a gentle orchestra of locusts in a field after a near death experience.

Their tap room is open Thursday thru Sunday in the Woodinville WA warehouse district.

Locust Cider currently offers Original Dry, Green Tea Infused, Sweet Dark Cherry (had been tap only but bottles are on their way to stores now), Summer Berry (tap only), Thai Ginger (tap room only), and Washington Dessert Apple Cider.

Price: ~$10
Where Bought: Full Throttle Bottles in Georgetown area of Seattle WA, where they were having a tasting of Locust Cider (Original Dry and Green Tea Infused) and Argus Fermentables (Ciderkin and Ginger Perry). Of those I only liked the Ciderkin, which I reviewed here previously.
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing. I hadn’t heard of this one before.

First Impression: Foam! Hazy/unfiltered honey hue. Smells of sweet unfiltered cider, honey, and a slight earthiness.

Opinion: Sweet but not very sweet. Taste is similar to unfermented sweet cider, except with that hard cider kick. High acidity. Moderate carbonation, high foam/fizz, and a bit of tang. No noticeable funk, but a bit of earthiness. Moderate finish length. No significant bitterness or astringency. Mild tartness. Medium bodied. Notes of honey and cooked apples. Moderate complexity. This cider is slightly booze-forward, and I probably would have guessed it to have an even higher ABV.

Most Similar to: Farmhouse style unfiltered ciders such as J.K.’s Scrumpy (from whom I’ve tried Orchard Gate and Northern Neighbor, which are a bit sweeter than this cider).

Closing Notes: Overall this cider is a solid unique selection. However, I’m curious how the taste was affected by the apparently aggressive bottle conditioning. I opened this cider on a Wednesday, had a small glass Thursday, a small glass Friday, and the rest on a Saturday, and even on Saturday it had plenty of fizz left and tried to overflow the glass upon pouring!

I’ve tried most of Locust Cider’s other offerings: their Sweet Dark Cherry on tap at Schilling Cider House and their Original Dry (canned) and Green Tea Infused (bottled) at the tasting at Full Throttle Bottles when I picked up this cider, all of which I found to be a bit lacking in flavor. The Washington Dessert Apple however is much different and much more full-flavored than the other three. I’ll definitely try any other limited release and/or full-flavored cider from Locust Cider, even though their current regular offerings don’t appeal to me.

Have you tried Locust Washington Dessert Apple Aged Hard Cider? What did you think?

Schilling Cider House – Cider Tasting Notes

July 22, 2015August 22, 2015 cidersays 101 Ciderhouse, Elemental, Finnriver, local, Locust, Moonlight Meadery, Portland Cider, Rev Nat's, review, Schilling, Viuda de Angelon Sidra, Wandering Aengus, Whitewood cider, cider house, cider review, cider tasting, Fremont, hard cider, review, Schilling, Schilling Cider House, seattle

This is Part 2 of a trip report on the Schilling Cider House, covering the 18 ciders I tasted (of the 32 on tap). Pretty impressive, right? See Part 1 here, which covered the Cider House itself. I tried to take a photo of each cider, but some of them didn’t turn out, so I’ve only included photos of some of the ciders with interesting hues. Thankfully though, I took notes! I had two flights of six ciders (3oz) each, and six tastes from our bartender.

Schilling’s Ciders

Chaider, 6.5% ABV, Semi-Sweet:
This is one of their most popular ciders, and is available bottled (22oz) in the winter. It smelled of cinnamon and definitely had a Chai tea-like taste. Definitely not my thing, but it was my husband’s favorite taste of the day.

Chaider (Nitro), 6.5% ABV, Semi-Sweet:
This is the same cider as above except on Nitro, which added some additional smoothness. It was quite foamy from the tap from the nitrogenation, and needed a couple minutes to calm down.

Ginger, 6.5% ABV, Semi-Dry (noted Semi-Sweet):
I’m not a ginger fan, but this was handed to me, so I tried it! It had a much milder initial ginger taste than smell, but had more of a ginger aftertaste. I think Ginger fans would really like this one. Its not too overwhelming with Ginger.

Hopped, 6.5% ABV, Semi-Dry:
Hopped ciders aren’t my thing, but my husband wanted this, and thought it was pretty decent. I had one sip and it is definitely hoppy, but way less than Reverend Nat’s Envy / Hopland #5. Otherwise I can’t really comment on it.

Sriracha Lime, 6.7% ABV, Semi-Dry (noted Dry):
This cider seemed intriguing, I like Sriracha & Lime, and there was some chatter online of folks liking it, so why not? It definitely smelled of Sriracha & Lime, but all I picked up in the taste was the Sriracha (no Lime). Definitely spicy! I don’t think I like spicy ciders. I can tolerate spicy food, but the spiciness seemed to overwhelm the cider here. I think this would have been better to do with a sweet citrus/lime cider with only a hint of Sriracha.

(I’ve also previously tried Schilling Oak Aged, Gold, & Grapefruit)

Other Ciders

101 Ciderhouse Cactus Red, 6.5% ABV, Los Angeles CA, Dry:
I tried this on a whim as it sounded unique/odd. I picked up a citrus scent and it had a lovely pink color, similar to grapefruit juice. It was definitely dry, and very very tart! I unfortunately couldn’t take more than two sips of this one.

Elemental Cherry, 6.5% ABV, Woodinville WA, Semi-Dry:
Pretty rosé color. Smelled like cherries. However, I barely picked up any cherry flavor when tasting it. Folks who like drier ciders but want a fruity cider may like this, as many fruit infused ciders tend to be sweeter.

Finnriver Habenero, 6.9% ABV, Chimacum WA, Semi-Sweet:
Another cider handed to me from the bartender, who was trying it for the first time as they just tapped it. It didn’t smell spicy, but it was! The bite hit my sinuses about 10 seconds after drinking it. Again, the spice was overwhelming. I wasn’t a fan, but my husband didn’t mind it.

Finnriver Lavender Black Currant (Nitro), 6.5% ABV, Chimacum WA, Sweet:
Very dark & vibrant hue. Extra smooth taste (from the nitrogenation). I’ve tried their Black Currant flavor, and I honestly couldn’t pick up the added Lavender in this one. However, my husband did. In addition to the black current, I picked up some cherry notes. This was much better than the bottled Black Currant I had of their’s (which was also quite good). I imagine tap + Nitro did it. Excellent!

Finnriver Oak & Apple, 6.5% ABV, Chimacum WA, Semi-Dry:
The bartender said this was very similar to Schilling’s Oak Aged (which was surprisingly absent from the tap list). I’m a huge fan of barrel aged ciders, so I was anxious to try it. This is a milder barrel aged cider, and quite tasty. I think I give the slight edge to Schilling’s Oak Aged though. And, overall, my favorite barrel aged ciders so far are Woodchuck Winter Chill (which also has some vanilla flavor) and Thistly Cross Whisky Cask (very smooth), both of which are significantly sweeter than Schilling’s & Finnriver’s oak aged selections, but I do enjoy Schilling Oak Aged. Yum!

Locust Sweet & Dark Cherry, 6.5% ABV, Woodinville WA, Semi-Sweet:
For a cherry cider, I was expecting more flavor, but it was quite mild, and there was little cherry scent or flavor. This has a sweeter start and more tart finish. This was pretty similar to the Elemental Cherry (which also had a mild cherry flavor), except a bit sweeter.

Moonlight Meadery How do you Like them Little Apples?, 6.0% ABV, Londonderry NH, Sweet:
Hard cider blended with honey & brown sugar, fermented, then barrel aged (draft only release). Honey smell (duh). Quite sweet. Very smooth. Tastes like it would be a higher ABV than it is (but I wouldn’t call the taste boozy). I wouldn’t have guessed it was barrel aged. Awesome!

Portland Cider Passion Fruit, 6.5% ABV, Portland OR, Semi-Sweet:
I was excited to try this one. The passion fruit smell was amazing! However, the passion fruit taste was quite mild, and it had a bit of a tart & bitter finish, which I wasn’t expecting. It is however a refreshing and easy-drinking cider.

Portland Cider Pearfect Perry, 6.5% ABV, Portland OR, Semi-Dry (noted Semi-Sweet):
This was a very mild Perry; I could barely pick up any pear flavor. It was however pretty tasty and smooth.

Reverend Nat’s Newtown Pippin, 6.9% ABV, Portland OR, Semi-Dry:
One of Rev Nat’s regular release ciders. This was a mild & crisp cider which I found to have a fairly bitter finish. Pretty boring for my tastes.

Viuda de Angelon Sidra Brut, 6.5% ABV, Spain, Dry:
A refreshing & smooth Spanish cider. I can’t really put the flavor into words, but it is one of those ciders which has a flavor profile which seems sweeter than it really is. It was Schilling’s most expensive offering by the way, at $11/pint, but only $2 for a 3oz taste. This makes me want to try more Spanish ciders!

Wandering Aengus Wanderlust, 6.5%, Salem OR, Dry (noted Semi-Dry):
Fairly plain, and I found it tart & bitter. Taste profile was in-line with the two Wandering Aengus and two Anthem (also made by them) ciders I’ve tried. Also fairly boring for my tastes.

Whitewood Summer Switchel, 4.6% ABV, Olympia WA, Semi-Sweet:
This is a mild & refreshing cider with a hint of ginger. The bartender said he picks up almost a salty flavor, which after hearing that, I agreed somewhat.

Photos

101 Ciderhouse Cactus Red

Elemental Cherry

Finnriver Lavender Black Currant

Locust Cherry

Moonlight Meadery How do you like them Little Apples

Closing Notes

My favorites from this tasting were the Moonlight Meadery “How do you Like them Little Apples?”, Finnriver Oak & Apple, Finnriver Lavender Black Currant, and Viuda de Angelon Sidra Brut. Quite an interesting combination, right?

I also learned that in addition to hopped, ginger, and overly dry ciders, I definitely don’t like spicy ciders!

I look forward to returning to the Schilling Cider House to try more ciders, as their selections change all the time. Stay tuned for reviews of the five ciders I picked up from their bottle shop (shown in Part 1).

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