Author Semi-Sweet Draft Mead

Not a cider review, but a mead (honey wine) review, of Author Mead’s “draft” Semi-Sweet variety.

Mead Name: Semi-Sweet
Meadery Name: Author Mead Co.
Meadery Location: Vancouver WA
ABV: 6.5%
How Supplied: four pack of 12oz cans
Style: American craft “draft” style mead, lower ABV and carbonated, and made using brewing techniques

Availability: Washington and Oregon (see here)

Mead Description: Thanks to the simplicity of ingredients – water, Raw American Honey and yeast – Semi-Sweet is truly a gateway into Draft Mead for those who don’t drink it on a regular basis. We left just enough residual sugars to balance out its crispness and still allow it to go down smooth. People say it tastes a lot more like its lager craft beer cousin than other mead out there today.

Meadery Description: Crafted to be different…we assembled an all-star team of brewers and dreamers to explore how to help mead rise in the ranks of the craft brew world. Our process of craft brewing mead advances that goal and we strive daily to deliver you something unique and tasty. Game changed…get ready to meet the product that is changing the game in craft brewing. We re-envisioned traditional mead to create crisp, carbonated and perfectly balanced style that pair equally well with a weekend exploring outdoors, a dinner party with friends or hanging out at your favorite tap house. Let us introduce you to Author Draft Mead.

Price: $14.99 / four pack

Where Bought: Whole Foods in Western WA
Where Drank: home
How Found: browsing

First Impression: Light straw yellow hue. Very low carbonation. Smells very mild, of sweet honey with a hint of floral.

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry. Light bodied. Low tartness, acidity, and bitterness. No sourness, funk, or tannins. Notes of honey with hints of floral and lemon. Long bitter beer-like chemically finish. Low to moderate honey flavor. High sessionability. Moderate flavor intensity. Low complexity.

My Opinion: I liked the flavor until it got to the finish, which ruined it for me. I assume it was from using brewing instead of wine (and cider & mead) techniques, which is the first time I’ve heard of this for mead. I had 2 other people try it and they agreed with me, so it wasn’t just me.

Most Similar to: drier sessionable meads like Nectar Creek Waggle, except with a weird finish

Closing Notes: I’d recommend this for beer fans who want to try mead, but not so much for folks who like typical meads and cider.

Side Note: I’ve found I prefer the more traditional meads, which are typically fuller flavored, sweeter, and higher ABV, over the drier carbonated session meads like this.

Have you tried Author Mead? What did you think?

Sky River Cherry Vanilla Honey Wine (Mead)

April 15, 2019April 13, 2019 cidersays not cider, review, Sky River cherry mead, cherry vanilla, honey wine, mead, mead review, mead tasting, Sky River, Sky River mead, tasting notes

Today I don’t have a cider to review, but a mead, Sky River’s Cherry Vanilla Honey Wine. It is my first time trying this, but I have had most of their lineup (see my trip report here from when I visited their meadery tasting room).

Mead: Cherry Vanilla Honey Wine
Meadery: Sky River
Location: Redmond WA
ABV: 12%
How Supplied: 750ml bottles
Style: American craft mead (honey wine), with cherries and vanilla

Availability: U.S. (Washington, California, Alaska, Idaho, Louisiana, & Pennsylvania), Japan, and Sweden, plus online sales

Mead Description: The downy snow of blossom laden cherry trees. The harbinger of spring. Awakening the honey bees, and bringing the promise of new life. With the blossoms come the tantalizing dreams of the promised lush cherries to come, and sumptuous days of sunshine. Sky River Cherry Vanilla Mead reunites the honey and cherries. Warm Honey and rich, dark Cherry, wedded with lush Vanilla bean Enjoy with freshly grilled steaks, salmon, or even with your favorite custard.

Meadery Description: From ancient cultures on distant shores, shrouded in mist, Sky River brings the age-old art of making mead into the twenty-first century to create a new tradition.

Price: $21
Where Bought: a tasting event
Where Drank: home
How Found: a tasting event

First Impression: Dark cherry hue. Still. Smells of sweet cherry wine.

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Light to medium bodied. Low tartness and acidity. No bitterness, sourness, funk, or tannins. Notes of cherry with hints of honey & floral, then a moderate length vanilla finish. Low honey flavor. Moderate cherry flavor, sessionability, overall flavor intensity, and complexity.

My Opinion: I enjoyed it. Nice flavor, of real cherry. I would have liked a bit more vanilla. Definitely not honey-forward though.

Most Similar to: A more real-tasting, more complex, and drier version of Eaglemount Cherry Mead. I’ve also had d’s cherry vanilla cider, with awesome flavor, similarly not apple-forward, but it is quite sweet.

Closing Notes: Mead is a nice complimentary option to cider.

Have you tried mead? What did you think?

Heidrun Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Honey Mead

October 29, 2018October 28, 2018 cidersays Heidrun Meadery, not cider, review Heidrun, honey wine, mead, mead review, meadery, tasting notes

Review of Heidrun Meadery’s Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Varietal Honey Naturally Sparkling Mead. It is my first time trying anything from this meadery. Not cider, I know, but mead is another alternative beverage I enjoy.

Mead: Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Varietal Honey Naturally Sparkling Mead
Meadery: Heidrun
Meadery Location: Point Reyes Station, CA
ABV: 12.5%
How Supplied: 750ml corked & caged champagne bottle
Style: American craft mead from Hawaiian macadamia nut honey (and water), dry, naturally sparkling (methode champenoise)

Availability: likely limited to Northern California (although they have online sales – this one is currently listed at $25 + shipping of course)

Mead Description: A few years ago, we had the pleasure of visiting an apiary on the Big Island of Hawaii. Beekeepers here alternate between pollinating cultivated crops and allowing their bees to forage freely in the native tropical flora. The Macadamia is a cultivated tree, of course, and honey produced from its nectar is as succulent and rich as the macadamia nut itself. That richness results in a full-bodied, brut dry mead of subtle complexity and exceptional balance that pairs with a wide variety of foods, from raw oysters to smoked duck.

Meadery Description: We produce naturally sparkling varietal meads using the traditional French Méthode Champenoise. Our trademark Champagne-style of mead is light, dry, delicate and refreshing, with subtle exotic aromas and flavors found
only in the essence of honey. The Meadery was founded in 1997 in Arcata, California. In 2011, the meadery relocated to a farm in Point Reyes Station (just across the
Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco) to develop its botanical and agicultural programs.

Price: $21.99
Where Bought: The Jug Shop in San Francisco CA
Where Drank: home
How Found: browsing – they had a large selection of meads from this meadery, from just under $20 up to $50

First Impression: Very high carbonation. Light caramel hue. Smells of tart burnt honey.

Tasting Notes: It was very difficult to determine the perceived sweetness level with the high carbonation & tartness and sweet flavor notes, but I settled on dry to semi-dry. Light boded with a fluffy texture. High tartness. Moderate acidity. Hints of bitterness and tannins. No sourness or funk. Notes of honey, caramel, wood, nut, citrus, and burnt/smoke. Moderate length finish. Moderate honey flavor and flavor intensity. High complexity. Low sessionability.

My Opinion: I liked the flavor, but with the tartness, carbonation, and dryness, it was a bit much for me. It mellowed out a bit the next day though (less carbonation and tartness). My husband was a bigger fan. This was super complex and interesting, and a memorable purchase, but I usually prefer the sweeter still meads.

Most Similar to: The complexity of a fine mead (such as from Superstition Meadery in AZ), except methode champenoise (a labor intensive method for natural carbonation).

Closing Notes: This is my first methode champenoise mead – all the others I’ve tried have been either still (usually sweeter and higher ABV) or force carbonated (usually drier and lower ABV, “session” style).

Have you tried mead? What did you think?

White Claw Black Cherry Hard Seltzer

October 24, 2016October 21, 2016 cidersays not cider, review, White Claw black cherry, hard seltzer, hard water, White Claw

Review of White Claw’s Black Cherry Hard Seltzer (sparkling water). They make this by fermenting sugar water until dry and adding carbonation and flavor. This is part of an expanding alternative beverage market, and lower calories than hard soda. This isn’t cider, but at times I include reviews of non-cider alternative beverages here (such as mead).

Producer: White Claw Seltzer Works
Flavor: Black Cherry
Location: Memphis TN
ABV: 5%
How Supplied: six pack of 12oz cans
Style: commercial hard sparkling water

Availability: wide release

Description: Subtle yet unmistakable cherry flavor meets dry yet refreshing hard seltzer. The result? Crisp, clean spiked sparkling water with minimal sweetness and no aftertaste – just a light hint of deliciously dark black cherry.

Ingredients: Purified carbonated water, alcohol from cold-brewed sugar, natural cane sugar, citric acid, natural flavors, natural cherry juice concentrate, sodium citrate.

Price: ~$2 / single can (runs ~$10 / six pack)
Where Bought: Whole Foods
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing. I tried the other major brand of hard seltzer, Truly Spiked & Sparkling, and was curious how this one compared. Once I found a single can, I gave it a try.

First Impression: Clear. Low carbonation. Smells of cherry candy and maraschino cherries.

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry. Light bodied. Low tartness. Simple seltzer with sweet maraschino cherry flavor. Very high sessionability. Low flavor intensity and complexity.

My Opinion: I enjoyed it. Its light, refreshing, and just flavorful enough.

Most Similar to: Other hard seltzers. I liked this one better than Truly Spiked & Sparkling, as it seemed more flavorful.

Closing Notes: I’m curious to try their Lime and Grapefruit flavors, although the Cherry sounded the most interesting.

Have you tried hard seltzer? What did you think?

Nectar Creek Waggle Wildflower Session Mead

October 14, 2016October 9, 2016 cidersays mead, Nectar Creek, not cider, review cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, mead, Nectar Creek, tasting notes, Waggle, wildflower

Review of Nectar Creek’s Waggle, a Wildflower Session Mead (lower alcohol content). I’ve previously only tried their Honeycone hopped session mead, at Cider Summit last month (see here). This obviously isn’t a cider, but sometimes I cover non-cider beverages.

Mead: Waggle, Wildflower Session Mead
Meadery: Nectar Creek (Oregon Honey Products)
Meadery Location: Corvallis OR
ABV: 6.2%
How Supplied: 500ml bottles
Style: American craft mead (made from Oregon wildflower honey, water, yeast, and sulfites)

Availability: Year-round, at least in CA, GA, ID, MN, OR, TX, and WA (see their locator)

Mead Description: The complex essence of Oregon wildflower honey is captured in this session mead with flavors and aromas of ripe fruit and fresh honeycomb.

Meadery Description: Founded by two brothers native to Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Nectar Creek combines a passion for beekeeping, agriculture and brewing into delicious, sessionable meads.

They were founded in 2012 and have a tasting room in Corvallis Oregon (which is also home to 2 Towns cider).

Price: $8.99
Where Bought: Total Wine
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing

First Impression: Light straw yellow. Low to moderate carbonation. Smells mild, of honey with a hint of floral.

Tasting Notes: Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Medium bodied. Low tartness and acidity. Simple flavor, primarily of honey, with some floral and citrus. Quick finish length. Low to moderate honey flavor. Low flavor intensity. Low complexity. High sessionability.

My Opinion: Tasty. I liked it. Simple and sessionable. However, I prefer more flavor. It tasted a bit watered down.

Most Similar to: This was similar to their Honeycone, except Waggle was more honey forward and not hopped. Nectar Creek is the only session mead maker on the market I’ve seen.

Closing Notes: This was nice, but I think I prefer the higher ABV sweeter meads, which I’ve found to be more flavorful. Check out some of my other mead reviews here.

Have you tried Nectar Creek Session Meads? What did you think?

Hi-Wheel Wine & Mead Co. Lavender Lemon

August 29, 2016August 21, 2016 cidersays Hi-Wheel, not cider, review fruit wine, Hi-Wheel, Lavender, lemon, oregon, portland, wine

Review of Hi-Wheel Wine & Mead Company’s Lavender Lemon. This isn’t cider, but instead a carbonated fruit wine, made from fermenting water, lemon juice, sugar, and lavender. Its my first time trying anything from Hi-Wheel.

Beverage: Lavender Lemon Carbonated Fruit Wine
Company: Hi-Wheel Wine & Mead Co.
Location: Portland OR
ABV: 6.8%
How Supplied: 500ml bottles
Style: American craft fruit wine made from lemon and lavender

Availability: Oregon and Washington

Product Description: This refreshing drink has the same lemon start as its cousin Ginger Lemon, but infused with lavender.

Company Description: Hi-Wheel Wine & Mead Co. makes fizzy wines out of fruit not typically used for wine making, such as grapefruit, lemon & lime. Brewed with culinary herbs and spices, we present a growing series of session beverages with AVB around 6.8%, such as Ruby Zozzle (grapefruit), Ginger Lemon, Lavender Lemon, & Lime Habanero.

Hi-Wheel also crafts long-aged meads, with a release of Beloved Sovereign – an herbal honey wine made with Sauvie Island honey, savory spices & citrus – later this autumn. These meads are designed for intimate dinners and connections, in tasteful packaging, and run about 14% AVB.

Price: $6.99
Where Bought: Total Wine
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing. I had seen them before, but only other varieties which didn’t appeal to me (I’m not a fan of grapefruit, ginger, or spicy beverages).

First Impression: Hazy lemonade hue. Low carbonation upon pouring. Smells of tart lemonade with a hint of lavender.

Tasting Notes: Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Medium bodied. High tartness. Moderate acid. No bitterness or sourness. Notes of only lemonade and lavender. Moderate finish with lingering tart lemon and a hint of booze. Moderate flavor intensity. Very low complexity. Very high sessionability (this was too easy to drink!).

My Opinion: A refreshing summer sipper. No complexity, but I liked it. I would have preferred slightly less tartness (as well as more carbonation), but I imagine most folks will like the high tartness, and it only bothered me the first few sips. I appreciated that it wasn’t overly sweet. The lavender worked well and was an appropriate amount–definitely noticeable but not overpowering. This would have been quite boring without the lavender.

Most Similar to: Other alcoholic lemonades, such as from Crabbie’s and Big B’s. I think I slightly prefer the Big B’s Lazy Daze (although its actually a mix of cider with lemonade, so maybe that is why).

Closing Notes: I’m curious to try their other products. I imagine this will sell well, as altervative alcoholic beverages are popular now (alcopop and the like).

Have you tried Hi-Wheel’s fruit wines? What did you think?

Truly Spiked & Sparkling Colima Lime

August 22, 2016August 13, 2016 cidersays not cider, review, Truly Spiked & Sparkling hard water, Lime, seltzer, sparkling water, Truly Spiked & Sparkling

Review of Truly Spiked & Sparkling Colima Lime, a hard sparkling water. They make this by fermenting sugar water until dry and adding carbonation and “natural flavor”. This is part of an expanding alternative beverage market, which also includes hard soda, but unlike hard soda is advertised as being a low calorie option (only 100 calories for 12oz of 5% alcohol). This isn’t cider, but at times I include reviews of non-cider alternative beverages here (like mead).

Beverage: Truly Spiked & Sparkling with a hint of Colima Lime
Producer: Hard Seltzer Beverage Company, owned by the Boston Beer Company (who makes Angry Orchard)
Location: Boston MA, Cincinnati OH, and Breinigsville PA
ABV: 5.0%
How Supplied: six pack of clear 12oz bottles
Style: commercial hard sparkling water

Availability: wide release in the U.S. (see their website for a locator)

Description: Clean, crisp, & refreshing. Each style with a hint of fruit is lively & effervescent. Just like sparkling water, with with 5% ALC./VOL. Truly Spiked & Sparkling Colima Lime has a slight tartness with a crisp but subtle sweetness.

Also available in Pomegranate and Grapefruit & Pomelo.

Price: ~ $2 / single bottle (runs $9.99 or $10.99 / full six pack)
Where Bought: Whole Foods
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing. I had seen this (and another brand) in other stores, but was waiting to try it until I found a single bottle.

First Impression: Clear. Low carbonation upon pouring. Smells of seltzer water, slightly sweet, with a hint of lime.

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry, especially on the back end. Moderate carbonation. Light to medium bodied. Low tartness. The flavor is purely seltzer water with a hint of lime and a hint of sweetness. Moderate length finish which was slightly off from regular seltzer water, although I can’t really describe how. Low flavor intensity and complexity. High sessionability.

My Opinion: I liked this, but it was a bit too boring to be something I’d considering buying again. It could be quite dangerous as it is so easy to drink and doesn’t at all taste alcoholic.

Most Similar to: Non-alcoholic flavored sparkling water (I literally couldn’t taste any alcohol, and it had only the slightest difference in flavor from a non-alcoholic version).

Closing Notes: If the most important thing about your alcoholic beverage is that it is low calorie, or you are counting carbs, you may enjoy this.

Have you tried any hard sparkling waters? What did you think?

Reverend Nat’s ¡Tepache!

August 19, 2016August 12, 2016 cidersays not cider, Rev Nat's, review cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, pineapple, reverend nat's, tasting notes, Tepache

Review of Reverend Nat’s ¡Tepache!. Note this technically isn’t even cider, as it is only made using pineapple juice, no apples. I tried this awhile back, and I’ve sampled a number of ciders from Reverend Nat’s (see here).

Cider: ¡Tepache!
Cidery: Reverend Nat’s
Cidery Location: Portland OR
ABV: 3.2%
How Supplied: 22oz brown bottles
Style: American craft fermented pineapple juice with spices

Availability: Summer Seasonal sold in Oregon, Washington, Southern California, Idaho, Hawaii, Alaska, British Columbia Canada, Japan, and Singapore

Cider Description: During a holiday in Veracruz I had a chance meeting with a peddler hawking Traditional Tepache out of a push-cart. A few pesos poorer and I was on Cloud Nine. ‘I unquestionably must have that recipe!’ I shouted. My Spanish is dreadful and his English was no better but over a few minutes of pictographic correspondence, I felt sanguine in my capacity to recreate that sumptuous drink upon my return to Portland.

Composed exclusively of pineapples sourced from my second cousin’s plantation in Costa Rica, piloncillo from the Mexican state of Michoacan and a furtive selection of spices, this lightly alcoholic elixir is sure to please your palate.

Much like American Apple Pie, there is no recipe for Tepache. It is a traditional Mexican drink, frequently consumed out of a plastic baggie with a straw, sold by street vendors in Jalisco and made at home. It’s not a cider – NO APPLES! The fermentation happens on the scales and rind of the pineapples, imparting a deep and unique flavor. This beverage is low-alcohol and sweet like a Summer Shandy or Radler due to a partial fermentation of the pineapples. Available starting Cinco de Mayo.

Cidery Description: Reverend Nat is a single-minded cider evangelist who searches the world for superior ingredients to handcraft the most unusual ciders that no one else will make.

Price: $6.99
Where Bought: Total Wine
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing. It sounded good, and I wanted to try mixing it with cider this time versus drinking it straight, so it ended up being an impulse try.

First Impression: Hazy yellow/brown hue (I recommend to lightly shake before pouring to distribute the sediment). Still. Smells strongly of pineapple and moderately of spices.

Tasting Notes: Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Medium bodied. Low tartness and acidity. No bitterness, tannins, sourness, or funk. Notes of juicy pineapple, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Moderate length finish. Moderate pineapple flavor and moderate amount of spice. Low complexity. Moderate flavor intensity. High sessionability.

My Opinion: Yum! Great by itself or mixed with cider. I tried it with Number Six Dry 99 (although that didn’t help boost the 3.2% ABV much as its only 4.2% ABV). I agree with the suggestion to use more Tepache than cider (or 50-50). I don’t like beer so I can’t comment on that mixture, although it appears plenty popular.

Most Similar to: Nothing really. You can’t really compare it to pineapple cider as it doesn’t use apples. However, like a number of other beverages, I thought the pineapple came across more in the scent than the flavor. I only know of one other cidery doing Tepache, Argus Cidery in Texas, although I haven’t tried it as I heard its sour and thats not my thing.

Closing Notes: If you are looking to try something unique and like pineapple and spices, Tepache may be to your liking. This definitely isn’t an everyday drinker (like his Revival, which remains my favorite from Rev Nat’s), but its unique.

Have you tried Tepache? What did you think?

Sky River Meadery Visit Tasting Notes

February 26, 2016February 22, 2016 cidersays mead, not cider, review, Sky River mead, mead tasting, meadery, not cider, Sky River, tasting notes, wine tasting

I know, mead isn’t cider, but I like it too. In case you don’t know, mead is typically classified as a type of wine, made from honey, water, and yeast. The weekend before last I visited the Sky River meadery in Woodinville Washington (their address is oddly enough in Redmond; they must be right on the border). The meadery is at the top of a steep hill with a beautiful view of the Woodinville area, home to numerous (grape) wineries and a couple cideries (Locust and Elemental). They share the building with two (grape) wineries, Icon Cellars and Pleasant Hill. My husband and friend sampled wines at Pleasant Hill, which they were impressed with.

I’ve previously gone mead tasting at Æsir in Everett Washington and Superstition in Prescott Arizona.

I went for the “Whole Hive” and sampled their entire current lineup of nine meads–yum! All were still (no carbonation) and served in a wine glass at room temperature.

Dry, 11% ABV: Semi-dry, medium bodied, a bit acidic / tart / bitter, more floral than honey notes

Semi-Sweet, 11% ABV: Semi-sweet, slightly fuller bodied, less tart & acidic, no bitterness, more honey than floral notes

Sweet, 11% ABV: On the drier side of sweet, full bodied, very flavorful but still tastes light, honey and pollen notes

Ginger, 12% ABV: On the drier side of sweet, very gingery! (although much more in the scent and aftertaste at the back of the throat than the flavor); I’m not a ginger fan so I didn’t have much

Blackberry, 12% ABV: Semi-sweet, medium bodied, moderately tart & acidic, light to moderate blackberry flavor

Raspberry, 12% ABV: Sweet, full bodied, mild tartness & acidity, full flavored with strong raspberry notes (they call it “jam in a glass”), no honey notes

Rose, 12% ABV: Infused with real rose petals; semi-sweet, a touch bitter, more acidic & tart than the others, definitely floral

Brochet, 12.5% ABV: This is the only mead where they use heat–over 9 days the honey is heated to around 110 degrees to caramelize it, before they make the mead with it; on the drier side of sweet, full bodied but still feels light, rich scent & flavor, caramel & brown sugar notes

Solas, 12% ABV: This is their Dry Fly Distilling whiskey barrel aged mead; sweet verging on very sweet, smells of oak with a hint of smoke, full bodied, very smooth, full flavored, rich, lovely lucious flavor

The Solas is aged in Dry Fly Distilling whiskey barrels like this which decorated the tasting room:

I bought a bottle of Solace, which was my favorite (followed by the Brochet). I thought it was pretty reasonable at $26, plus buying a bottle refunding my $15 tasting fee (so buying a $17 bottle would have been an even better deal). Apparently Solas is their best seller at the tasting room, except in summer when the raspberry & blackberry meads sell well.

Sky River meads can be shipped to a number of states (see image below), direct to consumer, either through the meadery or VinoShipper.com. They are sold in stores in AK, CT, ID, LA, MT, OR, PA, WA, Japan, and Sweden per this list.

Finnriver Black Currant Wine

December 9, 2015October 23, 2016 cidersays Finnriver, not cider, review apple, Black Currant, brandy wine, Chimacum, Finnriver, port townsend, washington

Review of Finnnriver’s Black Currant wine with apple brandy. I was lucky enough to host a cider tasting at my house where some friends brought this rarity for us to try.

Cider: Black Currant Wine
Cidery: Finnriver
Cidery Location: Chimacum WA
ABV: 18.5%
How Supplied: 375ml

Availability: Likely difficult to find outside of their Port Townsend area cidery & farm and their booth at the Ballard Farmer’s Market. In general, Finnriver ciders are sold in WA, OR, CA, AZ, NV, TX, IL, CO, and Alberta & BC Canada (detailed info here). They also have an online store (which can ship to WA, OR, CA, AK, CO, MN, FL, & WA D.C.).

Black Currant Wine Description: We believe there is an alchemy to making a fine fermented drink. First, sun, rain and soil work earthly magic to produce fruits full of possibilities. Then we handcraft our fruit wines by pressing, fermenting, and blending with apple brandy to bring forth the vital flavors of the fruit. We call these wines “fruit for grown-ups.” Enjoy sipped, as a sweet complement to dessert or as dessert itself!

Cidery Description: At Finnriver we gather and ferment the flavors of the land to offer you farmcrafted hard ciders and spirited fruit wines. We are inspired by the allure of the fruit, the ancient history of the craft of fermentation and the lively traditions we now seek to revive. Our mission is to inspire a deeper connection to the land that sustains us….Some of these ciders are small-batch, seasonal and labor-intensive. Others are produced with contemporary methods and more readily available year-round…Finnriver grows over twenty varieties of traditional and heirloom apples in our organic orchard, to feature in our traditional and specialty ciders. They have a tasting room open seven days a week, noon to 5pm, and are on the Olympic Pennsylvania cider route along with Eaglemount and Alpenfire cideries.

Price: n/a (but I believe it runs $20)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home (my cider tasting event)
How Found: n/a

I tried it at room temperature, but I wouldn’t have minded it cold, or even, shocker, over ice (or maybe ice cream?). It tasted a lower ABV than it was, which could be dangerous.

Tasting Notes: Semi-sweet. Intense black currant with blackberry and cranberry notes. Low acidity and tartness. No bitterness, sourness, or funk. Full bodied. Medium finish length.

Closing Notes: Yum! What a special treat.

Have you tried any Finnriver apple brandy products? What did you think?

My Visit to Superstition Meadery in Prescott AZ

October 13, 2015October 18, 2015 cidersays mead, not cider, review, Superstition Aesir, Arizona, barrel aged, honey, honey wine, mead, meadery, Prescott, Superstition

Yes, another mead post! This time around our travels brought my husband and I back to Prescott (pronounced press-kit) Arizona, where we went to college (at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University). A friend had told us about Superstition Meadery, and I just had to go. This is a smaller mountain town (at least when I left over 7 years ago) so I was surprised to learn it now has a meadery! Especially because they don’t even have a cidery, and only a handful of breweries. Superstition also makes some cider, so its still semi on-topic for this blog. Superstition Meadery is located in downtown Prescott, on “Whiskey Row”, under the “Old Capitol Market” shop (which sells spices and jams and such). This tasting room has only been open about a year (they will have their first year anniversary party on Oct 24), but they have been selling their meads since 2012, and making them for about 10 years.

You oddly enough have to walk through the shop to get to the meadery (although apparently they only lease the space and aren’t associated with the shop). If we hadn’t known it was there, it would have been easy to miss, even with the sidewalk sign and their name on the window.

They make the mead (and cider) on-site, and one of the coolest parts of the tasting room is the window which looks into their workshop. We visited on a Saturday afternoon with a few friends. We had actually dropped by Friday night as some other friends were hanging out there (it was a big alumni reunion type weekend for us), but didn’t stay as the live music was way too loud. I wanted to be able to enjoy my mead with less folks around, and maybe even chat up the staff. During our Saturday visit my husband Aaron was lucky enough to spot an employee walking into the workshop and asked it we could have a tour. Lucky us. Thanks Justin!

It was a really classy place just to chill with friends, with a bar, comfy chairs & tables, and a nice overall vibe. Pretty unusual for Prescott!

They serve mead (a type of wine made from fermenting honey & water), cider, grape wine, and appetizers/tapas. Something to please most folks. Plus, it appears to be an all ages place (they even have some kids food selections on the menu). They offer a flight of all 12 selections (11 mead and 1 cider that day), or you can choose taster size pours individually, plus a few off-flight mead options (two which were barrel aged versions of the on-flight meads, and one cocktail). Of course I opted for the full flight of 12, which was lower cost than purchasing individually as it worked out to only $2 each, when some were $3 individually.

Although it was $24, it was plenty for 2 people. There were four of us to start (more showed up later), so after the flight we each got a couple more sample size glasses or a full glass of what we liked (and one person chose red wine instead of mead lol). The pours were quite generous too. Click to biggify the menu photos. The only food we tried was the bread with oil & vinegar, which was a good choice considering the amount we drank! No standard bar fare to be had here (I was kinda craving a soft pretzel). The mead menu is laid out from dry to sweet, and they really ran the full spectrum.

Tasting notes:

Except for the cider, these were meads noted to be in order from Dry to Sweet, which I found mostly true:

Blueberry Spaceship Box, 6.9% ABV: Blueberry cider. Semi-dry. Tart. I get a lot of blueberry skin flavor, definitely from adding real blueberries, not just juice (or what some cideries do, artificial flavor). Noticeable tannins and astringency. Unique, but I didn’t find it to my liking (although all my table mates did). I found it very interesting that this cider is actually the top user rated cider on RateBeer.com! Its pretty limited availability, so its interesting they got so many folks to try it and rate it highly.

Lagrimas de Oro, 13.5% ABV: Bourbon barrel aged mead. Dry. More barrel notes in the scent than taste. Alcohol-forward (boozy). Tart and astringent. Not a fan, and I don’t think anyone at the table was.

Alexander the Grapefruit, 8.5% ABV: Grapefruit and hops mead. Dry to semi-dry. Floral and citrus notes, tart, and definitely hopped (although mild, I’m just a wuss when it comes to hops)! Not a fan, but one or two folks at the table were.

Tahitian Honeymoon, 13.5% ABV: Tahitian vanilla bean mead, oak barrel aged. Semi-dry. Lovely vanilla, honey, and oak notes. The vanilla notes were on the tart side, and the barrel influence was moderate. Kinda wine-like. I enjoyed this one (my fourth favorite).

Amnesia, 14% ABV: Cyser (made from apples & honey) with Welsh Mugwort. Semi-dry. Check out this issue of American Mead Maker for an article on Superstition and the backstory on Amnesia, which was a Welsh collaboration. It tasted like cyser with a hint of weird herbal notes to me. A couple folks at the table didn’t mind it though.

Let Them Eat Cake, 12% ABV: Raspberry mead. Semi-dry. Sweet raspberry scent, but this was a drier tart mead. This one was rather well received at our table. Not bad.

Maple Stinger, 13.5% ABV: Maple mead, bourbon barrel aged. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Maple-oak scent. Maple start and barrel notes with the finish. Not too much honey flavor came through. Longer finish. Awesome! My second favorite. I don’t remember anyone else at the table noting they liked it though. I’m a huge maple and barrel aged fan however.

Mad Hatter, 16.5% ABV: Apple, mango, and Belgian dark candi mead. On the drier side of semi-sweet. I picked up berry notes in the scent oddly enough. Tart. All in all weird; I just didn’t get this one, and it seemed to have too many competing flavors. I think it was aptly named! I don’t think anyone at our table liked it too much.

Marion Mead, 13.5% ABV: Marion berry, blueberry, and raspberry mead. On the sweeter side of semi-sweet. Very berry indeed. Nicely balanced tart-sweet. This was a big crowd pleaser at our table, but I wasn’t too big of a fan (I’m usually not too impressed by berry ciders though, so I wasn’t surprised).

Safeword, 12% ABV: Belgian Dark Strong Mead (BDSM). Sweet. I picked up brown sugar, molasses, and a hint of coffee. Slight herbal & spiced finish. Very complex. Another crowd pleaser at our table. My third favorite. However, I don’t think I’d want more than a small glass of it, as it was really rich. I bet this would taste awesome warm. This is the mead our friend who recommended Superstition said was his favorite, and it was my husband’s favorite.

Honey Highway, 12% ABV: Prickly pear mead aged in new oak barrels. Sweet. Smelled of honey, tartness, and oak. This one was pretty weird, and I don’t think any of my table mates liked it. I didn’t find that the prickly pear directly came across; it only seemed to add tartness.

Ragnarok, 14% ABV: Mead with local catclaw honey and mango nectar. Sweet to very sweet (more like a desert mead I think). The honey flavor came across with this mead more than the others. Very smooth. Lovely tropical notes. I had this with the flight, then ordered another taster, as it was my favorite. Well-hidden ABV. Bold flavors. This was another crowd pleaser at the table. Amazing!

Barrel Aged Ragnarok, 14% ABV: The same as above but barrel aged. Sweet to very sweet. As I was drinking the second Ragnarok taster, I realized they had an off-flight barrel aged version of it! So, I ordered a taster and compared the two side by side. Definitely oak barrel notes, mild to moderate. Even smoother than the regular Ragnarok. I think barrel aging really makes any cider or mead better.

Overall Superstition Meadery was a tad pricey (especially the bottles to take home), but its a local craft product, mead is expensive to produce, and we were on vacation. I kinda wished they had half size bottles as many dessert wines do instead of the 750s, as that cuts down the commitment (both quantity and cost). My husband had to convince me a bit to drop the $48 on my favorite mead there, the Barrel Aged Ragnarok, as that is far more than I’ve ever spent on a bottle of anything. Their bottles were $28-$48 for 750ml (compared to $25 at Æsir Meadery for reference).

I was surprised they didn’t charge any more for the barrel aged version of the Ragnarok versus the regular, considering a barrel costs hundreds of dollars, and the mead ages for months or possibly years, taking up floor space and tying up money. Its awesome they had so many barrel aged meads. I learned they have a broker they use just to obtain barrels. Also, they collaborate with some folks such as breweries to pass the barrels back and forth, which will add different flavor notes. Check out the Barrel page on their website for great info.

However, in the end I was happy to splurge, and I think alcohol makes a great souvenir. Apparently mead can stay open for quite awhile in the fridge as it doesn’t oxidize very quickly, so I’ll probably open a bottle when the mood strikes and work on a bottle for awhile. I’m intrigued to try these warm, as I liked the mead selections at Æsir best when warm. I ended up getting a bottle each of the Barrel Aged Ragnarok and Maple Stinger. I had come prepared with bags, rubber bands, and bubble wrap, and am happy to report both bottles made it home in our checked luggage safely. I should have taken a photo of my handiwork as it looked pretty funny.

I even got a chance to try the Tahitian Honeymoon mead again later in the night at Granite Mountain Brewing down the street. They offer one mead and one cider from Superstition (on tap) at a time, but were out of the cider (although I probably would have chosen the mead anyways). My drinking buddies all enjoyed their beer from there, and we were happy to find their outdoor patio tucked way in the back, to escape the ever-present live music which was way too loud to be able to converse.

I highly recommend Superstition Meadery if you find yourself in Prescott AZ, or if you can find them elsewhere. They have the most availability in AZ, a couple spots in CA, IA (soon), and even Denmark, Singapore, Japan, and Thailand (soon). They will also soon be shipping bottles to 33 states through VinoShipper (same as Æsir; VinoShipper appears to be the only mead-friendly online market). Check out the Availability page on their website.

They are also expanding. To start, they have secured a production facility location at the Prescott airport, where they plan to make most of their meads, and only make sours (which they don’t currently sell yet) at the current tasting room. I really wish we still lived in Prescott as Superstition Meadery has a club where you get special access (such as tasting their mead experiments), behind the scenes info, special releases etc. They actually have a waiting list just to get into the club next year!

So, you may ask, how does Superstition compare to the meads I had from Æsir (and to a lesser extend, Moonlight)? I think they are all rather on-par for quality, but they had as many similarities as differences in their flavors. From each I preferred the sweeter selections, as I found them more flavorful. I’ve also confirmed I don’t like spiced or overly tart mead, same as I don’t like spiced or overly tart or bitter cider. However, just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean you won’t; they make so many varieties of mead & cider for a reason!

My Visit to Æsir Meadery in Everett WA

October 5, 2015October 8, 2015 cidersays Æsir, mead, not cider, review Aesir, Aesir Meadery, Everett, honey wine, mead, mead tasting, meadery

When I found out there was a local meadery not too far from me, I had to visit! Yes, its not cider, but I find mead to have some similarities, and I like it, and its my blog. I hadn’t thought I liked mead, after trying two varieties I thought were pretty horrible. However, lately I’ve had some selections from Moonlight Meadery (out of NH) that were quite awesome. I found out about Æsir (pronounced ah-see-er) Meadery from Erika of Full Throttle Bottles, who posted a link to vote for them for the best “winery” of Western Washington (a yearly King 5 News series). By the way, through the power of social media, Æsir Meadery has been battling for the lead with the usual yearly winner (and traditional grape winery) Chateau Ste. Michelle. Æsir is much much smaller than Chateau Ste. Michelle, been around for much less time, and doesn’t even make traditional wine! The voting is far from over though, so we’ll see how it turns out.

<Æsir Meadery’s lovely logo painted on the back wall>

Mead by the way is technically a type of wine, but it is made from fermenting honey & water. Mead usually has an ABV similar to grape wine (Erik’s varieties appeared to range 11-17%), and may be drier or sweeter. Æsir had selections from dry to sweet, although more sweet than dry (I didn’t find any to be overly sweet either). I was able to try 7 selections, 5 of which were available in bottles to take home that day. Æsir is definitely a micro-meadery, and is currently operating out of a garage literally in an alley. Everything is done by hand (he unfortunately has never used his awesome steel tank pictured below) and its definitely a labor of love. His methods however have advanced a bit from the olden days of mead.

Mead is thought to be the oldest alcoholic beverage. It was originally discovered when a bee hive with honey would fill with rain water and the wild yeast would ferment it into mead. The mead making process was then moved inside, and made purposely, where they would ferment it in barrels. If they found a batch with a yeast strain they liked, they would stir it with a “yeast stick” (giant wood paddle) and save it for their next batch. Erik still uses the yeast stick method! He described starting out with commercial yeast strains, but happened across a strain he liked better, and continues to use it. Note that Erik only minimally filters the meads as filtration can also remove flavor.

I thought that sampling mead in the alley out of little plastic cups was more legit than many of the fancy tasting rooms which make you question whether they actually make their products there! Æsir Meadery is currently open Thursday-Sunday, noon-6pm, in downtown Everett WA (2625 Colby Ave). I visited with my husband on a Saturday, just after noon. We had two folks we didn’t know who joined us in our tasting as they were there at the same time.

Æsir is a one man operation, started & run by Erik Newquist. He has degrees in Microbiology and Chemistry, which brings a scientific background to the art of mead making. Erik has been making mead for over 14 years, but established Æsir in 2012. He started making mead in college (Oregon State in Corvallis) with his roommate. The mead making continued after college, but only for himself, parties, gifts, etc. After spending time at unfulfilling corporate jobs, he decided to make the jump to starting a mead making business. That process started in 2011, with a class on writing a business plan, and overall strategizing. The first commercially available bottles of Æsir mead were sold in April 2014. The company name and logo is based on Nordic mythology, a nod to Erik’s Scandinavian heritage. Check out this issue of American Mead Maker starting on page 11 for an article on the birth of Æsir Meadery!

Erik uses local WA honey and as many other local ingredients as possible (except when for example a fruit or spice isn’t grown here). Although honey is primarily produced in the Spring & Summer, thankfully it is available year-round, including in a 700 lb barrel size that Erik has used! It was clear that he loves what he does. Although mead is very much a niche beverage (much more so than cider), there are actually a few other local meaderies in the area, both smaller & larger, and plans in work for a few more. Erik doesn’t sell any kegs at this time, but is working on it. His bottled mead can however be found in a few Seattle area bottle shops (such as Full Throttle Bottles & Special Brews) and restaurants/bars, which he self-distributes to. He is also working on getting in with VinoShipper, which would enable his meads to be sold online and shipped to 21 states! Due to his planned meadery move and current projects (the “tasting room” is his workshop after all), the garage was a bit of a construction zone, so I wasn’t able to get the greatest photos.

My tasting notes really don’t do Æsir’s meads justice. I’ll admit I have little mead experience, so I’m not even going to try to do full reviews…just list what I tried, a few notes, and my favorites.

Blackberry Honey (Nott, meaning Night): Made using blackberries from Tulalip WA and blackberry honey from Eastern WA. Dry to semi-dry. Milder blackberry-honey flavor, tart, with some citrus notes.

Pomegranate (Slip of the Tongue): Made using fresh pomegranites (from Southern CA as they aren’t grown in WA). Semi-dry. Tart pomegranate-honey-berry flavor. I picked up citrus in this one again, which Erik commented was likely from the yeast strain he uses.

Haitian Spice: Made using buckwheat honey from Arlington WA with a secret family blend of spices from a friend of Erik’s. This was originally made specifically for a “Game of Thrones” event, but it was a big hit, so the variety has continued. Semi-sweet to sweet. There was definitely a lot of spice with this one, not just in amount, but complexity. I honestly wasn’t a fan of this one (too much spice for me; I don’t usually like spiced anything). It was however the favorite of our tasting companions. Erik wouldn’t share all of the proprietary spices, but we learned they include a bit of habanero and orange rind. I picked up cinnamon & cloves, but apparently they weren’t included. Its interesting what we can pick up in an alcoholic beverage that isn’t actually there! I’ve definitely learned this from my cider tasting experience. This mead has a unique smokey / tobacco-type flavor which was probably my favorite part of it.

Licorice Root (Hunter’s Blessing): This isn’t the black licorice (anise & fennel) that we think of, but was made using the milder root of the licorice plant and blackberry honey. Sweet. He didn’t tell us at first what the flavor was, but wanted us to guess. I was thinking caramel, but not quite. There was a bit of burn with this one too, but not nearly as much. We started out drinking it just below fridge temperature, but Erik set up a sweet plastic cup double boiler using warm water and had us heat up the mead a bit. Wow–what a difference. A completely different (mellowed) flavor profile. I honestly didn’t like it cold, but when warm, it was amazing!

Citrus (Midsummer’s Sleep): Made using mineloas, naval oranges, and Marshall lemons from the Farmer’s Market stand up the street from Æsir in Everett WA, with blackberry honey. Semi-sweet to sweet. Bold citrus flavor without too much tartness, and without the citrus overpowering the honey notes. Yum! I also liked this one best warm. I’m a huge citrus fan, especially lemon. My husband thought this would taste awesome with hops, and Erik said he is looking into it.

So, those were the five varieties he had available to buy bottles of. We also tried one experimental batch, and some of his “Traditional” mead he found a sample size bottle of! (he thought he was completely out) He had an entire table of experimental batches plus more in the fridge. The weekend we visited he also started a batch of peach mead, which sounds amazing.

Madagascar Vanilla & Spanish Saffron: This was one of those lets see what is in the kitchen pantry to add to mead sort of experiments. Semi-sweet to sweet. I picked up the vanilla, but wouldn’t have been able to identify the Saffron. Again, the additions were nicely done and didn’t overpower the mead’s honey notes.

Traditional: This is a mead without any other flavor additions. Sweet. Lovely honey flavor (and even texture). Its really hard to come up with any actual descriptors, but it was amazing! Some honeycomb and floral notes. I thought this mead was a bit more viscous than the others, which I like. Very complex for its simplicity.

My favorites were the Traditional, Citrus, and Licorice Root. We learned he is barrel aging his Traditional mead in two small Woodinville Whiskey barrels for a year and a half. I really want some of that! It will be a small release in the near future, probably about 70 bottles max (although the barrels are 8 gallons they lose some mead to evaporation). So, if you are interested, sign up for his newsletter on the Æsir Meadery Facebook page so you’ll be notified when it is released. I love barrel aged ciders, so I’m really looking forward to barrel aged mead!

I ended up purchasing a bottle of Citrus ($25 for 750ml, which I think is very reasonable given the product). I would have liked to get several bottles of mead, but I have way too much cider at home to be buying mead on top of that. I was very happy to learn however that Erik has found his meads can last weeks or more in the fridge after opening (as long as they are well-sealed), as they don’t oxidize nearly as quickly as wine. He was out of Traditional (my favorite), so I had to decide between the Citrus and Licorice Root. My husband’s choice was Citrus, so that is what we bought! I couldn’t fathom walking away from there empty handed, so one bottle seemed like a good compromise.

If you are in the Seattle area and interested in mead, in addition to visiting Æsir Meadery, check out this mead making class that Erik is teaching on Sat Oct 17 through the Nordic Heritage Museum:

I hope you enjoyed this writeup from my visit to Æsir Meadery! Have any suggestions for Seattle-area places for me to visit?

Crabbie’s Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade (not cider, I know)

September 9, 2015September 9, 2015 cidersays Crabbie's, not cider, review Alcopop, Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade, Cloudy Lemonade, Crabbie's, lemonade, malt beverage

Review of Crabbie’s Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade, part of their new Crabbie’s Fruits line, branching out from the alcoholic ginger beer they are known for. This definitely isn’t cider, but instead a sweetened malt beverage with natural lemon flavor, and could likely be classified as an “alcopop”. It however looked really interesting, so I gave it a try.

Beverage: Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade
Maker:  Crabbie’s (Halewood International Ltd)
Location:   Huyton, United Kingdom
ABV:  4.8%
How Supplied: four pack of green 11.2oz bottles

Availability: appears to be wide release

Description: Crabbie’s continues to pioneer refreshment with the addition of a Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade to their world famous range. Only premium ingredients and selected squeezed natural lemons are used to give the Cloudy Alcoholic Lemon it’s delicious flavor – with added zest. Best enjoyed chilled from the bottle or over ice for a refreshing summer drink.

Price: ~$9 for a four pack (I bought a single bottle for ~$2.50)
Where Bought: Special Brews in Lynnwood WA (I’ve also seen it at Total Wine and Full Throttle Bottles in Seattle WA)
Where Drank: home
How Found: browsing. They do a very smart thing at Special Brews, in that they sell you alcohol while you are already drinking alcohol (it’s a combination beer/cider bar & bottle shop); I end up buying much more this way!

First Impression: Looks and smells like lightly carbonated lemonade.

Opinion: Semi-sweet. Tastes like real fresh squeezed lemonade with a bit of fizz and an alcoholic kick. Only mild tartness. Quite flavorful and awesome! I really wasn’t expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. The alcohol is well hidden. I’ve never tried Mike’s Hard Lemonade, but I’m guessing this is less sweet and of a higher quality. Definitely an easy drinking beverage for a hot summer day. Its also not so sweet that I’d limit myself to one.

Closing Notes: Very tasty! I’d recommend this if you enjoy lemonade and want to try something different. I’ll have to pick up a full four pack of it.

Have you tried Crabbie’s Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade? What did you think?

Not Your Father’s Root Beer – and not a cider (or beer) review!

July 23, 2015July 26, 2015 cidersays not cider, review Alcopop, malt beverage, Not Your Father's Root Beer, PSA, root beer, Small Town Brewery

This is more of a Public Service Announcement, not a cider review. I was fooled into buying Not Your Father’s Rootbeer for my husband. I thought it was “Ale brewed with spices” as the label advertised, but it is an artificially flavored alcoholic (5.9% ABV) root beer like beverage. Some would call this “Alcopop“, a flavored malt beverage.

I guess I won’t buy beverages like this again without looking it up online, but I was in a hurry and it was interesting. Plus it was at Trader Joe’s, and I didn’t think they would sell such a fake product! The beverage started off tasting like a normal non-alcoholic root beer (just as sweet as soda), then finished a bit bitter and slightly beer-like. I could see how this would be appealing to a 21 year old.

It didn’t however much resemble beer as it was relatively drinkable to me, and I don’t like beer at all. I attempted to finish off the bottle as my husband rejected it, but about halfway through I was done with it, as it was overly filling and kinda made my stomach hurt. Apparently this is popular though? Some others have seen through the craft beer disguise, such as Top Fermented and Philly. I’m fine with folks drinking what they like, but I think there is some mis-representation going on here.

Cider Says

A cider enthusiast blog focusing on cider reviews, based in Seattle WA.

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