Cider Summit Seattle 2016 Post 2/2 – Tasting Notes

This is post 2/2 on Cider Summit Seattle 2016, covering tasting notes.  Post 1/2 (see here) covered the event.

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2 Towns (Corvallis Oregon) Hollow Jack (6.4% ABV) – This fall seasonal pumpkin cider was just released.  They added caramelized pumpkin, sweet potato, honey, and spices.  Semi-dry.  Light bodied.  Low tartness, acidity, and bitterness.  Notes of pumpkin, squash, and cinnamon.  It was very lightly flavored, unlike many other pumpkin (and more frequently found, “pumpkin” spice ciders, which actually don’t have any pumpkin) which are overwhelming.

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Apple Outlaw (Applegate Oregon) Chocolate Raspberry (unknown ABV) – This was their fruit cider challenge entry.  The chocolate was added by soaking cacao bean husks in the raspberry cider.  These husks would otherwise be discarded in the chocolate making process.  Smells delicious, purely chocolate and raspberry.  Semi-dry.  The flavor is almost all raspberry, but hints of dark chocolate shone through in the slightly bitter and tannic finish.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  This was a bit of a novelty, but nice.

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Aspall (Suffolk England) Perronelle’s Blush (4% ABV) – Semi-dry to semi-sweet.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  Light to medium bodied.  Lovely fruitiness with moderate blackberry flavor plus hints of cranberry and blueberry.  This is a nice sessionable summer sipper without forgoing flavor.  I’ve never been disappointed by Aspall.

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Boonville (Boonville CA) Bite Hard Semi-Sweet (6.9% ABV) – Their semi-sweet flagship cider is a follow up to their Dry Bite Hard variety.  I found it as advertised, semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Fruity, with notes of tropical fruit like pineapple, plus green apple (all from the apples).  I prefer this semi-sweet cider to their drier variety, which was more wine-like (which corresponds to their wine making background and methods).

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Bull Run (Forest Grove Oregon) Mango (unknown ABV) – This was their fruit cider challenge entry.  This hazy cider looked like mango juice.  Semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Very juice-like and moderate mango flavor intensity.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  Simple but tasty.

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Carlton Cyderworks (McMinnville Oregon) Impearial Asian Pear Hard Cider (5.8% ABV) – This is a pear cider (apples + Asian pears + Hood River Oregon pears).  Semi-dry.  Light bodied.  Light sourness.  Mildly flavored with notes of pear, pineapple, lemon, green apple, and mineral.  I prefer more flavor, but this would pair well with food.

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Coquerel (Victot-Pontfol, Normandy, France) Calvodos Fine VSOP (40% ABV) – This was my first time trying straight Calvados, an aged apple brandy (I’ve only had it with cider, as Pommeau).  Semi-dry.  Definitely boozy, with a very long warming finish.  It surprisingly had only a mild apple flavor, although its possible my palate was a bit overwhelmed by the alcohol.  I’m not really into straight alcohol (especially when served room temperature).  I think I’ll stick to Pommeau.

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d’s Wicked (Kennewick WA) Cranny Granny (6.9% ABV) – This is a granny smith apple cider with cranberry juice.  Hazy pink hue.  Semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Simple with only notes of moderately tart granny smith apples and cranberry.  If you like tartness and cranberry, you’ll like this cider.

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Dragon’s Head (Vashon WA) Columbia Crabapple Cider (6.7% ABV) – A single varietal cider made from Columbia crabapples.  Semi-dry to semi-sweet.  Light bodied.  Moderate tartness and acidity with hints of bitterness and tannins.  Sharp flavor with notes of mineral, green apple, honey, white blossom, and lemon.  Wine-like and nuanced with low flavor intensity.  This is the sweetest variety I’ve tried from them.  Their Kingston Black or Traditional is probably my favorite though.

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Double Mountain Brewery –  I’ll add a bit about them as they aren’t yet distributed in Washington, only Oregon.  They have brewed beer for 9 years, but just started making cider, and have one introductory variety.

Double Mountain (Hood River Oregon) Jumpin Jack Heirloom Cider (7.3% ABV) – Fully dry.  Mild sourness.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  Mild bitterness and tannins.  Notes of green apple and a hint of hops (not sure if they were added, or there might have been some tap line contamination).  I didn’t pick up the richness of any of the cider apple varieties they added, but there was definitely sharp heirloom apple flavor.  I thought it was ok.

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Finnriver (Chimanum WA) Apple Abbey (6.5% ABV) – A Belgian-inspired cider made from dessert apples.  Foamy and hazy.  Smells of sourness and citrus.  Semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Yeast-forward.  Notes of citrus and green apple.  Hints of sourness.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  I liked it.

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Finnriver (Chimanum WA) Pomona’s Nectar (6.5% ABV) – This is a new Crew Selection sour nectarine cider.  Smells like Spanish Sidra.  Semi dry.  Mild to moderate sourness.  Notes of lemon, yeast, and mineral (I didn’t pick up any stone fruit).  I’m still trying to acquire the taste for sour ciders, but I found this one pretty tolerable; its a bit more approachable than the average Sidra.

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Incline Cider (Auburn WA) Scout (6.5%) – A hopped marionberry cider.  Semi-dry.  Light bodied.  Light marrionberry and moderate hops flavor.  I think I prefer their plain Explorer hopped cider variety.

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J. Seeds (Fairfield CA) Apple Cider Whiskey (35% ABV) – Whiskey made including apple cider.  Semi-sweet.  Apple forward and quite tasty, although I don’t have anything to compare it to as I’m not a whiskey drinker (I’ve previously found it too harsh).  However, I’m not into straight booze, so I think I’d prefer it watered down or mixed.  It looks to be available locally and is quite affordable.  I wouldn’t mind trying this again.  Being sweeter, it reminds me of what flavored sweetened vodka is to plain vodka.

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Maeloc Cider (Galithia Spain) Dry (4.8% ABV) – This is a commercial Spanish Sidra.  Semi-dry to semi-sweet (despite the “Dry” name).  Medium bodied.  Mild sourness and funk.  Notes of citrus and green apple.  It is a more approachable Sidra, a style I’m still learning to acquire a taste for.  I learned they use apples from within 50 miles of the cidery, grown in a damp climate similar to the PNW, and use wild yeast fermentation for all their ciders.  Overall it was ok.

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Montana CiderWorks (Darby MT) Spartan Dry-Style (5.5% ABV) – This is a small batch oak aged single varietal made with Montana-grown Spartan apples, in the style of Northern Italy’s Sauvignon Blanc.  Dry.  Light bodied.  Nuanced and wine-like, with high acidity, and sharp green apple, herbal, and baked apple notes.  It was nice, but I prefer their fuller flavored Darby Pub cider.  This is a wine-lovers cider.

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Moonlight Meadery (Londonderry NH) Crimes of Passion (4.1% ABV) – A black currant seasonal cider.  Semi-dry.  Light sourness.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  Mild to moderate black currant flavor intensity.  I enjoyed it, although without the sourness I would have enjoyed it more.  I was excited to learn they will soon be offering their How Do You Like Them Little Apples cider in cans (currently all their ciders are draft-only), starting in October/November, including in the Seattle area.

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Nectar Creek (Corvallis Oregon) Honeycone (6.9% ABV) – This is a hopped mead (no apples, just honey and water).  The smell is all hops, no honey.  Semi-dry.  Mild flavor intensity with more hops than honey.  I found this sessionable lightly carbonated mead to be lacking the full flavor I enjoy in the higher ABV sweeter meads.

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Number Six Cider (Seattle WA) Peach Fuzz (6.5% ABV) – This was their fruit cider challenge entry, a spiced peach cider.  Semi-dry.  Very full bodied (chunky and smoothie-like).  Low peach flavor and moderate to high spice intensity.  It was a bit too strange for my liking as it was so full bodied, and overly spiced.

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NV Cider (East Wenatchee WA) Watermelon Raspberry (unknown ABV) – This perry (no apples) with watermelon and raspberry was their fruit cider challenge entry, and was served through a watermelon.  Semi-sweet.  Light bodied.  Moderately flavorful, but with more raspberry than watermelon notes, and no pear.  I prefer their watermelon perry without the raspberry.  Both however are refreshing options.

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Reverend Nat’s (Portland Oregon) Sour Cherry (7.2% ABV) – This cider was made from granny smith apples, with pie cherry juice which was soured, pear juice, and “hint” of ghost chili peppers.  Semi-dry.  Moderate cherry flavor.  Low sourness.  Low to moderate heat/spiciness from the ghost chili peppers.  I liked the cherry portion of the cider, but spicy ciders aren’t my thing (and a bit of a palate killer too).  I’d love to see this without the spiciness (which I believe was new for this year).

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Reverend Nat’s (Portland Oregon) The Passion (6.9% ABV) – Cider with passion fruit juice, coconut, and vanilla.  Semi-dry to semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Mild sourness.   Moderate tartness and acidity.  Hints of bitterness and tannins.  Strong passion fruit flavor with hints of vanilla, pineapple, and coconut. I really enjoyed it.  I liked how fruity it was without being too sweet.  I had heard this was very sour so I hadn’t got around to trying it, but I wish I had sooner!  I wonder if they did away with the sour aspect this year, as I really didn’t pick up any.  I’ll have to try this again to see if my sour taste buds were busted when I tried it.

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Reverend Nat’s (Portland Oregon) Whiskey Barrel Aged Golden Russet with Black Currant (9.5% ABV) – This is Wandering Aengus’ Golden Russet cider with black currant puree from Oregon Fruit Products, aged for 6 months in whiskey barrels.  It was made for the Portland and Seattle Cider Summits, but will be a Tent Show cider club release in October.  Semi-dry.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  Mild tannins and bitterness.  Moderate barrel and spirit influence.  Awesome!  I really loved this cider.  I usually find berry ciders to be boring, but when barrel aged, they can be amazing.  This reminded me of Alpenfire Calypso and Apocalypso, except more boozy, and whiskey not rum barrel aged.  Too bad they weren’t selling bottles of this at the event, as I would have picked some up.

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Sea Cider (Saanichton, B.C., Canada) Ruby Rose (9.9% ABV) – This summer seasonal is made with rhubarb and rose hips.  Semi-dry to semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Mild to moderate tartness and acidity.  Hints of bitterness and tannins.  Intensely fruity, with floral, rhubarb, strawberry, and watermelon notes.  I really liked it!  Oddly enough I didn’t find it too boozy, despite being 9.9% ABV.

Sea Cider (Saanichton, B.C., Canada) Witch’s Broom (9.9% ABV) – I got a taste from the first bottle poured in the U.S. of this fall seasonal.  It was described as a “bouquet of pumpkin patch spices”.  Semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  It was moderately spiced with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and baked apple.  Mild tannins, bitterness, tartness, and acidity.  Cinnamon was the most present, both in the nose and the finish.  One of my favorite spiced ciders, but I’m not usually a huge fan of them.

Both of these ciders from Sea Cider are part of their Canadian Invasion Series, meant to draw attention to invasive species and their threat to farms and natural areas.

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Seattle Cider (Seattle Washington) City Fruit (6.3% ABV) – This is a special release cider only sold at Whole Foods, made using apples collected in the Seattle community by the non-profit City Fruit.  Dry to semi-dry.  Wine-like and acid forward.  Notes of red grape and mineral.  Overall very mild flavor intensity.  This is a wine-lovers cider, and would pair well with food.

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Steelhead Cider (Manson WA) Chimera Cherry Apple (5.5% ABV) – This is a newer cidery who just started distributing (at least kegs) in the Seattle area.  I previously tried their Peargatory.  Semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Moderate to strong real cherry flavor.  It was sweeter than I prefer, but I liked the intense cherry flavor.

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Summit Cider – I’ll add a bit about them as they aren’t yet distributed in Western Washington (only Idaho and Eastern Washington).  This cidery was started in 2014, making them the first in Idaho, and the only in Coeur d’Alene.  Their bestseller is Apricot, although of late their Hibiscus cider has been popular with wine drinkers.  They have a tap room in Coeur d’Alene.  I met co-founder Davon Sjostrom, who has a background in Botany, which I imagine brings something new to cidermaking.

Summit Cider (Coeur d’Alene Idaho) Apple (6.5% ABV) – Semi-dry.  Low tartness and acidity.  Low to moderate apple flavor.  Rather plain, but likeable.

Summit Cider (Coeur d’Alene Idaho) Apricot (6.5% ABV) – Semi-dry.  Lots of (true) apricot flavor for the level of dryness (typically drier ciders have a less intense flavor than sweeter ciders).  I really enjoyed it.  Davon described testing out many varieties of apricots to find the one whose flavor came across best in cider.

Summit Cider (Coeur d’Alene Idaho) Hibiscus (6.9% ABV) – Semi-dry with nuanced light floral and herbal notes.  I can see why this would be a wine-lovers cider.

Summit Cider (Coeur d’Alene Idaho) Blackberry (unknown ABV) – This was their fruit cider challenge entry.  I found it semi-dry and very mild in flavor.  I think with some barrel aging it would have been nice though.

In Summary

My Favorite Cider – Reverend Nat’s Whiskey Barrel Aged Black Currant

Other Favorite Ciders – Reverend Nat’s The Passion, Summer Cider Apricot, Sea Cider Ruby Rose, and Steelhead Cherry

Most Interesting Cider – One Tree’s PB&J cider, a raspberry cider with peanut butter whipped cream (I didn’t try it, but a photo is available here – more dessert than cider).

Other Interesting Ciders – Reverend Nat’s Sour Cherry, due to the use of ghost chili peppers.  Schilling’s Grumpy Bear, due to the use of coffee and a Nitro can (my tasting notes here).  Schilling’s Sour Raspberry Smoothie, due to its high viscosity (apparently for some of their ciders with high fruit content, they have a keg or two per batch which are smoothie-like).  Apple Outlaw’s Chocolate Raspberry, due to the use of chocolate in a cider (I’ve only heard of Woodchuck doing this previously).  1o1 Ciderhouse Black Dog, due to the use of activated charcoal (poured last year, with my tasting notes here).

Number Six Dry 99

Review of Number Six Hard Cider Dry 99.  Its my first time trying this cider, although I’ve tried a couple others from them (see here).

Cider:  Dry 99
Cidery:  Number Six Hard Cider
Cidery Location:  Seattle WA
ABV:  4.2%
How Supplied:  four pack of 16oz cans
Style:  American craft dry sessionable cider from dessert apples

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Availability:  Western Washington

Cider Description:  None given.  It is marketed as a dry low calorie cider (99 calories per 12oz serving).  Note however that any dry low ABV cider will have a similar calorie count.

Cidery Description:  Whats Number Six?  It’s a tunnel in the mountains. But this is no ordinary tunnel. This mile of rail at 7000 Sierra Nevada feet connected east to west like no other. In 1867, Transcontinental Tunnel Number 6 finally broke through solid granite after 2 years of hand picks, dynamite, willpower and a startling disregard for safety. Number Six was the most deadly and ambitious railway tunnel ever built. What used to take 25 days to cross, now could be done in a matter of hours. People, materials, and cider now flowed freely.

Number 6 Hard Cider is a tribute to hard fought progress and the connections it creates. Come taste our flagship True Cider and crafted seasonal releases at our rail-side cidery and taproom. 100% Washington apples and a relentless toil for perfect taste is what we’re made of. Raise a cold, crisp pint to progress. Onward!

They have a tasting room in Seattle Washington.

Price:  ~ $2.50 / single can
Where Bought:  Total Wine
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  Browsing.  I hadn’t tried it, and was picking up some Reverend Nat’s Tepache (fermented pineapple juice with spices), and this sounded like it would mix well.

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First Impression:  Medium straw yellow.  Completely still (no carbonation).  Smells mild, of sharp apples.

Tasting Notes:  Dry.  Light to medium bodied.  Low tartness.  Moderate to high acidity.  Low astringency.  Low bitterness.  No sourness or funk.  Sharp bite.  Notes of lemon, honey, mineral, and floral.  Moderate length finish.  Low to moderate apple flavor.  Moderate sessionability.  Low flavor intensity.  Low complexity.

My Opinion:  I found this to be an average dry sessionable cider.  As expected, it wasn’t overly flavorful.  It did however mix well with Reverend Nat’s Tepache (although it didn’t add much to Tepache’s 3.2% ABV).

Most Similar to:  Original Sin Extra Dry (which I prefer as I found it to be more complex) and Ace Joker (which is carbonated).  It is becoming easier to find drier ciders, even on the more commercial end of the industry.

Closing Notes:   If you are in Washington and a fan of dry sessionable ciders, this may be something you’d enjoy.  Although this is on the conservative end of Number Six’s lineup, they also have some ciders which push the envelope, like their Cold Brew Coffee cider (which I haven’t tried yet, although I have tried Schilling’s take on it, Grumpy Bear, which is now available in Nitro cans).

Have you tried Number 6 Dry 99?  What did you think?

Number Six True Cider

Review of Number Six Cider Company’s True Cider.  I tried this quite awhile ago, but wanted to give it another go.  This is their flagship cider, although they recently came out with a drier version (Dry Ninety-Nine).

Cider:  True Cider
Cidery:  Number Six Cider Company
Cidery Location:  Seattle WA
ABV:  6.0%
How Supplied:  four pack of 16oz cans
Style:  American craft cider made from dessert apples

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Availability:  Western Washington

Cider Description:  This strong, dry cider is perfect for true cider lovers. With a level of sweetness that is best enjoyed from a glass. Enjoy with family and friends.

Cidery Description:  What’s Number 6?  It’s a tunnel in the mountains. But this is no ordinary tunnel. This mile of rail at 7000 Sierra Nevada feet connected east to west like no other. In 1867, Transcontinental Tunnel Number 6 finally broke through solid granite after 2 years of hand picks, dynamite, willpower and a startling disregard for safety. Number Six was the most deadly and ambitious railway tunnel ever built. What used to take 25 days to cross, now could be done in a matter of hours. People, materials, and cider now flowed freely.

Number 6 Hard Cider is a tribute to hard fought progress and the connections it creates. Come taste our flagship True Cider and crafted seasonal releases at our rail-side cidery and taproom. 100% Washington apples and a relentless toil for perfect taste is what we’re made of. Raise a cold, crisp pint to progress. Onward!

They have a tap room in Seattle Washington.

Price:  $10.99 / four pack
Where Bought:  Total Wine
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  I’ve known about this cider for awhile and tried it at a tasting event last year.

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First Impression:  Light orange pumpkin amber.  Very low carbonation.  Smells rich, apple-forward, and a bit like French cider.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-dry to semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Nearly still.  Mild tartness and acidity.  No bitterness, sourness, funk, or tannins.  Slightly rich.  Apple and yeast forward.  Hints of honey, mango, pineapple, and pear.  Quick finish.  High sessionability.  Moderate to high apple influence.  Moderate to high flavor intensity.

My Opinion:  Yum!  I liked how rich, fruity, and flavorful this cider was.

Most Similar to:  French cider, except with less carbonation, and more fruity than yeasty.

Closing Notes:   I enjoyed this cider…more than I remembered.  I may have to pick up a full four pack (although I tend to have bad luck with buying a cider for a second time and not liking it as much).

Have you tried Number Six cider?  What did you think?

Schilling Cider House Visit 8 Tasting Notes

Yes, I made yet another trip to the Schilling Cider House!  Check out my past posts here.  This time it was for a random visit in early December, as I knew I wouldn’t have time to go for awhile with the holidays.  I wasn’t disappointed, as there were a good number of ciders on tap I hadn’t tried previously.

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I had a flight of six ciders, then picked up a half growler of Locust Bittersweet (which I have a bottle of, but was a really good deal and is quite tasty) and a few bottles.  I was intrigued by a new Liberty Ciderworks (Spokane WA) cider called Garretza, but learned it is a barrel aged sour, and passed as I’m not into sours.

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<left to right: Schilling Pineapple Passion, Number 6 Pomegranate, AeppelTreow Barn Swallow, Eaglemount Cyser, 2 Towns Nice & Naughty Bourbon Barrel Aged, and Cider Riot Champoeg X-17>

Schilling Pineapple Passion (aka Trouble in Paradise), 5% ABV, Seattle WA:  This is a brand new currently tap-only release at Schilling which added pineapple & passion fruit juices to cider, and may be canned in the future.  Slightly hazy pineapple-yellow hue.  On the drier side of semi-sweet.  Light bodied.  Moderate pineapple flavor.  I didn’t pick up any passion fruit flavor.  The only other pineapple ciders I’ve had are Ace Pineapple (apple cider backsweetened with pineapple juice) and Reverend Nat’s Tepache (made only using pineapple juice, very low ABV, and lots of spice).  In my mind I was comparing this to Ace’s pineapple cider.  I liked Schilling’s much better, as it wasn’t as juice-like (I used to really enjoy Ace’s Pineapple, but my tastes moved away from ciders which taste like juice).  However, Schilling’s Pineapple cider seemed to be missing something…maybe it needed more carbonation?

Number 6 Pomegranate, 5.4% ABV, Seattle WA:  I’ve previously only had their “True Cider” variety.  Light cherry / pomegranate type hue.  Semi-sweet.  Light bodied.  Low acidity and tartness.  It remained light to moderate on the pomegranate flavor, similar to Elemental’s “Oxygen” Pomegranate cider (Elemental is also in the Seattle area, in Woodinville WA).  I found this to be rather average, as it left me wanting more flavor.  I mostly tried it as I hadn’t had it before.

AeppelTreow Barn Swallow, 6% ABV, Burlington WI:  This is the first cider I’ve had from them.  Made from Red Delicious, Cortland, Ida Red, and Greenings apples.  Semi-sweet.  Medium straw yellow.  Low acidity and tartness.  No bitterness.  Medium boded.  There was a slight richness which I enjoyed.  Overall definitely well above average, and quite tasty.  I look forward to trying the bottle of their Appely Brut I have at home.

Eaglemount Cyser, 8% ABV, Port Townsend WA:  Cysers are made by fermenting both apple juice and honey, so are classified in between cider and mead.  Smells dry, of yeast & honey, with a slight funk.  Medium straw yellow.  Semi-sweet.  Nice mild honey flavor.  Medium bodied.  Moderate acidity.  Mild tartness.  The higher ABV was noticeable.  Really nice!  However, I was more impressed with their Quince cider I had a bottle of awhile back, which was crazy complex and fruity.  I want to try more from them.

2 Towns Nice & Naughty Bourbon Barrel Aged, 10.5% ABV, Corvallis OR:  I had 2 Towns’ Nice & Naughty (their holiday seasonal) on tap only a couple weeks before this, but this one is a special bourbon barrel aged release of it which appears to be tap-only.  Smells spiced, rich, and alcohol-forward.  The spice remains very mild, even more so than the regular version.  Moderate barrel influence and mild bourbon influence for the flavor, but this tastes quite boozy.  Some caramel and vanilla notes, and oddly enough, ginger?  Mild tartness, acidity, and bitterness.  Medium bodied.  Long finish with a lot of warmth.  I drank it last, letting it warm up to close to room temperature, based on my previous experience with the regular version of Nice & Naughty tasting better that way.  However, it may have been a mistake, as I didn’t really care for this version of the cider.  The high ABV, spice, barrel aging, and bourbon influence seemed to be competing for attention.  I much preferred the regular Nice & Naughty (which is odd as typically I love barrel aged ciders), but would be curious to try this one again when it was very cold.

Cider Riot Champoeg X-17 on Nitro, 4.6% ABV, Portland OR:  This is a hopped cider, part of their new Champoeg line, and made using an experimental hops variety.  Smells herbal & floral.  Semi-dry.  The hops flavor remains very mild, and is more herbal & floral than hoppy.  It reminded me some of Portland Hop’rageous and Tod Creek Mala-Hop, which are also both mild (although this cider was even milder on the hops).  Very light boded.  The Nitro tap didn’t seem to add much except additional foam (I think it works best with Berry ciders).  I’m not a hops fan, so I don’t think I fully appreciated it, but it wasn’t bad.  Overall it left me wanting more flavor, but I wouldn’t have wanted any more hops flavor.

My favorites of the evening were Eaglemount Cyser, AeppelTreow Barn Swallow, and Schilling Pineapple Passion, in that order.

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