Sandford Orchard Straw & Oak

June 19, 2017June 11, 2017 cidersays review, Sandford Orchards cider, cider review, cider tasting, England, English Cider, hard cider, Sandford Orchards, Straw & Oak, Straw and Oak, tasting notes

Review of Sandford Orchards Straw & Oak, an English cider from cider apples pressed through straw, then oak barrel aged. It is my first time trying this cider, although I’ve previously had The General and Chestnut Cask from this cidery, and English ciders are a favorite of mine.

Cider: Straw & Oak
Cidery: Sandford Orchards
Cidery Location: Crediton UK
ABV: 6.9%
How Supplied: 500ml bottles
Style: English cider from cider apples, pressed through straw, oak barrel aged

Availability: semi wide release, imported into the U.S. by B. United International Inc. out of Oxford CT (the cidery also has an online store if you are in England)

Cider Description: Pressed through wheat reed and barley straw in 2013 this cider is full of fresh grapefruit, pear and elderflower aroma and has developed a superb astringent, mature oak finish. (aged for one year in oak barrels)

Apple Varieties: Harry Masters Jersey, Michelin, and Browns

Cidery Description: Sandford Orchards is craft cider producer from the heart of idyllic, rural Devon. Our methods are simple and so is our ethos: we only bottle the best. We are enormously proud to have been recognised for our endeavours. We are a family business full of passion for our products, we believe that Devon ciders and juices are the best in the world – we want you to taste them!

This appears to be a for-export-only cider variety for them. Sandford Orchards was founded in 2003, so they are well-established, but not one of the very old English cideries (like Aspall and Sheppy’s).

Price: $6.85
Where Bought: Bushwhacker Cider in Portland Oregon
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing

First Impression: Medium amber hue. Low carbonation. Smells rich, of caramel and bittersweet apples.

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry to dry. Light bodied. Moderate to high tartness and acidity. Low to moderate bitterness. Moderate tannins. Low funk. Hints of sourness. Notes of orange, grapefruit, leather, caramel, must, oak, earthiness, and bittersweet apples. Moderate length finish. Moderate apple flavor, sessionability, and flavor intensity. High complexity. Low oak flavor.

My Opinion: I loved the flavor notes of this cider, but didn’t enjoy the bitterness and mouth-puckering tartness/acidity. More sweetness probably could have balanced out those qualities. Pressing through straw added a unique twist to this one, and there was an interesting combination of tart fruitiness with richness.

Closing Notes: Imported English ciders can be an awesome value, and I’m always on the lookout for new ones to try. However, I prefer English ciders more like Dunketons, Aspall, and Sheppy’s.

Have you tried Sandford Orchards cider? What did you think?

Sandford Orchards Chestnut Cask

April 26, 2017April 19, 2017 cidersays review, Sandford Orchards barrel aged, Chestnut Cask, cider, cider review, cider tasting, English Cider, hard cider, Sandford Orchards, tasting notes

Review of Sandford Orchards Chestnut Cask, an English chestnut wood aged cider. It is my first time trying this cider, although I’ve previously had The General from this cidery, and English ciders are a favorite of mine.

Cider: Chestnut Cask
Cidery: Sandford Orchards
Cidery Location: Crediton UK
ABV: 6.8%
How Supplied: 500ml bottles
Style: English cider from cider apples, Chestnut wood aged

Availability: semi wide release (they also have an online store if you are in England)

Cider Description: Pressed in 2013 fermented and aged in Chestnut wood. Rich and round tannins with a delicate residual sweetness and bitter finish that will please a cultured palate.

Apple Varieties: Sweet Alford, Court Royal, Dabinett

Price: $6.85
Where Bought: Bushwhacker Cider in Portland Oregon
Where Drank: home
How Found: Browsing

First Impression: Light orange amber. Still (no carbonation). Smells rich, tannic, slightly sweet, and of caramel.

Tasting Notes: On the drier side of semi-dry. Light bodied. Low tartness. Moderate acidity. Moderate bitterness. Moderate tannins. Hints of sourness and funk. Notes of wood, earth, almonds, caramel, and butterscotch. Long bitter finish. Low to moderate apple flavor. Moderate sessionability, flavor intensity, and complexity.

My Opinion: This cider was too bitter for my liking, especially on the finish. However, I really liked the flavor profile and tannins. I think a touch more sweetness could have helped to balance out some of the bitterness too.

Most Similar to: English and English-style ciders with are drier and more bitter, such as Sandford Orchards The General, Hecks Tremletts Bitter, Ross on Wye, and Merridale Scrumpy Cider

Closing Notes: If you don’t mind bitterness, Sandford Orchards make some solid ciders, and they are a great value at under $7 a bottle for a cider made from cider apples (and imported too!). However, I prefer less bitter English ciders, like Dunketons, Aspall, and Sheppy’s. I think this is the first time I’ve had (or even seen) a Chestnut wood aged cider (oak is most common).

Have you tried English cider? What did you think?

Schilling Cider House Visit 23 Tasting Notes

March 8, 2017March 8, 2017 cidersays Alpenfire, Bad Granny, Liberty, Portland Cider, review, Sandford Orchards, Schilling, Snowdrift, Tieton cider, cider bar, cider flight, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, tasting notes

Tasting notes from my 23rd visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA. Check out my past posts with tasting notes here.

I was there on a Thursday for a Portland Cider tap takeover / luau / potluck. I started with a flight.

Alpenfire Cider (Port Townsend WA) Glow (6.8% ABV): This is a drier version of their Glow (made from red fleshed apples) than is found in bottles (which I’ve reviewed here), apparently as it had to be significantly more filtered when kegged. Semi-dry, compared to the bottled version which is semi-sweet to sweet. Compared to the bottled version, its not nearly as flavorful (strawberry and watermelon notes) or complex, and is more tart and lighter bodied. Very nice, but I prefer the intensely flavorful and sweet bottled version (which I have a bottle of in the fridge that my husband got me for Valentine’s Day).

Sandford Orchards (Crediton UK) The General (8.4% ABV): This is the first time I’ve seen any cider from this English cidery. This variety is made from Devon cider apples, then spirit-aged and casked. Semi-dry. Light bodied. Moderate tartness, acidity, and bitterness. Low tannins. Apple-forward flavor with some sharpness. Moderate to long finish. Low to moderate complexity. Moderate apple flavor, sessionability, and flavor intensity. This tasted like a typical English cider, although more bitter and less complex than I prefer. Its good to see an international cider on tap, and made from cider apples too.

Liberty Ciderworks (Spokane WA) Cellar Series (8.0% ABV): This is an unknown variety of their Cellar Series (they are usually named with a letter and two numbers), draft only. Most of their cellar series ciders are wild yeast fermented and barrel aged. Orange amber hue. Dry. Light bodied. Moderate tartness. Moderate to high acidity. Hints of sourness and funk. Low bitterness. Sharp flavor with crabapple notes and hints of oak. Moderate to long finish length. Moderate apple flavor. Low to moderate sessionability. Low flavor intensity. Moderate complexity. I didn’t really like this one, as I found it a bit harsh.

Bad Granny (Lake Chelan WA) Green Apple (6.9% ABV): This cider is made from dessert apples and sold both in tallboy cans and on draft. Nearly clear hue. Semi-sweet. Medium bodied. Low tartness. Moderate acidity. No bitterness, sourness, funk, or tannins. Definite green apple flavor, plus some white grape. Moderate apple flavor. Low complexity. Moderate flavor intensity. High sessionability. I liked it.

Portland Cider (Portland OR) Mojito (6.7% ABV): This draft-only limited release cider had mint, lemon, and lime added. Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Medium bodied. Low tartness and acidity. Notes of mint, citrus, and a hint of soap? Low apple flavor. Moderate sessionability, flavor intensity, and complexity. The flavor of this seemed weird, but maybe it is just me.

Tieton Ciderworks (Yakima WA) Russian Red (6.9% ABV): This draft-only special release cider is made from red fleshed apples (like Snowdrift Red and Alpenfire Glow). Bright red hue. Semi-sweet. Medium bodied. Low to moderate tartness and acidity. Notes of cranberry and cherry. Low apple flavor. Moderate to high flavor intensity and sessionability. Moderate complexity. I liked it.

They also had Portland’s Sangria and Pineapple ciders on tap. The Sangria is especially awesome by the way.

Sarah also shared a new Snowdrift release with me:

Snowdrift Cider (East Wenatchee WA) Cidermakers Reserve (8.3% ABV): They have had this Méthode Champenoise cider listed on their website for awhile, but I haven’t ever seen it, so I think they took a few years off from production (or else it was very limited release). This batch is only available in bottles. Odd scent which none of us could accurately describe, but it didn’t transfer to the flavor. Semi-dry. High carbonation. Moderate tartness. High acidity. Hints of tannins and bitterness. Fruity, with notes of sharp pomegranate and some crabapple. I really liked the flavor and the bubbles, but the scent was bizarre.

My favorites were the Alpenfire Glow, Tieton Russian Red, and Snowdrift CIdermakers Reserve. The Bad Granny was good too, especially for its simplicity. I really wanted to like Sandford Orchards The General as I’m an English cider fan, but it was quite bitter.

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

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