Big B’s Lazy Daze Lemon Hard Cider

June 7, 2016June 4, 2016 cidersays Big B's, review Big B's, cider, cider review, cider tasting, Colorado, hard cider, Lazy Daze, Lazy Daze Lemon Hard Cider, lemonade, organic

Review of Big B’s Lazy Daze Lemon Hard Cider, their dry hard cider mixed with their lemonade. I’ve also tried their Grizzly Brand (bourbon barrel aged) and Pear Supply ciders. My husband picked this up for me in Colorado.

Cider: Lazy Daze Lemon Hard Cider
Cidery: Big B’s
Cidery Location: Hotchkiss Colorado
ABV: 4.7%
How Supplied: 500ml clear glass bottles and 12oz cans
Style: American Organic craft cider mixed with lemonade (which includes sugar)

Availability: Only in Colorado, although they take phone orders to ship to customers when the state allows it.

Cider Description: Big B’s Hard Lemonade is made by combining our Orchard Original Hard Cider with one of Big B’s most popular selling juices, our Orchard Recipe Lemonade. It’s a perfect marriage between dry cider, sweet and tart lemonade. Ultra refreshing and amazingly crisp!

Cidery Description: Big B’s Hard Ciders – Local, Organic, Delicious. Big B’s proudly handcrafts American Farmstead Hard Ciders in small batches using only organic apples, hand picked at the peak of ripeness. Our orchard and tasting room is located in the North Fork Valley on the Western Slope of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

Big B’s has an organic farm market and tasting room in Hotchkiss CO for their juices and hard cider (first sold in 2011), which re-opens for the season in May 2016.

Price: $4.98
Where Bought: Hazel’s Beverage World in Boulder CO
Where Drank: home
How Found: I read about this online and put it on a list for my husband to check for.

First Impression: Smells like lemonade. Lemonade dark straw yellow hue. Low carbonation.

Tasting Notes: Semi-sweet to Semi-dry. Medium bodied. Fizzy mouthfeel. Moderate tartness and acidity. No bitterness, sourness, funk, or tannins. The flavor is lemonade with a bit of baked apple. Quick finish length. Low apple flavor. High sessionability.

My Opinion: Yum! This is simple, but I enjoyed it. Perfect for summer and almost too easy to drink. I’m surprised they kept so much of the lemonade flavor despite the addition of hard cider. I also liked the bit of apple flavor.

Most Similar to: Any other hard lemonade. My other favorite is Crabbie’s Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade, but I think I now like this one better. Alcopops are becoming quite popular. Another cider based one I’ve tried is Elemental’s NW Atomic Root Beer.

Closing Notes: Too bad this is only sold in Colorado, or else it would be a summer staple in my house. They recently released it in cans too.

Have you tried Big B’s? What did you think?

Big B’s Pear Supply

January 5, 2016January 5, 2016 cidersays Big B's, review Big B's, cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, pear cider, Pear Supply, sample, sour

Review of Big B’s Pear Supply cider, made in Hotchkiss CO, from fermented pear & apple juices, part of their Farmhouse Cellar series.

>This is a review of a sample bottle provided to Cider Says by Big B’s. Although I will take care to treat it the same as any other review, there is always the potential for bias as I received it for free. The only consideration I knowingly made was pushing this up in my cider review cue. I love free stuff, especially cider! Want your cider or cider-related product reviewed here? Contact me.<<

Cider: Pear Supply
Cidery: Big B’s
Cidery Location: Hotchkiss CO
ABV: 6.2%
How Supplied: 750ml bottle
Style: Organic American Farmstead-Style Apple-Pear Cider

Availability: Only in CO, year round, although they take phone orders to ship to customers when their state allows it.

Cider Description: Pear Supply artisanal farm house hard cider is a blend of local organic pears and apples, fermented together and bottle conditioned. Our recipe uses time honored cider making traditions and is cellar aged to perfection. Pear Supply is semi sweet, the apple and pear combination are well rounded and bursting with ripe pear notes and crisp apple undertones.

Made from local organic Winesap apples and Bartlett pears (50-50). Only apples, pears, and yeast, without other ingredients (such as Sulfites).

Big B’s has an organic farm market and tasting room in Hotchkiss CO for their juices and hard cider (first sold in 2011), which re-opens for the season in May 2016. Pear Supply won silver at GLINTCAP 2015, and is in the running for a Good Food award for 2016 (along with Grizzly Brand & Orchard Original). Here is an article on Big B’s.

Price: n/a ($15.99 retail price)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: Online. I read about Big B’s, such as from a blog entry from Cider Sage, and have heard only great things.

First Impression: Lemonade light yellow hue. Moderate carbonation. Smells like pears, citrus, sourness, funk, and tartness.

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Mild to moderate sourness and tartness. Moderate acidity. Hint of funk. Medium bodied. Fizzy mouthfeel. Notes of citrus and pear. I couldn’t really pick up the apple though. Moderate length finish.

My Opinion: Definitely sour, which isn’t to my liking, but I know a lot of other folks enjoy it. My husband however thought it was really tasty. Its all a matter of preference.

Most Similar to: Sour ciders. This reminded me some of Millstone Cobbler, which also had a lot of sour citrus flavor, although this cider wasn’t quite as sour, sweeter, and had pear not peach notes.

Closing Notes: I wasn’t expecting a sour cider, so this surprised me. I think fans who don’t mind a bit of sour would really enjoy this one though, especially in Spring & Summer.

Have you tried Big B’s cider? What did you think?

Big B’s Grizzly Brand Bourbon Barrel Aged Cider

December 23, 2015December 25, 2015 cidersays Big B's barrel aged, Big B's, bourbon barrel aged, cider, cider review, cider tasting, Colorado, Grizzly Brand, hard cider

Review of Grizzly Brand, an organic bourbon barrel aged cider from Big B’s out of Hotchkiss Colorado, part of their small batch Farmhouse Cellar series.

>>This is a review of a sample bottle provided to Cider Says by Big B’s. Although I will take care to treat it the same as any other review, there is always the potential for bias as I received it for free. The only consideration I knowingly made was pushing this up in my cider review cue. I love free stuff, especially cider! Want your cider or cider-related product reviewed here? Contact me.<<

<aren’t these cool bottle labels & stickers they sent?>

Cider: Grizzly Brand
Cidery: Big B’s
Cidery Location: Hotchkiss CO
ABV: 6.9%
How Supplied: 750ml bottle
Style: American New World Style Bourbon Barrel Aged Cider

Availability: Only in CO, year round, although they take phone orders to ship to customers when their state allows it.

Cider Description: For over 80 years the Growers Trading and Supply Co. in Hotchkiss Colorado sold millions of lbs of Apples as Grizzly Brand Apples. Big B’s took over this location in 1973 and to pay homage to the Grizzly Brand we created a Hard Cider with historic roots and time honored traditions. Grizzly Brand Hard Cider is aged in used bourbon barrels, it’s unfiltered and bottle conditioned. It’s a crisp and dry cider that’s laced with woody vanilla like tones and finishes with the warmth of fine bourbon. USDA Certified Organic. ABV 6.9% and available in 750ml bottle.

Local organic Winesap apple single varietal aged 12-15 months in High West Distillery barrels from Park City UT. Only apples and yeast, without other ingredients (such as Sulfites).

Big B’s has an organic farm market and tasting room in Hotchkiss CO for their juices and hard cider (first sold in 2011), which re-opens for the season in May 2016. Grizzly Brand won silver at GLINTCAP 2015, and is in the running for a Good Food award for 2016 (along with Pear Supply & Orchard Original). Here is an article on Big B’s.

First Impression: Slightly hazy honey-lemon hue. Carbonation level between still and very low. Smells of sweet honey, oak barrels, citrus, and bourbon. The smell really reminds me of Crispin’s 15 Men–barrel aged and a lot of honey (although that one was rum not bourbon barrel).

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry (which was a bit difficult to decide on as there were some completing aspects). Mild acidity, tartness, and bitterness. No sourness or funk. The flavor was complex, starting with honey & citrus, then moving to oak wood & vanilla, then into the lingering warming bourbon. Moderate barrel and bourbon spirit influence. Medium bodied. Long finish length. Low to moderate sessionability.

My Opinion: Pretty tasty! Definitely unique. I liked that they went a bit stronger on the barrel & spirit influence than most spirit barrel aged ciders.

Most Similar to: The honey combined with barrel aged most reminded me of Crispin 15 Men (rum barrel), followed by Carlton Slake (whiskey barrel), 2 Towns The Bad Apple (bourbon barrel), and Moonlight Meadery How Do You Like Them Little Apples (whiskey barrel). The difficulty in determining the level of sweetness with a barrel aged cider with sweet notes reminded me of Thistly Cross Whisky Cask (which is sweeter). The other bourbon barrel aged ciders I’ve had include Tieton Cidermaker’s Reserve and Traditions Bourbon Barrel 2012 (the Traditions one, made by 2 Towns, is literally one of my favorite ciders by the way).

Closing Notes: Too bad Big B’s Grizzly Brand isn’t available outside of Colorado yet. I think they will do very well with expanded distribution. Barrel aged cider is typically my favorite variety, and this one didn’t disappoint. I look forward to trying the other cider they sent, Pear Supply.

Have you tried Big B’s Cider? What did you think?

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