Schilling Cider House Visit 3 and Portland Cider Tasting at Total Wine

October 9, 2015October 9, 2015 cidersays Greenwood, Moonlight Meadery, One Tree, Portland Cider, review, Rootwood, Schilling cider, cider review, cider tasting, Fremont, hard cider, Portland Cider, Schilling Cider House, Total Wine

I enjoyed my last visits (one and two) to the Schilling Cider House so much that I was looking for another opportunity to visit. I got my chance the following week when my husband had Friday night plans that didn’t interest me, so I went my own way. I arrived at the Schilling Cider House around 3:30pm, and it was already pretty busy.

I had tried a number of their tap selections (especially since I was there only the week before), but found six of interest that I hadn’t tried yet.

Schilling Mischief Maker Cran-Pom, 5.8% ABV: This is a newish cranberry-pomegranate cider by Schilling (available in bottles too). A bit foamy of a pour. On the drier side of sweet. Nice balanced sweet & tart. However, it was a bit too heavy on the cranberry for my liking, and quite juice-like.

Schilling Barrel #1, 21% ABV: This is similar to their Barrel #2 I had the previous week, some sort of spirit (not sure if it was distilled or fortified with brandy). I was able to find out that this one is whiskey barrel aged However, this was much drier than Barrel #2, on the sweeter side of dry. It was very very boozy in comparison to Barrel #2. I really didn’t like it much at all. It didn’t have nearly as much flavor as Barrel #2.

Moonlight Meadery Boys ‘nd Berries, 6%: Cherry color. Boysenberry scent. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Moderate tartness. Kinda boring, but it is one of the better berry ciders I’ve had. I’ve found I’m just not a fan of berry ciders, as they are often really juice-like. This cider oddly enough though came across as a bit boozy, tasting higher than 6% ABV, which is unusual for a berry cider.

Rootwood Cider Company Lot 17, 7.2% or 7.5% ABV: This is the first cider I’ve tried from Rootwood, which hails from the Lake Chelan WA area. They are newish to cider (launched about a month ago and had a launch party at the Schilling Cider House during Washington Cider Week), but have been growing apples for over 100 years. They have their own tasting room in Manson WA, which offers growler fills. They are working on getting their ciders bottled and out to stores, but for now, can be found on tap in the greater Seattle area (such as the Schilling Cider House and 192 Brewing Company in Kenmore). “Lot 17” refers to the name of one of the family’s original orchard plots in the hills outside of Manson, and it is primarily made using Fuji apples (but also includes Jonagold, Elstar, Foxwelp, Browns, and Kingston Black). Semi-dry. Fairly simple. Mild tartness. Moderate acidity & bitterness. Light bodied. It had hints of a rich flavor, and some mild fruity notes, but left me wanting more. Overall I found this rather boring.

Greenwood Cider Company Huckleberry Wedding Cider, 6.5% ABV: This is the first cider I’ve tried from Greenwood, which hails from the Seattle WA area. I hadn’t even heard of them, despite them being local and my interest in cider. I really couldn’t find any info on them online oddly enough, just a Facebook page, so I e-mailed them. They are about a year old and currently only sell kegs of their small batch ciders. In the Seattle area, their customers include Capitol Cider, the Schilling Cider House, and Chuck’s Hop Shop. I found out this cider was primarily huckleberry, but also included blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries (the “wedding” part), and made from piñata, golden delicious, fuji, braeburn, granny smith, and golden russet apples. It had an orange-pink hue, which was interesting for what I thought was only a huckleberry cider, especially compared to the very dark colored One Tree Huckleberry cider. I picked up much more citrus (grapefruit?) than berry in it. Ryan from Greenwood thought I may have been picking up some of the tartness of the raspberries or acidity of the heirloom golden russet apples in detecting citrus notes. Still, this one was a bit too unique for me, and my least favorite of the seven ciders I ended up trying. I’m definitely game to try other ciders from them though!

One Tree Hard Cider Huckleberry on Nitro, 6.8% ABV: Deep deep berry hue. Excessive foam from the Nitro process and the scent I have come to associate with it. Very sweet. I found this to be just your standard juice-like berry cider. Medium bodied. There actually wasn’t any perceivable tartness, which was surprising, and would have been welcomed.

All in all I wasn’t impressed with any of my selections. The Moonlight Meadery Boys ‘nd Berries was probably my “favorite” of the six (actually seven; see below). They had ciders I really liked still on tap though, such as Moonlight Meadery Last Apple, Schilling Barrel #2, NV Cider Pear Essentials, and 2 Towns Bad Apple & Prickle Me Pink…I just wanted to get ciders I hadn’t tried before.

They also ended up putting a Randall together while I was there, which was a cool process to watch. Apparently they often will do this on the weekend. It doesn’t appear they charge any extra for a Randalled cider either. The process appeared to be a seat of the pants sort of thing, with ingredients they picked up from the PCC grocery store down the street. I had a front & center view of it all too! They started with Rootwood Lot 17, then added corn, cilantro, and hot peppers to the infuser chamber.

I got a sample of the resulting cider, and it was pretty good! It mostly had cilantro flavor, with a hint of heat (the peppers were placed at the top of the chamber so the cider didn’t get much of their influence). I really love Cilantro, so it was nice. This would have paired very well with Mexican food, which few ciders do (my choice would be Wyder’s Reposado Pear). I didn’t really pick up the corn in the flavor, but I think it added a bit of color & texture. You can really see a difference in hue between the pre-Randall Lot 17 (fourth cider from left in flight photo above) vs. the post-Randall Lot 17.

I didn’t have a good view of the cutting board of ingredients, but here is a photo from their Twitter feed:

After going to the Schilling Cider House, on my way home, I stopped at the Northgate Total Wine, where they were having a Portland Cider Company cider tasting (4-7pm). I had spotted it on Total Wine’s event calendar and taken note. I met their rep Ingrid (whose business card says “cider maven” lol) and tried three of their ciders. They were pouring Kinda Dry, Pearfect, and Hop’Rageous. I had tried a bottle of Kinda Dry (review here) and had Pearfect Perry on tap awhile back at my first visit to the Schilling Cider House (tasting notes here), but gave them another go.

Even though I don’t like hops, I thought I might as well try a sip of the Hop’Rageous. It was surprisingly good! There was very very little hop flavor, more of an aftertaste. Apparently they use Citra hops, which are mild, and apparently they didn’t use a huge amount of them. They also incorporated some orange peel. Most hopped ciders go quite overboard on the amount of hops. It had a lovely aroma & flavor of both floral (probably from the hops) and citrus (probably from the orange peel). I found it dry to semi-dry. Nice and refreshing, and very light in flavor overall. I’d actually consider getting a bottle of it, although I imagine I might not like the hops aftertaste when drinking a larger amount. This is a great example of a well-done hopped cider that even someone who doesn’t like hops/beer can probably enjoy!

As a side note, I’m quite proud of myself for not buying any bottles of cider at the Schilling Cider House or Total Wine, which is unheard of for me. I have so much cider at home that I can’t justify buying anything but a special release / rare find.

Elemental Carbon (Traditional Dry Cider)

October 8, 2015September 27, 2015 cidersays Elemental, review Carbon, cider, cider review, cider tasting, Elemental, hard cider, Woodinville

Review of ‘Carbon’ from Elemental Hard Cider, their traditional dry cider.

Cider: Carbon (Traditional Dry)
Cidery: Elemental Hard Cider (part of Callahan Cellars)
Cidery Location: Woodinville WA
ABV: 6.5%
How Supplied: 500ml glass bottle

Availability: limited to Western WA at this time (see their website)

Cider Description: Our Traditional Dry Hard Cider is a European inspired cider. The experience is crisp, clean and tart. This is the perfect cider to pair with any meal.

Cidery Description: Each of our hand-crafted ciders are made from only the finest Northwest apples and cold-fermented to preserve the fruit. Our ciders are reminiscent of champagne, they are lightly filtered and mildly effervescent for clean taste. Experience our quality for yourself. Come in often to grab a glass. We are constantly trying out new flavors, so the line-up is always changing. Brian and Christina Callahan launched Elemental Hard Cider to bring quality, affordable, and delicious hard cider to the world. We strive to bring fun and exciting flavors to the experienced cider enthusiast, as well as novice cider drinkers.

Their current lineup includes Carbon (traditional dry), Helium (pear), Oxygen (pomegraniate), Nitrogen (acai), Hydrogen (grapefruit), CO (cherry), Pineapple, Spiced Apple, NW Atomic Root Beer, and Jalapeno Lime Cilantro, although some of those are seasonal and/or special releases.

Price: ~$8
Where Bought: Special Brews in Lynnwood WA
Where Drank: home
How Found: There has been a lot of talk on Facebook and such about this relatively new cidery (May 2014), so I’ve been wanting to give them a try. I actually tried a taste of their Cherry on tap at the Schilling Cider House awhile back, but I didn’t count that so much. Their other varieties I could find in bottles didn’t sound appealing (acai and pomegranate), so I decided to go for their flagship traditional dry cider.

First Impression: Very light color. High carbonation with little bubbles. Dry clean apple scent.

Opinion: Dry. Simple yet complex. Refreshing and clean taste. Moderate acidity, tartness, bitterness, and tannins. Quick finish. Slight earthiness. Champagne-like mouthfeel.

Most Similar to: Argus Fermentables Ciderkin. Like very very similar oddly enough.

Closing Notes: A solid cider, but not really a style I enjoy. I think its a great sparkling wine alternative. I’d be interested to try more of their ciders. However, I go for more of a bold flavor, often barrel aged, and I don’t really see them heading in that direction. I didn’t get a chance to try their NW Atomic Root Beer at Cider Summit, but that seems to be quite popular.

Have you tried Elemental Carbon? What did you think?

Boonville Bite Hard

October 6, 2015September 27, 2015 cidersays Boonville, review Bite Hard, Boonville, cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider

Review of Bite Hard from Boonville Cider House. This appears to be the only cider they currently make.

Cider: Bite Hard
Cidery: Boonville Cider House
Cidery Location: Boonville CA
ABV: 6.9%
How Supplied: 16oz tallboy can

Availability: CA, AZ, WA, MN, WI, IL, MI, NY, IN, CO and MO

Cider Description: Bite Hard Apple Cider is a crisp, semi dry cider, slow fermented from heirloom apples in an English tradition. Made from tannic and full bodied fruit, this cider carries its distinctive BITE with a clean and unique apple finish and citrus notes. We take the time to seek out and preserve the best that Autumn has to offer.

Cidery Description: MAKING CIDER & TAKING NAMES SINCE 2010! With an orchard first mentality, Boonville Cider House uses its favorite varieties of apples to put the finest cider into every can, bottle, and keg. Made with gumption, and drank with gusto, the Boonville Cider House is less a place and more a state of mind. So crack a can and taste Autumn in Boonville, taste us wassailing beneath the stars, and taste the hard work and great times that go into every gallon.

Additional Information from Boonville: We started in a small town in Northern California called Boonville. Home to Anderson Valley Brewing Co, Roederer Estates and ever growing list of fantastic wineries…We use a blend of Pippins and Russets mostly – hand picked, no windfalls. The goal has been to make a simple and pure cider. Pick apples, squeeze into juice, add yeast, ferment dry, enjoy heartily. We believe the best ciders have a short list of ingredients.

They also shared this blog post written by the founder & cider maker (titled Ruminations on Our Ethics of Fermentation).

Price: ~$3 for a single 16oz can (runs about $10 for a four pack)
Where Bought: Total Wine
Where Drank: home
How Found: browsing. The bright yellow can really stands out. I’ve seen it before, but have been on a kick trying to find a good affordable everyday drinking craft cider (ie. something that comes in a multi pack), so I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve honestly never been all that impressed by a canned cider, but most of them are plain flagship types that aren’t my favorite anyways.

First Impression: Light amber yellow. Very little carbonation. Light dry apple scent.

Opinion: Dry. High acidity. Moderate bitterness, tartness, and tannins. Light bodied. The acidity and tannins linger for a longer finish. Green apple and crabapple notes with a hint of citrus. I’d guess they use champagne yeast. Clean and refreshing. I find it interesting they say this is English style; I think it had some of those qualities, but was lacking the richer flavor. You can definitely tell they used heirloom (not dessert / common eating) apples. In this case I think more sweetness and carbonation would have made this cider more balanced. I did however enjoy the higher acidity.

Most Similar to: Some other drier flagship ciders. I haven’t had one this dry, but I found it similar to offerings from HUB, Square Mile, and Red Tank, due to the bitterness and tartness.

Closing Notes: I found the flavor a bit boring and unimpressive for my tastes. I am however impressed that they have made a truly dry canned craft cider with higher tannins, all fresh pressed juice, no additives, etc, at a reasonable price point. Going the drier, bitter, and tannic route seems a bit risky as it seems a lot of folks looking for canned cider especially like the sweet stuff, although trends seem to be moving a bit drier lately. I just like a different more bold flavor profile, high carbonation, etc. I’m intrigued to see if they come out with any other offerings.

Have you tried Boonville Bite Hard? What did you think?

Portland Cider Kinda Dry

October 2, 2015October 2, 2015 cidersays Portland Cider, review cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Kinda Dry, portland, Portland Cider

Review of Kinda Dry from Portland Cider. They have two flagship ciders, Kinda Dry and Sorta Sweet. Pretty creative naming and to offer two ends of the spectrum.

Cider: Kinda Dry
Cidery: Portland Cider
Cidery Location: Portland WA
ABV: 6.8%
How Supplied: 22oz bottle

Availability: OR & WA

Cider Description: Traditional English cider is dry, lightly carbonated, has very subtle apple flavors, and a lingering fresh finish. It is in the spirit of this traditional cider that we blend our Kinda Dry. We use fresh pressed juice from a blend of NW grown culinary apples such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Gala, Golden and Red Delicious, carefully ferment them with a yeast that preserves their subtle characteristics, give the cider time to develop to its full potential, then bottle or keg at just the right time. Just off dry, light, clean, refreshing, with a pleasant finish, Kinda Dry is the cider to always have on hand.

Cidery Description: What do you do when you’re frustrated by the quality of the commercial cider available? You start making your own! What do you do when friends and family keep telling you it’s the best cider they’ve ever had? You start a business! That is the essence of how the Portland Cider Company got its start. Founded by Jeff Parrish, an Oregon native, and his wife Lynda, an ex-patriot from the Somerset region of England (the Mecca of cider), the Portland Cider Company is based on the belief that good cider comes from good fruit, honest practices, and attention to detail. Our cider starts with fresh pressed juice from Northwest grown apples. We then carefully ferment it using yeast that protects the delicate characteristics of the fruit. The results are cider blends that are easy to drink, refreshing, and downright delicious. Drink it, it’s good!

Portland Cider started in 2012, and they have a taproom in Portland (with their ciders and some others).

Price: ~$7
Where Bought: My husband brought this home from Whole Foods for me. I had joked for him to bring me home some cider, and he did!
Where Drank: home
How Found: I’ve had my eye on Portland Cider after trying their Passion Fruit and Pearfect Perry on tap at the Schilling Cider House (see tasting notes here).

First Impression: High carbonation with tiny bubbles. Shiny light gold amber. Dry clean apple scent.

Opinion: On the drier side of semi-dry. Moderate acidity and bitterness. Mild tannins. Nice higher carbonation level. This has a pretty standard flagship cider flavor and I didn’t pick up too many distinctive flavor notes. I’m surprised there is so much bitterness from dessert apples, but I’ve also found that in other ciders, and its something I’m sensitive to. I think my favorite thing with this cider was the higher carbonation. For me, the more bubbles the better most of the time! Many ciders seem to be lacking in carbonation, which may be due to the current taxation levels which penalize cider and tax it as champagne above a certain carbonation level (one of the main points of the CIDER Act).

Most Similar to: Other flagship ciders with higher bitterness.

Closing Notes: I found Kinda Dry to be kinda boring, but its a solid craft cider choice. For what you get (a 22oz bottle of craft cider from PNW apples and no additives), its a nice price point. I think it just needs more flavor in general. I found the dryness and bitterness to overwhelm the cider a bit. I also wasn’t impressed with their Passion Fruit and Pearfect Perry, also thinking they needed more flavor. I may be convinced to try their Sorta Sweet, but I heard it is quite sweet, and I’ve been moving towards drier ciders. I see on their website they offer “Bourbonator” in their taproom, which sounds more to my liking, as I love anything barrel aged.

Have you tried Portland Cider Kinda Dry? What did you think?

Tod Creek Tod Cider Vancouver Island

October 1, 2015February 22, 2016 cidersays review, Tod Creek cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Tod Cider, Tod Creek, Tod Creek Cider, Vancouver Island

Review of Tod Cider Vancouver Island from Tod Creek Craft Cider. The only other Canadian cider I’ve had that I can think of is Sea Cider. Thanks to Ron from DrinkingCider.com for bringing me two ciders from Tod Creek from his Vancouver detour to his Cider Summit / WA Cider Week trip!

Cider: Tod Cider Vancouver Island
Cidery: Tod Creek
Cidery Location: Victoria B.C. Canada
ABV: 6.0%
How Supplied: 16oz can

Availability: Vancouver Island, Vancouver, and a couple store in the interior of British Columbia. They are entering their second season, and have plans to expand into the Kelowna area, possibly Alberta, and hopefully eventually the U.S.

Cider Description: Our craft cider in a can! This is all juice, and not watered down like all the big boys do. Refreshing, clean Canadian cider with a hint of tartness.

Cidery Description: Tod Creek Craft Cider makes small batch, handcrafted cider with BC apples. We source our apples from local trees on Vancouver Island as well as from farmers in the BC interior. Long, slow fermentation brings about great flavours in the traditional way. We typically ferment each batch for about four months. If you want the super-sweet, watered-down canned stuff, we can’t help you. Our ciders are all-juice blends to bring a clean, crisp, enjoyable drink that goes great with dinner, friends, or all by itself. As a small batch cider, you’ll notice that each year the ciders will vary slightly, much like a good wine does. Our apples will be influenced by the sun, the amount of rainfall, and other factors, so each year will yield a slightly different taste. Most of our ciders are coarse filtered, and our hopped cider isn’t filtered at all. Filtering can take some of the flavours out of cider, so we try to limit the amount of filtering we do.

Additional information I obtained from Tod Creek: This canned cider variety is made from mostly dessert apples (Golden, Granny, Sparton, Macintosh, and Jona), but their bottled ciders have more apple variety, including crabapples. They opened in June 2014 and have a micro-cidery setup, their own orchard in Victoria, and lease an orchard in Kelowna. A tasting room is in the works (hoping for Summer 2016), but they will do a tasting & tour by appointment. Sea Cider and Merridale are also in the same area.

I commented I noticed a higher carbonation level and enjoyed it, but cidermaker/owner Chris Schmidt says their canned cider is carbonated to the minimal levels for Aluminum cans, a target of 2.4 atm, and their bottled cider is also lower carbonation. So, I’m curious why I perceived different. Maybe read my review and see what you readers think? I’m guessing if anything its the citrus notes which made it seem more fizzy.

Each batch of Tod Cider is 1000-1200L, so its very small production. Consequently, there will be slight differences between each batch. Also, it is 99% juice without any water, sugar, preservatives added. And we only course filter the cider. I’m really trying to put a true craft cider into a can, and provide a price point similar to the big commercial producers. [he says 99% as they actually consider the water used to wash the apples the other potentially 1% lol]

Price: free for me, but their website says $11.30 CAD for a four pack, which is $8.55 USD
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: Ron gave it to me. I’d never heard of Tod Creek cider before as it isn’t available here in the Seattle area.

First Impression: Light lemonade yellow, slightly hazy. HIgh carbonation upon pouring. Smells of citrus, yeast, and apples of course.

Opinion: On the sweeter side of semi-dry. Moderate acidity and tartness. Mild bitterness and tannins. Flavor is quite citrus-forward. Some yeast, pear, and floral notes. Slight funk and earthiness. Light bodied. Moderate carbonation. Quick finish. A refreshing and easy to drink cider. More complexity than I expected. The only negative I have is that it seemed slightly on the watery side, but they only used fresh pressed juice; sometimes it just ends up that way.

Most Similar to: Nothing I’ve had. Its still pretty dissimilar from Spanish Sidra, which probably typically has the most citrus notes of any type of cider. Seattle Cider kinda came to mind, but not really.

Closing Notes: This is probably my favorite canned craft cider so far, and possibly one of my favorite flagship ciders. I think I like the citrus notes and higher carbonation the best. I usually don’t like significant tartness, but it worked well in this case. It doesn’t however seen to be as well-received online. I really want to try their Breakwater Vanilla (Cider with Maple Syrup & Vanilla), as that sounds awesome! I also have Tod Creek’s hopped cider, but I’m not a hops fan, so I may pass the cider review baton to my husband, who is. Here and here are two writeups which mention Tod Creek, from Cidercraft and Straight.

UPDATE (Feb 22, 2016) – A friend gave me a can of this cider, as she remembered me saying I liked it, and she didn’t. Its quite unusual she also stumbled upon some as its still not available in the U.S. (although she works in the industry). This batch was quite different, and unfortunately I didn’t like it nearly as much. Although the citrus notes were there, it was drier (between dry & semi-dry), a bit more bitter, and a bit more tart. A good reminder that it is common in craft cider to sometimes have large differences batch to batch, year to year, despite trying to keep all the variables the same. Since this review I have a new favorite canned craft cider, Cascadia Ciderworkers United Dry, and have also found more multipack craft ciders I enjoy (like Rev Nat’s Revival and Celt).

Have you tried any cider from Tod Creek? What did you think?

Schilling Cider House – Washington Cider Week – 2 Towns Tap Night

September 30, 2015August 10, 2017 cidersays 2 Towns, Aspall, Cider Summit, Dupont, E.Z. Orchards, Finnriver, local, Moonlight Meadery, review, Schilling, Washington Cider Week 2 Towns, cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, Washington Cider Week

The last Washington Cider Week event I attended was the 2 Towns Tap Night at the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood from Seattle (Thurs Sept 17, 2015). I honestly would have rather gone to the Barrel Aged event they had the night before, but that didn’t work for my schedule. I’m a fan of 2 Towns, and got to meet up with some great cider folks, so I was very happy nonetheless.

You can’t beat their 32 cider tap selection! Plus they have a huge bottle selection, all chilled, and you can see every bottle and look at the label and such. It was only my second time there, but I’ve already gone back for a third visit the following week. Sarah from Cider Log is the manager at the Schilling Cider House now, I finally got to meet Mick from Click Distributing (we’ve chatted on Facebook quite a bit), and I also met some folks from some other distributors as well.

I got there quite awhile before the event started. It was officially 6-9pm (when the 2 Towns guys were there), but they had the 2 Towns selections on tap much earlier. I picked up a tasty Caprese sandwich from across the street. I sat at the cider house bar for a few minutes to figure out what I wanted to start with. Then Mick found me and I went over to the cool kids table with the distributor dudes.

I started with a flight of 4 ciders. I should have just gone for the full 6, as I think it ends up being cheaper, but I was holding out to try some 2 Towns stuff later. Also, although I didn’t yet know it, I would also be trying some bottled cider!

Schilling Barrel #2: A 21% ABV concoction which was barrel aged. I’m a little unclear as to how it was made (I heard once it was fortified with brandy and another time it was distilled cider). However, its not really cider at this ABV, more like apple brandy, apple jack, Pommeau, apple spirits, whatever you want to call it. Definitely booze-forward, but I found it easily drinkable on its own when it was cold (and I usually don’t do straight alcohol). I loved the honey and almost floral notes. Semi-sweet to sweet. Highly recommended! They still had some of this on tap as of Sept 25 by the way.

Moonlight Meadery The Last Apple: A 16% ABV cyser (when apple juice is blended with honey, then fermented). It was then barrel aged in Jim Beam barrels for 6 months. I’ve had both meads and ciders from Moonlight, and now a cyser. On the sweet & syrupy side, but very flavorful. Well hidden ABV. I loved the honey flavor which was bold but not overdone. All around complex and tasty! This was also still on tap as of Sept 25.

Aspall John Barrington: A 8.4% cider from Aspall in the UK. I didn’t know anything about this cider going into it, but put it on my flight card as I’ve been impressed by Aspall so far. The scent was quite dry, but it came across as semi-sweet to me in taste (although Schilling had it listed as dry per their taste test). Almost still (very low carbonation). Very smooth and rich flavor. Acidic and slightly tart. Lovely tropical notes. I liked this one.

Finnriver Barrel Berry Sour: A 6.5% sour blueberry-apple cider which was barrel aged. Although I’m not a fan of sour cider (about the only sour thing I like is candy), I decided to give it a try as it was barrel aged, and I’m a sucker for barrel aged! Definitely sour, and I thought more so than their Country Peach I tried at Cider Summit which was described as a sour (but didn’t have sour in the name). Semi-dry. For me the sour overwhelmed the flavor so much I couldn’t pick up the barrel influence or any other flavors I’m not a fan, but glad I tried it. Apparently lots of folks like sour ciders, beer, etc…I’m just not one of them.

Next, I got to partake in samples of two bottled ciders that some of the guys bought, Poire Domfront from Domaine Pacory and Roman Beauty from E.Z. Orchards. The Schilling Cider House doesn’t charge an extra fee beyond the bottle price to drink any of their bottled ciders on the premises, but I don’t see why you would want to with 32 ciders on tap?

Domaine Pacory Poire Domfront: A 5% ABV French perry made primarily with “plant de blanc” pears. Rich sweet scent. Fizzy / high carbonation. Mick thought it was hilarious the first comment out of my mouth upon tasting it was “that’s fizzy!”. I really do love a highly carbonated cider though, and we don’t get it too often here. Semi-sweet. Very light bodied. I wouldn’t have guessed this was perry at all, as it really tasted similar to French ciders I’ve enjoyed. Easy drinking and very tasty. There was the slightest bit of funk when it warmed up a bit.

E.Z. Orchards Roman Beauty: A 4% ABV cider from Oregon. Made primarily from Roman Beauty apples, bottle conditioned, and cold spontaneous fermentation. Clean & crisp scent. This one was also easy drinking and very tasty. I didn’t mind at all that there was still cider left in the bottle after the guys left, and I continued to sample it.

Next, since it was 2 Towns time, I got a small pour of their Made Marion on Nitro. I had tried or wasn’t interested in their other selections on tap:
Bad Apple, high ABV imperial style cider – awesome
Hop & Stalk, Sitra hops & rhubarb – didn’t care to try as I’m not a fan of either of its namesakes
Prickle Me Pink, pink from cactus fruit – quite good
Outcider, their unfiltered variety – average

2 Towns Made Marion: A 6% ABV marionberry cider. I’m pretty sure I had this one awhile back, but 2 Towns makes a number of berry ciders, so I’m not 100%. This one had lots of foam due to the Nitro tap. Deep berry color and a tart berry scent. Very smooth. Semi-sweet. I also picked up some boysenberry flavor in addition to the marionberry for whatever reason. Mild tartness. I found this a bit predictable, although I haven’t ever been too amazed by a berry cider; often they are quite juice-like.

They came around with samples of some 2 Towns ciders, which was quite nice. Aaron Sarnoff, a co-founder and cider guru at 2 Towns whom I met at Cider Summit, was there with another co-worker. It wasn’t very crowded (probably due to the rain), so Aaron chat with us all at the cool kids table for awhile. I got a sweet 2 Towns pint glass! My husband has been enjoying drinking his beer from it lol. I’m not a huge fan of cider in a pint glass (its a bit too large for starters), but its a great collectible.

On my way out I picked up a bottle of Cider Riot! 1763 (made from cider apples). Earlier in the afternoon I had stopped at Full Throttle Bottles and got Traditions Ciderworks Bourbon Barrel 2012 (my favorite from Cider Summit…I’m very happy Erika from Full Throttle got some for me) and Carlton Cyderworks Slake (whiskey barrel aged). I haven’t tried any ciders from Cider Riot or Carlton Cyderworks, and these seemed like good starting points as I love barrel aged cider! Three bottles of cider added to my collection that I definitely didn’t need. Its very tough to not buy cider that sounds amazing though.

This concludes the Washington Cider Week festivities. However, stay tuned for more trip reports. I have posts in work for another trip I made to the Schilling Cider House, and to mix it up a bit, Aesir Meadery in Everett WA.

Angry Orchard Stone Dry

September 29, 2015September 27, 2015 cidersays Angry Orchard, review Angry Orchard, bittersweet, cider, cider review, cider sample, cider tasting, hard cider, hard cider review, Stone Dry

Review of Angry Orchard’s newest variety, Stone Dry. It is their driest Core selection, and described as a twist on English cider.

This is a review of a sample bottle provided to Cider Says by Angry Orchard. Although I will take care to treat it the same as any other review, there is always the potential for bias as I received this for free. The only consideration I knowingly made was pushing this up in my cider review cue, considering it is a new release and the info may be helpful for folks deciding to purchase it. I love free stuff, especially cider! Want your cider or cider-related product reviewed here? Contact me.

They send me two bottles, a fact sheet, a note from head cider maker Ryan Burk, and a large quantity of bubble wrap (not pictured).

Cider: Stone Dry
Cidery: Angry Orchard
Cidery Location: Walden NY (their new R&D facility)
Cider Production Locations: Cincinnati OH & Breingsville PA
ABV: 5.5%
How Supplied: six pack of 12oz bottles
(will also have limited draft availability to start, nationwide in 2016)

Ingredient List: Hard cider, water, sugar, apple juice concentrate, carbon dioxide, malic acid and sulfites to preserve freshness

Availability: year round, wide release, launched 09/24/2015 (part of their Core collection)

Fact Sheet from Angry Orchard: For more than two decades, the cider makers at Angry Orchard have been experimenting with ingredients from all over the world and tinkering with recipes to perfect the craft of cider making in the U.S. In the UK – where cider is 15% of the beer segment, as opposed to around 1% in the U.S. – traditional English dry ciders have been around for centuries and are a cultural mainstay. These styles are known for their use of traditional bittersweet apple varieties and showcasing naturally occurring tannins that create a drying effect on the palate.

Angry Orchard Stone Dry – the driest cider in Angry Orchard’s core collection – is an American interpretation of the traditional English dry cider style. It offers a bright apple aroma, juicy flavor, and a clean dry finish, showcasing an intricate balance between the sweetness and acidity of culinary apples and the tannins of traditional cider making apples. The traditional apples chosen by the cider makers are European bittersweet varieties like Dabinett, Binet Rouge, and Harry Masters Jersey, which contribute to the high tannic character and dry finish. The result is a refreshing, slightly puckering cider with a drying finish, most often felt on the middle of your tongue and the front part of your mouth.

While most of the juice from apples in the cider is fermented, Angry Orchard’s cider makers add a bit of non-fermented bittersweet apple juice into the cider during the post-fermentation stage to help achieve this cider’s balanced, dry taste. This results in Stone Dry’s fuller tannic mouthfeel as well as perceived dryness and robust bittersweet aromatic notes – much like a very ripe apple.

As the palates of American cider drinkers have continued to grow in sophistication and evolve with the increasing popularity of hard cider here, Angry Orchard has developed a broad range of cider styles for drinkers to try and to showcase what American cider can be, including the newest year-round offering.

Angry Orchard Stone Dry pairs well with a wide variety of foods, from porcine plates to seafood dishes. This take on a traditional European dry style cider is an excellent accompaniment to charcuterie, including cured meats and aged cheeses, and is a great introduction to fall foods and heartier dishes or stews with root vegetables. It can also be used as an ingredient in recipes, such as mussels steamed in Angry Orchard Stone Dry cider.

Price: retails for $7.50 a six pack in my area, although Angry Orchard’s fact sheet said $8.99-10.99
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: on my doorstep

First Impression: Amber hue with very little carbonation. They got quite a bit of color out of this one. Dry “cheap” apple scent….I just didn’t pick up much nose to this one.

Opinion: Semi-dry. Mild bitterness, tannins, astringency, and acidity. Simple flavor. Almost watered down tasting. I get a bit of that bittersweet apple flavor, but this doesn’t remind me of English style cider at all (which to me often have a really rich flavor). Quick finish. Definitely more drinkable than their other varieties I’ve had (which is most of them), but I’m not impressed. More flavor would definitely be nice. Its unfortunate they use apple juice concentrate (and water & sugar oddly enough!). It tastes like they were trying to eek some tannins out of dessert apples, although they note the use of bittersweet apples.

I find it interesting their description indicates more a drying flavor (which I’d call astringency) than dryness (lack of sweetness). I actually through their fact sheet was kinda funny, coming from the biggest commercial cidermaker in the U.S. It seems they are trying to reconnect with craft cidermaking, between releasing this variety and moving into an R&D facility with a 60 acre orchard earlier this year (article). They have plans to open a tasting room there in the fall for their small batch creations.

Comparison to Woodchuck Gumption: It seems this may be Angry Orchard’s response to Woodchuck’s latest hit, Gumption (in addition to responding to requests for a drier cider in general). So, I thought a comparison was in order. Note that I didn’t however have a bottle of Gumption available (I may have to get one for a side by side test with my second bottle of Stone Dry), so I went by memory and notes. They both incorporate bittersweet apples and aim to make a drier cider for their core collection. Stone Dry comes across as significantly drier than Gumption (even more so than the 7 vs. 13 grams of sugar per 12 oz would indicate). Where it gets interesting is the calories, 150 for Stone Dry vs. 220 for Gumption (for equivalent ABV). I found Gumption to be more flavorful and more rich in general. Stone Dry includes concentrate (and water & sugar) where Gumption doesn’t. However, Gumption is listed to have “natural flavor”. Gumption gets my vote as far as likability, although for someone that wants the driest easily found commercial cider available, Stone Dry may be a good choice. The driest commercial cider I’ve ever seen by the way is Ace Joker, which only has an impressive 3 grams of sugar per 12 oz, but it isn’t quite as readily available (I have a bottle of Joker at home to try).

Closing Notes: Not bad. Definitely drinkable. If a bar had this and no other cider, I’d buy it. I won’t on the other hand pay for Angry Orchard’s Crisp Apple variety, which is too syrupy for my liking. Stone Dry is an above average commercial offering, but I wouldn’t in any way say this is a craft cider (neither would I describe Woodchuck as craft though).

Have you tried Angry Orchard Stone Dry? What did you think?

Cider Tasting with Bill Bradshaw and 9 Washington Cideries at Capitol Cider in Seattle

September 28, 2015August 10, 2017 cidersays Alpenfire, Capitol Cider, Cider Summit, Dragon's Head, event, Finnriver, Liberty, local, Nashi Orchards, Snowdrift, Tieton, Washington Cider Week, Westcott Bay Bill Bradshaw, Capitol Cider, cider, cider summit, cider tasting, hard cider, seattle, washington, Washington Cider Week

The Washington Cider Week posts continue! The previous week brought me to Seattle Cider and the Burgundian (Eden & Alpenfire event ) on Thursday night to kick off Washington Cider Week, and Cider Summit Seattle 2015 on Friday & Saturday (see post 1 for tasting notes and post 2 about the event & photos). This week brought me to Capitol Cider for a tasting event with Bill Bradshaw and nine Washington cideries (Tues Sept 15 2015, covered here), and to the Schilling Cider House for the 2 Towns tap night (Thurs Sept 17 2015, covered soon).

[Additions after initial post release are in brackets, and incorrect information is ~~struck through~~. Thanks Dave from Whitewood for the corrections and extra info!]

I had been to Capitol Cider once before, but it was probably over a year ago. I really didn’t like that first visit much at all, as nothing really went well, from the food (it was early lunchtime on a weekend but they mostly had brunch items, not lunch), to the service (grumpy bartender), to the cider (didn’t like anything I tried, and the bartender wasn’t too forthcoming with samples; I would have preferred a flight, which they now offer).

Much has changed there since then! Their service was good this time (I give them some slack as they had to give everyone a few handouts and 9 different ciders! in addition to taking any other orders). Their bottle list has much improved / expanded. However, unfortunately it is mostly just a list (they only have the smaller bottles in some fridges literally at floor level near the entry). As it is a printed list, it easily gets out of date (both times I bought bottles they only had half of what I wanted, although I was requesting more rare & special release selections). However, Capitol Cider isn’t really my sort of scene. Getting there & parking is a nightmare for one. The Schilling Cider House is honestly more my style, plus they have more taps (32) and a larger bottle selection (which you can see and look at the labels).

Bill Bradshaw is a cider expert who hails from the UK and has written several books about cider, among other things. This special event was a guided tasting through ciders from nine Washington cideries. Dave White from Whitewood Cider apparently helped Bill Bradshaw choose the cideries, although I’m not sure how the ciders got chosen (it didn’t appear Bill, Dave, or the cideries themselves chose the cider selections, so it may have been availability / mostly what they already had on tap). [The cidermakers chose the ciders poured, although there was some confusion from one of the cideries as far as their selection.] They are for the most part some of the more traditional cideries in WA. For $30, I got a flight of nine ciders (probably a 3 or 4 oz pour each), plus a full glass of the cider of my choice. I unfortunately had to drive, so I made due with my flight (finishing my favorite ciders and leaving the rest) and a couple tastes afterward, but no full glass of cider. Most of the cideries had one or more cidermakers on hand who came up on the stage and explained about their chosen cider.

They were also selling Bill’s books, he was signing autographs, and many of the cideries brought some bottles which they opened after the event and poured tastes. During the event there was a slideshow of Bill’s photos. They also played the teaser for a documentary titled ‘Cider Hunters’ that he and Pete Brown (co-author of World’s Best Ciders) are fundraising for, about the history of cider in the U.S. Cider is “the drink that built America”. He described how it disappeared, breweries moved in, the craft beer movement started in the ’80s, and now we are in the age of craft cider, built from the beer explosion. Throughout the event there was some discussion on whether cider is more similar to wine or beer. It depends on who you ask. Bill seemed to lean towards beer, but I’d probably lean more towards wine as scientifically speaking cider is a type of fruit wine, although the ABV of most ciders is more similar to beer than wine.

The event was also unfortunately at 6pm on a weeknight, which is late for me as I go to work at 6am. So, I didn’t get to stay too long after they were done with the guided tasting a bit after 8pm. I was surprised there were still some empty seats, as I had expected this to easily sell out (I purchased my ticket a few days in advance over the phone to ensure I wouldn’t get turned away). Considering that almost all of the 9 cideries were represented and that many brought more than one person, plus the Capitol Cider folks and such, there were almost as many folks that were working the event as attending the event! They were setting up live music and it looked like the party kept going after I left. The event was held in Capitol Cider’s basement bar area, which has a small stage, tables, bar height tables, a bar, pool tables & such, and restrooms.

I had an awesome time! Many of the cidermakers I had been chatting with the previous week were there. I also hadn’t previously tried 6 out of the 9 ciders they were pouring, which is quite good odds as they are all local. I tried to take some photos, but the lighting was pretty horrible. Click to biggify.

Upon sitting down I spotted a clipboard full of menus. They had menus for their cider tap list, beer & regular cocktails, cider cocktails, cider flights, food, and a cider bottle list! I focused on photographing the cider stuff. Weird angles to avoid glare; sorry. Their food menu (gluten free restaurant by the way) is on their website. I ate some pho before the event as I wasn’t sure if it would work well to try to eat dinner during it, and their menu is a bit fru-fru for my liking. That was a good call as its difficult enough to taste cider and take notes! I did however order some creme brulee, which was pretty disappointing, as it was almost half fruit, small, and expensive.

Now, on to the nine ciders of the night! They were tasted in an order to try to minimize the effect the last would have on the next, not in the numerical (alphabetical) order. I believe that all the ciders which were on their tap list were tap pours, and the remaining two (Nashi and Westcott Bay) were bottle pours. I really enjoyed hearing about the ciders as I was tasting them. They also took audience questions / comments.

(6) Tieton Ciderworks Sparkling Perry, 5.5% ABV. I hadn’t tried this one before, but have tried a number of varieties from Tieton. Its part of their “top shelf ciders” along with the Cidermaker’s Reserve (which I’ve reviewed), available in pretty 500ml bottles. Craig Campbell, a grower at Tieton’s orchard (and the one who started Tieton with his wife), was the presenter. It is made from 11 varieties of perry pears grown in their orchard (which is the largest cider apple & perry pear orchards in Washington, but still small by orchard standards). Craig noted that pears are much more difficult to grow and press into juice than apples. This perry was made using a French keeving technique, where it is slow fermented with wild yeast for 5 months. He said this method can calm some of the tannins of the perry pears. Craig also noted that this perry was just bottled/kegged in May, and may taste even better after bottle aging for 1-2 years. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Mild tartness, bitterness, and tannins. Medium bodied. Unique strawberry notes. I would have liked more carbonation, but I imagine my sample may have sat for a bit / not been able to be poured correctly due to the size. Pretty tasty!

(5) Nashi Orchards Issho Ni “Together” Cider, 6.9% ABV. This was my first time trying anything from Nashi Orchards, although I have one of their perries at home. Jim Gerlach, owner and cidermaker, was there to present. This is one of the few (two?) ciders that Nashi Orchards makes; they specialize in perry. Their orchard is full of asian pear varieties and they pride themselves in using traditional cidermaking methods. This cider was made using apples from the Vashon Island community, which included a lot of crabapples and heirloom apple varieties. It was dry fermented and not backsweetened. Smells like English cider, of rich bittersweet apples. On the drier side of semi-dry. Moderate to high tannins and bitterness. Mild tartness. I liked the bark better than the bite on this one (smelled better than it tasted). It was a bit too high in tannins & bitterness for my liking, likely from the high crabapple content. I imagine like most ciders, if I was having a full glass, I would have liked it better (vs. having a tasting glass).

(7) Snowdrift Dry, 7.6% ABV. I’ve tried a number of Snowdrift cider varieties; my favorites so far are Red (made from red fleshed apples) and Cornice (barrel aged). This one was presented by someone from Capitol Cider, but Snowdrift sent along some notes. It was commented that they have a small orchard and cidery which is ideally located in East Wenatchee, with its hot summers and cold winters, ideal for cider apples which thrive with temperature variations. Their orchard is mostly Yarlington Mill cider apples, but they have over 40 apple varieties. They noted this cider won an international contest, which is rare for a PNW cider (vs. a UK cider). Semi-dry. Clean plain apple scent. Low in tannins, bitterness, acidity, and tartness. Some citrus notes, but I otherwise didn’t pick up much. Smooth. The alcohol is well hidden. I found it kinda boring, but a very solid selection.

(2) Dragon’s Head Traditional, 6.9% ABV. This is the variety I tried at Cider Summit. I also have a bottle of their Wild Fermented at home. Wes Cherry (co-owner with his wife) presented. They are from Vashon Island, where they grow over 70 varieties of cider apples, mostly English and some French. They moved their cidery from the Seattle area 5 years ago to start the orchard. This year was their first significant harvest from their own orchard. This cider underwent malolactic fermentation (which is when malic acid is converted to lactic acid, and can often be considered a fault but some cidermakers desire it) which was arrested to retain some residual sweetness and give some butterscotch notes. Semi-dry. Higher acidity. Citrus and fruity notes. Low to moderate tannins and bitterness. Mild tartness. I really enjoyed this cider. Probably as it had a little more complexity to it and didn’t go too overboard on tannins and bitterness.

(8) Westcott Bay Semi-Dry, 6.8% ABV. This was my first time trying any ciders from Westcott Bay. Presented by Capitol Cider. Westcott Bay has their own cider orchard in the San Juan Islands which dates back to the 1870s. They re-planted in the mid 1990s and released their first cider in 1999. They make more traditional apples using cider apple varieties such as Kingston Black, Yarlington Mill, Dabinett and Sweet Coppin. Semi-sweet. Similar to English cider. Bitter finish, but still only mild to moderate. Moderate tannins. Bolder flavor. I really enjoyed this cider. I like ciders like this which have a bold flavor profile without being too bitter or too high in tannins.

(1) Alpenfire Simple Cider, 6.9% ABV. I’ve had a number of ciders from Alpenfire, but hadn’t even heard of this one (it looks like it may be tap only at this time?). I particularly like their Apocalypso and Spark! ciders. Presented by Nancy Bishop. They described themselves as a more traditional cidery whose ciders tend to be higher in tannins. They planted their cider apple orchard in 2003, then needed to learn how to use it, and get people to buy their ciders! This variety is their least traditional cider, made from basic heirloom and dessert apples. It is sweeter and described as having some honeysuckle aromas, and was lightly oak aged. On the sweeter side of semi-sweet. Slightly hazy. I picked up some honey, pear, and mild herbal notes. No significant tannins, bitterness, acidity, tartness, etc. I thought it was rather complex for a simple cider! I really enjoyed it.

(4) Liberty Ciderworks Abbess, 7.6% ABV. I’ve had a number of ciders from Liberty. Presented by Rick Hastings. This is a newer cidery from Spokane, open about a year and a half, and they currently produce 7,500 liters a year. Unlike many of the cideries featured, they don’t have their own orchard. However, they have found ways (probably at great expense) to obtain cider apples, primarily from three different orchards, including from Garfield WA. They also use a lot of crabapples. They aim to keep the apple centric, and don’t plan to do flavored ciders; their Turncoat Dry Hop cider and this one is as flavored as they get. I particularly like their Manchurian Crabapple and English Style ciders. Rick commented the Spokane cider market is growing slower than Seattle, but is still growing. Liberty was tasting their new Abbess variety, with gin botanicals. Made from Empire, Macintosh, and Manchurian Crabapples. Its been out for about a month in their tap room and has been popular. English cider scent with a hint of botanicals. On the drier side of semi-dry. Bold flavored. A hint of botanical flavor. Significant tartness, bitterness, and tannins. I’m not a huge fan of this one, but it didn’t have any faults and is a solid selection.

(9) Whitewood Cider Kingston Black, 9.7 ABV. I had tried this cider at Cider Summit, but didn’t mind having it again in the least, as it was one of my favorites! I’ve only tried Whitewood’s Summer Switchel and this one, but look forward to trying some others. Presented by Dave White. Whitewood released their first ciders in 2013, so this is their third season. Dave aims to make more traditional ciders, with heirloom & cider apple varieties. He noted their Southsounder cider is made from apples within 20 miles of Olympia. This Kingston Black cider was made with champagne yeast, but Dave hopes to eventually make a wild fermented batch. It is 80% Kingston Black and 20% ~~Cornish~~ [Porter’s] Perfection, much to Dave’s disappointment. He aimed to make a single varietal, but apparently the Kingston Black apples were sliding around too much during pressing or something, as they were sweated to bring out more flavor. Doing an almost single varietal Kingston Black cider must have been very expensive, as they are rare. ~~He noted some Woodinville Whiskey was added to the barrel before aging~~. [The barrel was from Wishkah River Distillery in Aberdeen, WA.] I don’t like aged spirits, but love the flavor in a cider. This cider was taken out of fermentation in early 2014 and barrel aged until just recently. Dry. Whiskey and vanilla notes. Rich bold flavor. Very smooth, with hidden ABV. Low to moderate bitterness. Yum!

(3) Finnriver Fire Barrel, 6.5% ABV. I’ve tried a large number of Finnriver ciders, and even tried this variety quite awhile ago. I remembered really looking forward to it but being disappointed. I bought another bottle recently as so many folks enjoy this cider, and I wanted to give it another chance, as my palate has changed. So, here will eventually be a full review of it here. Presented by Eric Jorgensen, a co-founder. They were described as a small organic farm which started selling cider in 2010. Eric thinks they were the least traditional of the nine cideries present. However, he described this as their most traditional cider, as it is made from cider apples. They started a second orchard three years ago and aim to remain sustainable and organic. This cider recipe was original produced by Drew Zimmerman, who sold the rights when he retired. It is made from Kingston Black, Yarlington Mill, and Dabinett cider apple varieties. This cider is no longer aged in Kentucky whiskey barrels though, as they aim to keep it more local, instead using UT or WA barrels. This cider has inspired Finnriver to take on other barrel aging projects. They mentioned they are barrel aging a small batch of their Black Currant cider, which sounds awesome, as that is one of my favorites of theirs, along with Honey Meadow. Very smooth. On the sweeter side of semi-dry. Mild barrel notes. Bold flavor. Moderate tannins, bitterness, and acidity. I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this cider, in contrast to my memory from awhile back. I look forward to drinking the bottle I have at home!

I was interested in buying four bottles to take home from Capitol Cider, but they only had two of the ones I wanted, Virtue The Mitten and AeppelTreow Appely Doux. I had heard of both but didn’t know they even sold them in WA! I had been wanting to try The Mitten ever since I got into cider; it often makes top cider lists. Note that the prices shown on their bottle list below are to drink there, but you get a 25% discount to take home. That brings their prices just a bit over local bottle shops for most ciders. The cost to drink a bottle is much less of a markup than most wine lists. However, with all those ciders on tap, why would you want to? They initially forgot to apply the 25% discount (they were very busy and I was asked them to go to the back and find specific bottles), so I was very glad I checked my receipt.

Unfortunately the cider list was stapled at the top, so even taking it off the clipboard I couldn’t get good photos. The angles are again to avoid glare from overhead lighting. Impressive bottle list! However, the win still goes to the Schilling Cider House in Fremont, as you can look at the actual bottles.

I got my new copy of World’s Best Ciders (which I reviewed here recently) autographed by Bill Bradshaw, and even got to chat with him for a few minutes.

Stay tuned for the last but not least Washington Cider Week event post, from the 2 Towns night at the Schilling Cider House! Like Cider Says on Facebook for the latest info.

Cider Summit Seattle 2015 Report

September 22, 2015November 28, 2015 cidersays Cider Summit, event, local cider, cider summit, cider summit seattle, cider tasting, hard cider, seattle

This is part 2/2 on Cider Summit Seattle 2015. See part 1 for tasting notes on the 32 ciders I tried. Hopefully for all the folks who don’t live in WA / couldn’t make it, this post will help make you feel you were there! Cider Summit was awesome, amazing, epic, etc. There were over 200 ciders from over 50 cideries. Impossible to try them all, and way too many choices. So, unfortunately I had to prioritize. I ended up sticking pretty closely to my list, but not exactly. Very easy to get distracted once you add in all the people I met up with. It was actually my first time attending a Cider Summit (even though this was its 6th year in Seattle), as I’ve only really got into cider cider in the last year, although I’ve been enjoying it for a few years. My husband attended with me, even though he really isn’t into cider; how sweet. Cider Summit is definitely the biggest cider event in the area of the year!

It was great to see so many old & new cider friends, including a number of folks I met at the Seattle Cider and Burgundian events on Thursday. Shoutout to the following folks from Cider Summit & WA Cider Week, in no particular order. It was pretty cool to have folks recognize / say they enjoyed my blog at the event, even though it is still fairly small / new (its been 3 months…time sure flies).

Ron from Drinking Cider (Ron flew here with his wife all the way from CT for Cider Summit / WA Cider Week! I know a lot of cidery folks did too, but he did it just for the love of cider, not to promote a product or whatever.)
Eleanor from Eden Ice Cider
Nancy & Bear Bishop and son Felippe from Alpenfire Cider
Sarah, Si, Merce, & Kevin from Cider Log
Bill Bradshaw, cider author extraordinaire and future cider documentary actor, here from the UK
Darlene from All Into Cider
Kyle from Millstone Cellars
Mick from Click Distributing
Dan from Orcas Distributing

I attended both days of Cider Summit, but didn’t stay too long on Saturday. On that second day I planned ahead what I still wanted to try the most, and got small tastes of over a dozen ciders in less than two hours so I could get out of there before it got too busy and warm (we were definitely having some warm weather). The first day I had started a bit strong with a few larger tastes, the heat got to me a bit (ended up going to Whole Foods for awhile for lunch and to cool down actually), and I was in general overwhelmed with the whole event, even with my pre-planning. So, day 2 went a bit smoother!

I thought I’d add some information on the event, as its often difficult to find some of these sorts of specifics. Admission included tickets for tastings (8 for regular and 12 for VIP), a cider glass, and a wristband. We had in & out privileges with the wristband and glass, including being able to return for the second day. Apparently some ciders were 2 tickets due to their expense / high ABV, but they would do a smaller pour for 1 ticket. They were supposed to be 4oz pours, unless it was high ABV. They also had a booth with some cider cocktails from Capitol Cider. I asked for small pours from most of them, so between that and the blog thing, I didn’t have an issue with running out of tickets (although they would have only been $2 extra). The CIDER SAYS t-shirt was definitely a good decision, as were the business cards.

It was an outdoor event, where the cidery booths were under small tents, spread out around the grounds. That unfortunately meant porta potties, but they weren’t too bad. What was great is that almost every booth had folks from the cidery (often the cidermakers themselves for the small ones) pouring the cider. So, when it wasn’t too busy, you could actually get some face time with them. There were some tents with chairs & tables, plus some standing tables not beneath tents. Some cideries also had tent alternatives, such as a mini-bus or trailer. I had no problem bringing food and non-alcoholic beverages in. However, I figured out I really didn’t need all the bottled water I brought, as they had a water station with cold filtered water that could be used to rinse out tasting glasses or fill a bottle up. Between several bottles of water and the free Cidercraft and Sip Northwest magazines my husband stuffed in my backpack, it got really heavy! I also didn’t use the blanket I brought to sit on, although I could have, if I had spent time on the nice grassy knoll hidden behind the food area. Some of the cideries even brought some lawn and table games.

I heard that they will need to switch venues next year however, as the current one at South Lake Union will have a construction project. We were very happy with our decision to get a hotel within walking distance (even though we don’t live very far away), as we were very tired by the end between the sun, alcohol, and standing around. The Hyatt Place met our needs. It was definitely pricey, as everything is in the area, but fairly new & clean. There was noise as expected (not just traffic, but the silly mini fridge too). The breakfast in the morning was acceptable. The hotel worked out well too as we had parking that way, and they didn’t charge extra to stay more than 24 hours, just a flat charge per night hotel stay. The parking cost was pretty comparable to what we would have paid at an independent garage, and it was more secure too.

Advance tickets are definitely the way to go. The cheapest was to visit a business selling them (such as Full Throttle Bottles), as online sales added fees & such that negated the $5 advance sale savings. VIP is also definitely the way to go, as I got entrance an hour early (2pm vs. 3pm); they limited it to 200 VIP tickets. On Friday it didn’t get too busy until 5pm ish or so (the event went until 8pm). On Saturday there was a line to get in at noon, but we got to skip it as we already had wristbands! The crowds quickly picked up, but I was a woman on a mission and went through my tasting list in record time so we could get out of there before it got too hot, and went and grabbed lunch at Mama’s Mexican restaurant (very tasty by the way).

They had food for sale from Whole Foods and Capitol Cider (including cider pairings), but we didn’t try any. We ended up walking down the street to Whole Foods for a snack/lunch on Friday, returning to the event, then going to a Thai place for dinner. They also had other misc booths such as Three Twins ice cream, Kind granola bar samples, non-alcoholic cider samples/sales, and dog related booths (as this was a dog-friendly event). Note that this was a 21+ event. Another great part of this event was that they sold bottles to take home (all ciders with bottles for sale had the price listed in the program). However, I may have waited a bit long, as they didn’t have what I wanted (if they had even had it to start, or maybe they couldn’t find it). They also sold t-shirts, glasses, cider books, etc. I got a sweet Cider Summit t-shirt.

Check out the other Cider Summit locations in addition to Seattle, which are Portland, San Francisco, and Chicago.

The next big cider tasting event in the Seattle area is NW Ciderfest (October 10 & 11, Pioneer Square, a MDA benefit). I’m planning to be there! They will also have bottle sales, plus they are both family and dog friendly.

(Click to biggify any of the following photos)

Event grounds & some booths, some from before it got busy:

Surrounding area:

Cider displays at Whole Foods for WA Cider Week:

Event program:

Some of the swag I picked up at Cider Summit Seattle & WA Cider Week events:

Ticket, handouts, and misc info:

Stay tuned to Cider Says for two more WA Cider Week 2015 posts, covering the Bill Bradshaw tasting event with 9 cideries at Capitol Cider, and the 2 Towns night at the Schilling Cider House! Like us on Facebook for the latest info and post notifications.

Cider Summit Seattle 2015 Tasting Notes

September 21, 2015September 10, 2017 cidersays 101 Ciderhouse, 2 Towns, Alpenfire, Anthem, Apple Outlaw, Cider Summit, Dragon's Head, E.Z. Orchards, Eaglemount, Eden, event, Farnum Hill, Finnriver, Liberty, local, Manoir du Parc, Millstone, Montana Ciderworks, Moonlight Meadery, NV Cider, One Tree, review, Sea Cider, Snowdrift, Sonoma Cider, Traditions, Wandering Aengus, Whitewood, Woodinville Ciderworks, Worley's cider, cider summit, cider summit seattle, cider tasting, hard cider, seattle

What an epic event! This long-awaited post will cover my tasting notes on the 32 ciders I tried at Cider Summit 2015 (Sept 11 & 12 2015 at South Lake Union). Another post (post 2/2 now up HERE) will cover information about the event and have lots of photos, including of the swag I picked up and the event program. I was lucky enough to attend both days, and after a couple tastes I learned to ask for a smaller pour!

When you are going for quantity (vs. many of the folks who were just there to drink some cider and didn’t care so much what type or trying as many as they could), the smaller the taste the better, as long as you can get a couple good gulps in. Sorry in advance I don’t have too many cider photos (its difficult at an event like this to juggle a glass, notepad, camera phone, etc), but post 2 will have more event & booth photos. Hopefully someone enjoys these notes, as it took me many hours.

101 Cider House Black Dog Black Cider (Westlake Village CA). 6.9% ABV. This is a unique “black cider”, which is from adding activated charcoal (apparently a new beverage trend, and is good for the digestion too). It also includes lemon and agave nectar. The color turned out a very weird green-blue-black tint (see below). Fairly dry. I’d say similar to Spanish Sidra (as it had a lot of sour citrus flavor) with a hint of weird from the charcoal. I thought of it as more of a novelty, but some of my tasting buddies said they would actually buy a bottle. This was more drinkable than their Cactus Red (which was crazy tart), but not my thing.

2 Towns Prickle Me Pink (Corvallis OR). 6.0% ABV. This cider was released just this week, and uses prickly pear cactus fruit juice from California (reminiscent of my time in Arizona). Semi-dry. Fluorescent pink color! Tart. Nice and flavorful. Some cactus fruit flavor (yes I’ve actually eaten one before and know what they taste like), but also some berry and watermelon notes.

Alpenfire Ember (Port Townsend WA). 7.2% ABV. This one is made from French & English bittersweet apples, organic, wild fermented, and bottle conditioned. Semi-dry. Higher carbonation. Very high tannins and moderate astringency (I’d almost describe the mouthfeel as “chunky” lol). I wasn’t really a fan, but folks who like a really high tannin ciders probably would. I really love their Spark! and Apocalypso though, which are their more approachable and sweeter varieties. Their Smoke was also pretty tasty.

Anthem Ap-Bee-Cot (Salem OR). 6.5% ABV. Apple-apricot cider fermented with natural yeast from bee pollen. Draft only. Semi-dry, unfiltered, and tart, with mild apricot & honey notes. I’ve not really been a fan of any of Wandering Aengus / Anthem’s ciders.

Apple Outlaw Oaked Sweet Dark Cherry (Applegate OR). unknown ABV. Tart with mild cherry notes and the slightest hint of oak barrel flavor. Not really impressed, but it wasn’t bad at all either. The first time I’ve tried their ciders. At this time they also offer Original, Rabid Dry, Ginger Bite, Cranberry Jewel, Hoppin’ Holdup, and Tangerine Twist in bottles.

Dragon’s Head Traditional (Vashon Island WA). 6.8% ABV. Semi-dry, rather still, smooth, acidic, mild tartness, and moderate tannins. My first time trying their cider (although I have a bottle of their Wild Fermented at home). A pretty solid selection.

Eaglemount Homestead Dry (Port Townsend WA). 8.0% ABV. Hazy. Dry, tart, and bitter. Made with heirloom apple varieties including Gravenstein, White Pippin, Stayman’s Winesap, and Tolman Sweet. Not really my thing. I love their Quince though! I mostly tried it as I wanted to try another one of their offerings, and nothing else sounded interesting (Rhubarb, Raspberry Ginger, and Boot Brawl, which is hopped). A solid choice for those who like this style of cider though.

Eden Heirloom Blend Ice Cider (Newport VT). 10% ABV. Very sweet. Syrupy but awesome bold full flavor. Well-hidden ABV. Vanilla and brown sugar notes. I look forward to trying more from Eden! It was awesome to meet Eleanor at the Burgundian event the night before and try two of their other ciders. I hadn’t tried any of their ciders before this weekend. My husband surprised me with a bottle of this for our anniversary! Happy wife.

E.Z. Orchards Semi-Dry (Salem OR). 6.4% ABV. On the sweeter side of semi-dry. Uses French bittersweet apples, which have lower acidity and bring in some tannins and tartness. This was my first time trying their ciders. Pretty tasty.

Farnum Hill Extra Dry (Lebanon NH). 7.5% ABV. I’d still call this one dry, not extra dry, as I picked up a hint of residual sugar. Very tannic and acidic with moderate bitterness. Significant carbonation. Not really my cup of tea, but I think this is a great wine-lovers cider. I had wanted to try their Dooryard, which had been on the tasting list, but they didn’t have it.

Finnriver Country Peach (Chimacum WA). 6.5% ABV. Hazy slightly pink lemonade color. Semi-dry. Sour and tart, but a more approachable sour than some (vs. their Barrel Berry Sour and traditional Sidra and such). More of a peach skin than peach taste. Acidic and slightly vinegary.

Finnriver Cyser Cider (Chimacum WA). 6.9% ABV. Honey cider made with mead yeast. Semi-dry. Similar to their Honey Meadow, but without the hint of herbal flavor (I like Honey Meadow better). Low acidity, tartness, and bitterness. Earthy.

Liberty Ciderworks English Style Cider (Spokane WA). 8.0% ABV. Made with cider apples (including Dabinett, Yarlington Mill and Ashton Bitter) and aged for over a year. Semi-dry. Lovely bittersweet flavors with a bit of a “bite”. Tannic and acidic. Bright amber. Very tasty, and definitely English-style. I’m a big fan of theirs, and looking forward to trying the bottle of their Stonewall Dry Fly Barrel-Aged cider I have at home.

Manoir du Parc Authentic Cidre (Normandy France). 5% ABV? A naturally carbonated (bottle conditioned) wild yeast fermented traditional French cider with “no shit added” per the French dude pouring it lol. Semi-dry. Funky, tart, high carbonation, and high tannin. A bit too traditional / funky for my tastes, maybe from the wild fermentation? So far I’ve been more impressed with Dan Armor and Domaine Pacory Poire Domfront from France.

Millstone Cellars Farmgate Dry (Monkton MD). 8.5% ABV. I really wanted to give Millstone another chance, as I didn’t care for their Cobbler at all. I chose this one mostly as the other varieties they were pouring weren’t appealing (hopped, ginger, and strawberry rhubarb). Barrel aged and made from 40% Stayman Winesap, 30% Northern Spy, 25% Jonathan, and 5% Cameo apples. Apparently they are known for tart, funky, and astringent ciders which are similar to Sidra, although of course no one told me! In contrast to Cobbler, I found this drinkable, but I still didn’t care for it. Definitely dry, tart, sour, funky, and astringent. To me all those qualities were overpowering such that that the cider couldn’t shine and I couldn’t detect any barrel influence, etc. A lot of folks really like sour ciders (and beers) though. Shoutout to Kyle who I e-mailed with, was there pouring cider, and really wanted me to find something from them I liked! I also saw him at the Burgundian the night before. They recently re-did their website, and I think it does a much better job of describing their cider style. The mis-advertisement on the bottle and their website was my main complaint about Cobbler (I get not everyone likes every cider so I never fault a cider because I didn’t like it)…that it wasn’t described as sour, tart, astringent, funky, etc.

Montana Ciderworks Darby Pub Cider (Sula MT). 5% ABV. Semi-sweet. Described as “semi-dry new world style”. Sold in MT, WA, and CO. English cider flavor with some woody & earthy notes, but its an easy drinking and approachable variety. Fuller bodied and effervescent. Mostly Spartan (Montanan) apples, but the earthy notes are from some bittersharp and crab apples. I wasn’t expecting it to be as sweet as it was (slightly back sweetened), but it was nice. This was my first time trying their cider, and I’m impressed!

Moonlight Meadery How do you like them Apples Bourbon Barrel Cider (Londonderry NH). 13.5% ABV. Draft-only cider with honey and brown sugar, aged at least 3 months in Jim Beam bourbon barrels they used for their Last Apple mead. Very similar to their How do you like them Little Apples I tried at the Schilling Cider House, which was also bourbon barrel aged (this one was slightly sweeter and had more barrel flavor). Very tasty! Definitely sweet and syrupy, but it has a lovely rich barrel flavor too.

Moonlight Meadery Kurt’s Apple Pie Mead (Londonderry NH). 16.8% ABV. Mead bottle pour. Made from local apple cider, Madagascar-bourbon vanilla, and Vietnamese cinnamon spice. My husband got a small pour and I tried a sip. Not really my thing because of the spice, but very smooth. This is one of their most popular products.

Neigel Vintners (NV) Cider Cherry Perry (Wenatchee WA). 5.1% ABV. They announced this new variety when I interviewed brothers and co-founders Kevin & Mark Van Reenen, and this weekend was its release. They left this fairly unfiltered, so there was a nice thicker mouthfeel with both pear and cherry flavors. Very balanced between the two flavors. Sweet but not overly. Yum! I was surprised to see a couple other local cideries also make a “Cherry Perry”, Wildcraft and Carlton. They don’t currently plan to bottle it, but if they do, they noted it would have to be slightly more filtered so it would be more stable.

One Tree Caramel Cinnamon (Spokane Valley WA). 6.8% ABV. Sweet. Cinnamon with a hint of caramel. Syrupy. Spiced cider isn’t really my thing, but I was intrigued. Their booth was very popular at the event.

One Tree Lemon Basil (Spokane Valley WA). 6.5% ABV. Semi-sweet. Nice lemonade-type tartness with a hint of herbal basil flavor. Very unique. This was my first time trying ciders from One Tree. They are fairly new, but seem to quickly be building a following. At this time they also offer Cranberry, Huckleberry, and Ginger in bottles, and Crisp Apple in cans.

Sea Cider Bramble Bubbly (Saanichton B.C.). 9.9% ABV. Semi-sweet. My sample didn’t have much if any carbonation, so I missed out on the “bubbly” part, but it was the end of the bottle. Lovely berry/rosé color but the blackberry flavor was a bit underwhelming and sorta standard. Some tartness. Overall it was disappointing…I had really been looking forward to trying this one (its difficult to find this side of the border and I’d always rather taste something than commit to a bottle, especially when its in that $20 price range for a 750ml). I will say that it hid the alcohol very well though, and was well-crafted. I really love their Prohibition, but that is a completely different flavor profile!

Snowdrift Cliffbreaks Blend (Wenatchee WA). 7.6% ABV. Semi-sweet. I picked up a lot of pear notes with this one for some reason? Its supposed to be more of an English / bittersweet apple cider with some melon & dried fruit notes. A bit tart with a hint of citrus too. I tried it at a different time than the Perry (below) too. Bold flavor, but I didn’t really get that richness I was expecting. Very tasty nonetheless. This is probably the most popular of their regular line. Their Red & Cornice are probably their most popular overall. I was happy to hear they are increasing production & distribution of both of those, as they are my favorites…the Red slightly more so, which is odd as barrel aged is usually my favorite. I was very happy to pick up two bottles of Red for $12 each at Whole Food’s 20% off cider day (Friday of Cider Summit). Its a good thing I picked them up near home, as they were out at the one near the Summit.

Snowdrift Perry (Wenatchee WA). 10.1% ABV. Semi-dry. I was expecting different with this one…I tasted a lot of bitterness & tartness, and only a very mild pear flavor. I haven’t had too many true perries though, so I probably didn’t know what to really expect. Its made in the labor-intensive way of Méthode Champenoise (secondary fermentation). I wasn’t really a fan. Red is definitely still my favorite from Snowdrift….and it was getting a lot of love at the Summit!

Sonoma Cider Dry Zider (Healdsburg CA). 6.9% ABV. Cider aged in Red Zinfandel oak barrels for 7 months. Rosé wine-like cider. Very dry (0.3 BRIX). Light berry/salmon color. A bit tart. Nice fizz. Not bad, but not really my sort of cider. This one is a special release that is available now (has slowly been rolling out for a few months).

Sonoma Cider The Pulley (Healdsburg CA). unknown ABV. This is a brand new variety for them, and launched at the event (not even bottled yet)! They referred to it as absinthe-style, and said the only addition was fennel. Dry. Slight herbal flavor. Very unique. Not bad, but not my sort of cider. I got to meet David (one of the cidermakers, with his son Robert).

Traditions Ciderworks (by 2 Towns) Amity Rose 2012 (Corvallis OR). 6.5% ABV. Made from traditional French and English cider apples grown in Amity OR. Semi-sweet (but maybe it just came across that way? I’m guessing it would test drier). Rather plain, but wine-like with some honey notes.

Traditions Ciderworks (by 2 Towns) Bourbon Barrel 2012 (Corvallis OR). 6.9% ABV. On the sweeter side of dry. Strong unique bourbon barrel flavor, but not overwhelming. Very smooth. Light bodied. Higher in tannins. Aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels for 4 months (apparently they got their barrels very wet, so it adds more of the flavor of the spirit). Made with Dabinett & Kingston Black cider apples and wine yeast. Awesome! This was my first time trying their Traditions line, which uses cider apples and is sold in 750 ml bottles (vs. the regular 2 Towns line which uses dessert apples and is sold in 500ml bottles, plus a couple selections in cans). Definitely try this one if you can find some! I was very happy to get my hands on a bottle (at Full Throttle Bottles, as they ran out at Cider Summit, or couldn’t find it or whatever).

Traditions Ciderworks (by 2 Towns) Riverwood 2013 (Corvallis OR). 6.9% ABV. Semi-sweet. Made with Jonagold apples (a cross between Golden Delicious and Jonathan) and inspired by sparkling brut champagnes. I found it very similar to their Amity Rose but slightly sweeter, with some floral notes. I imagine if I sat down with both of them I’d have better tasting notes, but I had just a few sips of each one after the other.

Wandering Aengus Oaked Dry (Salem OR). 6.8% ABV. Made from English and French bittersweet apples. Dry. Mild barrel earthy flavor. Fairly easy drinking for a barrel aged cider. Like all of their ciders though, I picked up more bitterness than I prefer, so I’m not a big fan.

Whitewood Whisky Barrel Aged Kingston Black (Olympia WA). 9.7% ABV. I was really looking forward to this one (mostly as Kingston Black is a famous epitome of a cider apple and I’ve never had a single varietal of it), and it didn’t disappoint! Apparently this isn’t a true single varietal (ended up 80% Kingston Black and 20% Porter’s Perfection due to some pressing difficulty due to the type of apples), but very close. Aged almost 2 years in Wishkaw River whiskey barrels! Dry. Significant rich barrel flavor. Higher acidity and tannins with some tartness. Longer finish. Very similar to Traditions Bourbon Barrel, but more cider apple than (good) boozy flavor (although this one is higher ABV as Kingston Black has a high sugar content). Quite different from their Summer Switchel I tried previously. Definitely try this one if you can find some (very small run)!

Woodinville Ciderworks Tropical (Woodinville WA). 6.3% ABV. Tap pour. Cider from dessert apple juice (granny smith, gala, fuji, etc, from Fruit Smart) with mango & passionfruit essence (fresh made concentrate) to backsweeten. Semi-sweet. Definitely some nice bold tropical flavor going on. Mild tartness. Good fizz. Definitely a tasty easy drinking cider that I think with the right price and advertising would sell well. I found it very interesting that the cidermaker/owner Leroy said he ~~made this~~ (added: put the finishing touches on this) Tuesday for the weekend event, comparing to his experience in the wine industry where it takes much longer to get out a product. (added: the cider was tank aged for 4 months and back sweetened just before the event) Most craft cidermakers I’ve talked to will at least tank age then bottle age a bit, if not bottle condition, their ciders, so although the product is done quickly, they don’t consider it ready for many months. This event was their release! They said bottles should be in stores in about a month. Overall I think its a solid introductory craft cider, kinda similar to Atlas. The flavor of their Tropical reminded me a bit of Rev Nat’s Revival, although Rev Nat didn’t add any tropical flavor to the cider (it was all from the yeast, which must have been difficult). I’m very intrigued to see what they will price their bottles at.

Worley’s Special Reserve (Shepton Mallet England). 5.4% ABV. A keeved bottle conditioned cider made from cider apple varieties. Semi-sweet. Slightly hazy, moderate tartness, and high tannins. This was my first time trying their cider, although I have a bottle of their “Premium Vintage” at home. It was a solid selection, but nothing too remarkable. Maybe as it wasn’t all that cold and had lost some fizz, which is a drawback of bottle pours from events like this.

So, what were my favorite ciders you may ask? Traditions Bourbon Barrel followed by Whitewood Kingston Black. Both were fairly similar bold barrel aged ciders, which is my typical favorite cider type. I was disappointed I couldn’t get a bottle of either at the event (they were out or couldn’t find them or whatever). However, I was able to try the Whitewood Kingston Black again at the Bill Bradshaw tasting event with 9 local cideries at Capitol Cider the Tuesday after Cider Summit, and found a bottle of the Traditions Bourbon Barrel at Full Throttle Bottles.

Other favorites included Liberty’s English Style, Eden Heirloom Blend, Moonlight Meadery How do you like them apples bourbon barrel, and Montana Ciderworks Darby Pub Cider. Definitely impressed. I didn’t really have a single bad cider (there aren’t too many out there), although there were some I didn’t care for. Stay tuned for Cider Summit 2015 post 2/2, and posts on the remaining two Washington Cider Week events I went to!

Let me know what you think! Comments please.

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East Meets West: An Evening with Eden and Alpenfire Ciders at Burgundian Bar

September 15, 2015August 10, 2017 cidersays Alpenfire, Cider Summit, Eden, event, local, review, Washington Cider Week Alpenfire, Burgundian, cider, cider review, cider summit, cider tasting, Eden, hard cider, seattle, Washington Cider Week

Stop 2 on Thursday night brought me to the Burgundian bar in Seattle. Cidermakers from Eden Ice Cider (Newport VT) and Alpenfire Organic Hard Cider (Port Townsend WA) were on hand to chat, they were pouring ciders from each, and there were even specialty cocktails using their ciders. It started off very slow at 5pm, but that worked very well for me as I got some awesome conversations in while there were more industry folks than customers. I met Kyle from Millstone Cellars (Monkton MD); I had e-mailed with him about their Cobbler cider and he remembered me. I also met Dan from Orcas Distributing, which is one of the main cider distributors in the Seattle area. I got to see both again the next day at Cider Summit.

The special event menu is below (click to biggify). They also had a number of bottle pour ciders from Eden, Alpenfire, and more. There was unfortunately only one draft cider as they apparently had some logistical issues.

I started with a glass of Alpenfire Apocalypso, a double rum barrel aged blackberry cider. This is their Calypso cider but rum barrel aged for four instead of two months. This draft-only cider was $6 for 6oz (Calypso runs about $13 for a 500ml bottle). 6.9% ABV. Middle of the road sweetness. Berry with a touch of wood scent. Lovely berry hue. Fruity, moderately tart, with a hint of barrel influence. Very tasty! It had more complexity than your average fruity cider, which I really enjoyed. There haven’t been too many fruity ciders I’ve been impressed with, but this is one. Apocalypso is probably a tie with Spark! for my favorite Alpenfire cider so far.

I chatted with Eleanor Leger from Eden Ice Cider for quite awhile. it was awesome to learn more about Eden’s ciders, as I had seen them and was very interested, but hadn’t tried any yet. Eden’s ciders are made by husband & wife team Eleanor & Albert Leger. They specialize in and started with ice ciders, but have also branched out into aperitif and traditional ciders. In addition to offering their customers more variety, both of these products are a way for them to use the same juice as their ice ciders, from a second and third pressing (the sugar content decreases). They may actually be the only company selling cider apertifs at this time. It was interesting to hear they are even trying to find uses for the “apple water” which is left after making the cider, such as selling it to a gin distillery which would use it in place of water for added flavor.

They were the first ice cider company in the U.S. and also have their own orchard of cider apples. Ice cider by the way is a dessert wine variety which was developed in Canada, and is made from apples which have been concentrated by natural winter cold. The apples are harvested at peak ripeness then kept in cold storage. After pressing, the juice is set outdoors to freeze for 6-8 weeks, which results in a residual concentrate which is high in sugar and flavor. The concentrate is then fermented, cold stabilized, filtered, and bottled, leaving a high alcohol and high residual sugar cider. The final amount of cider is typically less than 1/4 of the original amount of juice pressed. Eleanor told me approximately 20% of their juice is used for ice cider, 7% for apertif, 8% for cider, and the remaining 65% is “apple water”.

I then tried Eden’s Oak Aged Sparkling Dry Cider, 8.5% ABV, $9 for a 6oz bottle pour (runs around $10 for a 375ml bottle). This is Eden’s first traditional cider (also available in Semi-Dry), released in 2013, and distribution was expanded outside of VT in 2014. It is naturally sparkling from bottle conditioning using juice, not sugar (Methode Champenoise, which is VERY labor intensive; here is a great explaination). This cider is crafted from traditional and heirloom apples (50% Kingston Black) grown within 200 miles of their cidery, aged in French oak puncheons (twice the size of typical barrels) for one year, then bottle conditioned for six months.. The purpose of the barrel aging in this case is to impart a more mature flavor, and it can actually increase the amount of tannins as well (vs. when a barrel from spirits is used it would also impart the flavor of the spirit, such as bourbon).

<disclaimer: these bottle label photos were taken at Whole Foods the following
day as I didn’t get a chance to ask the bartender to see the bottle>

Using such a large amount of Kingston Black apples is expensive, and Eleanor discussed the cost difference between using juice pressed from dessert apples ($2.50-4.00 / gallon) and juice pressed from cider apples ($8.00-10.00 / gallon) to make cider. The high cost is primarily due to their rarity. Hopefully in the coming years the cost will go down as availability increases, which will also increase the quality of ciders as more cidermakers use cider instead of dessert variety apples. In addition to apples from Eden’s own orchard (which has about 1,000 trees and took approximately 5 years to go from planting to first harvest), they use a lot of apples from the nearby Scott Farm on Kipling’s estate, which is an old Macintosh orchard which was top grafted with many heirloom and cider apple varieties. I also learned about Eden’s newest product addition, Imperial 11 Rose, which is an off-dry lightly sparkling 11% ABV cider made from heirloom apples and red currant. Perfect for the wine-loving cider drinker.

On to the Eden Sparkling Dry cider tasting notes: Lovely brilliant amber with tiny bubbles and a light foam ring. Definitely dry, but there was a touch of residual sweetness. Ripe apple scent and taste. Moderate amounts of acidity, tannins, and bitterness. Mild tartness. Medium bodied. High carbonation. Hints of earthiness and funk. Very well crafted and balanced. I could really taste the difference from using cider apples (vs. dessert apples) and bottle conditioning (vs. force carbonating). A perfect cider alternative to champagne. Yum!

It was a special treat to enjoy it while sitting and chatting with the cidermaker. I typically have trouble tolerating both dryness and bitterness in a cider, but both were so well balanced with the acidity, tannins, and carbonation that I found the cider enjoyable. I may have to pick up a bottle of this to have on hand; the small bottle size and reasonable cost (moreso per bottle not per ounce) are nice.

I also met Nancy Bishop and her son Philippe from Alpenfire. Ron from DrinkingCider.com and crew also showed up later!

Eleanor from Eden even brought some specialty ciders with her all the way from VT that aren’t available here in WA. I had to leave before the event was over as I had work at 6am the next day (Friday) so I was unfortunately only able to taste one, dubbed “Cinderella’s Slipper”. It was a very special variety that hasn’t been released. It was their first cider made only from (35 varieties of) apples from Eden’s own orchard. It had literally been forgotten about, sitting in a tank at Eden’s old facility for a year. I found it to be dry, still, slightly tart, highly acidic, and high in tannins. Very unique!

Here is a photo of the bartender at the Burgundian making one of the specialty cocktails by the way. They were all very pretty and involved many interesting ingredients (time consuming for the bartender when Eleanor decided to try all four lol). See the photo of the menu at the top of this post.

However, I didn’t try any, as I am pretty picky when it comes to food & drink, especially cocktails (I don’t like gin or any aged spirits for example), and none of them sounded good to me. Plus, I don’t really get the point of mixing high end cider into a cocktail; to me it would be like mixing expensive vodka with orange juice or whatever. I’d rather drink the cider on its own and get the full experience of it! I will admit I haven’t tried a cider cocktail though, and its something I want to do.

Cider cocktails seem all the rage lately around here, with Capitol Cider pouring them at Cider Summit, and Darlene Hayes even wrote a book all about them! I was lucky enough to meet Darlene Hayes at Cider Summit and chat with her for a bit (she likes my blog by the way–very cool). Check out her blog as well, All Into Cider, which has some great stories and information about cider.

Stay tuned for more Washington Cider Week posts at Cider Says. Up next are posts about Cider Summit itself (including more tasting notes on Eden and Alpenfire ciders), then the Bill Bradshaw tasting event at Capitol Cider, and Schilling Cider House (2 Towns night but also hoping for some barrel aged ciders left from the night before). I have quite a lot of photos and tasting notes to go through from Cider Summit though, so I apologize if there is a delay in the Cider Summit post/s. To give a hint, I believe the final count is 33 ciders that I tried! However, I have some other cider review posts to cue up in the meantime. Cheers!

Washington Cider Week Kickoff at Seattle Cider

September 14, 2015August 10, 2017 cidersays Cider Summit, Cockrell, event, Grizzly Ciderworks, Liberty, local, review, Seattle Cider, Washington Cider Week cider, cider review, cider summit, cider summit seattle, cider tasting, Cider Week, hard cider, Seattle Cider, Washington Cider Week

Thursday night was a great kickoff to Washington Cider Week! I started the evening at Seattle Cider (opening ceremonies, although I left before that), then moved on to the Burgundian Bar (East Meets West, An Evening with Eden and Alpenfire Ciders). This post will cover Seattle Cider and another will cover the Burgundian (plus many posts to come on Cider Summit and other Washington Cider Week events!). I mostly chose to stop by Seattle Cider as it was a Washington Cider Week event to fill the time between when I got off work and the event at the Burgundian started at 5pm, as the events were located between work and home. Plus I hadn’t ever been to their tasting room, The Woods (which they share with their sister brewery, 2 Beers Brewing Company).

Seattle Cider ended up a bit disappointing of a stop as they only opened at 3pm, and nothing was actually going on for the Washington Cider Week kickoff yet. There were plenty of folks there though, lots of growler fills, etc. They were only setting up while I was there, but they did however have 16 ciders on tap (6 of their own and 10 from 10 other cideries), some free cider swag, and a hot dog cart. Also, I got to meet fellow cider blogger Ron from DrinkingCider.com! He had reached out that he would be in town for Cider Summit, and I let him know my schedule. We ended up meeting up at Seattle Cider, the Burgundian, and Cider Summit, which was pretty awesome. He even brought me some cider from Tod Creek in Victoria BC which I look forward to trying; very cool. Too bad he couldn’t take cider back to CT.

We even got a mini tour from their tasting room manager. They were in production so we couldn’t walk through the cidermaking area (although they have an opening you can look through to see it), but we got to see a few areas. I learned that Seattle Cider currently only uses apples from Washington (all dessert varieties except their Harvest series). It was also interesting to hear about and see their current construction project, a kitchen! Probably a very welcome addition…more tasting room need to offer food, even if its only chips, crackers, pretzels, whatever.

<taps, bar area, and fridges of canned/bottled beer/cider for purchase>

I ended up sampling five ciders at The Woods / Seattle Cider. Unfortunately they didn’t have a sampler, but would pour tastes. I really think a sampler is the best way to go anywhere which has multiple cider choices on tap. So, I had a couple tastes, got a glass of one, then had a few more tastes.

Seattle Cider Olympic Honey. This cider is a special release (August 2015) Seattle Cider did with the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, and only available at Seattle Cider and the restaurant/bar at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. This used honey from the rooftop apiary at the hotel. I had really wanted to try this after seeing a segment they did on King 5 local news on Facebook, so I was pleased they still had some. Retail is $9 for a 22oz bottle, but I had a 13oz tap pour for $6. 6.9% ABV. Semi dry. I picked up only hints of honey, but it was refreshing, and probably my favorite Seattle Cider variety so far (I’m not a huge fan of their ciders, although they have a large local following). Moderate acidity and and mild tartness.

Seattle Cider Plum Gose. This is Seattle Cider’s twist on gose (a unique style of German beer which includes coriander and salt). It includes Jacobsen sea salt (from Portland OR), coriander, and plums, and was made using Chardonnay yeast and added malic acid. 6.9% ABV. Semi-dry. Very unique but mild flavor from the ingredient additions. Lovely light berry hue from the plums, but my taster was too small to get a clear photo of the cider’s color. Higher carbonation. A touch of saltiness. Apparently they previously had a full Gose cider, and would often get requests to mix it with their PNW Berry, so they decided to make something similar with plums.

Liberty Ciderworks Crabenstein. Made using Dolgo crabapples and Gravenstein apples with wild yeast fermentation. 7.3% ABV. Dry. Tart and mouth-puckering with a touch of funk, but the flavor profile is pretty mild. I like Liberty’s Manchurian Crabapple single varietal better as it is bolder, but they are completely different styles of cider (for example, the Manchurian is 12.5% ABV).

Cockrell Valley Red. Cider with Puyallip WA raspberries. This is the first time I’ve tried a cider from Cockrell. 6.2% ABV. Semi-dry. Lovely fruity nose and red hue (again, no photo; sorry), acidic, and tart. I didn’t pick up raspberries (nor did I know that was the fruit they used until I researched this cider), but for me it was more of a general tart berry than a specific flavor. It reminded me some of Snowdrift Red (which I prefer).

Grizzly Ciderworks Woodlander Wit-Style. They modeled this cider after Belgian wit-style beer (they used that variety of beer yeast). I’ve previously tried their Ridge. 6.7% ABV. Semi-dry. Smells slightly woody. I didn’t pick up any of the orange peel or coriander they included in this cider, but again, it was a pretty small taste. I found it very similar to their Ridge, but slightly more sweet, tart, and complex, and slightly less flavorful. I prefer the Ridge, which I found to have more of the woody & earthy notes I enjoy.

This is just the start of my Washington Cider Week posts, so stay tuned for posts on Thursday night part 2 (Burgundian with Eden & Alpenfire ciders), Cider Summit, and events I’ll be attending next week at Capitol Cider and the Schilling Cider House! Subscribe to Cider Says using the sidebar (on the right or at the bottom of the page on mobile devices) and like us on Facebook to ensure you don’t miss out!

Cider Summit Seattle, 218 Ciders Paired Down to a List of 33 I Want to Try

August 30, 2015November 28, 2015 cidersays Cider Summit, event, local, views cider, cider summit, cider summit seattle, cider tasting, hard cider, seattle

The countdown to Cider Summit Seattle continues! Last week they released their list of cideries & ciders. I count 218 ciders. I spent several hours making a spreadsheet of them, researching, and prioritizing, as unfortunately it will be impossible to try them all (and would be cost-prohibitive at $2 a taste).

I decided to choose ciders that were more expensive, rare, not available here, and of course, likely to be to my tastes. I ended up with 33, which sounds doable over two days. I was surprised how many cideries I haven’t had a chance to try anything from. I also have some second tier options, even after eliminating those I’ve tried before and didn’t sound interesting, but I kinda doubt I’ll get to them!

Eden Specialty Ciders: Heirloom Blend and Sparkling Semi-Dry (I have never tried their ciders)

Attila Hard Cider Co.: Rapture (I have their Scourge of God at home to try)

Neigel Vintners (NV) Cider: Cherry Perry (I’ve tried a couple of their perries, and even had an interview with them)

2 Towns CIderhouse: Bourbon Barrel 2012 (I recently tried their Cider Master Reserve Batch 01 that was barrel aged)

Apple Outlaw: Oaked Sweet Dark Cherry (I have never tried their ciders)

Artisinal Imports, Farnum Hill Ciders: Dooryard and Extra Dry (I have never tried their ciders)

E.Z. Orchards: Roman Beauty, Hawk Haus, Semi Dry, and Poire (I have never tried their ciders)

Dragon’s Head Cider: Traditional, Manchuian, and Pippin (I have Wild Fermented at home to try)

Eaglemount Wine and Cider: Homestead Dry (their Quince is amazing!)

Finnriver: Cyser, Country Peach, and Cacao Brandywine (I have never seen any of these in stores but I’ve tried several of their ciders)

Bull Run Cider: Pear Wine (I have never tried their ciders)

Half Pint Ciders, 101 Ciderhouse: Black Dog Black Cider (sounds really interesting with activated charcoal; really didn’t like their Cactus Red though)

Liberty Ciderworks: Macintosh Single Varietal, English Style Cider (I liked their Manchurian Crabapple and have their Stonewall Dry Fly Barrel Aged at home to try)

Millstone Cellars: Farmgate Dry (I want to give them another try after not caring for Cobbler)

Montana CiderWorks: Darby Pub Cider (I have never tried their ciders)

Moonlight Meadery: How do you like them Apples Bourbon Barrel (I loved their How do you like them Little Apples Bourbon Barrel; note these are ciders with honey, not mead, and are not available in bottles)

J.K.’s Scrumpy: The Pair Perry (their Northern Neighbor is pretty good; this one doesn’t appear to be sold in my area yet though)

Sea Cider: Bittersweet, Bramble Bubbly, and Perry (their Prohibition is awesome)

Snowdrift Cider Co.: Perry and Cliffbreaks Blend (I love their Cornice and Red)

Whitewood Cider Co.: Kingston Black Whiskey Barrel Aged (I’ve heard this is good but isn’t out in bottles yet; I wasn’t a fan of their Summer Switchel though)

Has anyone tried any of these ciders? If you are going to Cider Summit Seattle, what do you plan to try?

Cider Summit Seattle Announces Cideries & Ciders

August 28, 2015March 29, 2017 cidersays Cider Summit, event, local cider, cider summit, cider summit seattle, cider tasting, hard cider, seattle

Two weeks until Cider Summit Seattle–I’m so excited! The full list of cideries and the ciders they will be pouring is now available!! Stay tuned for lots of Cider Summit related posts, as I’ll be covering the event both days, tasting as many ciders as possible.

The following is the updated press release info (thanks Alan Shapiro from SBS Import Brands).

What: 6th annual festival. 200+ ciders expected from 57 producers. Ciders from 8 states and 6 countries. 102 from WA, 37 from OR. At least 90 ciders never previously poured at event.

When:

Friday 09/11 from 3-8pm (VIP ticket session starts at 2pm)
Saturday 09/12 from noon-6pm

Where: South Lake Union Discovery Center Lawn (101 Westlake Ave North)

Cost: $30 if purchased in advance online or at sponsors & local bottle shops. Admission includes a souvenir tasting glass and 8 tasting tickets.

Additional tasting tickets available onsite for $2 each.

VIP ticket is $40, available online only. Includes glass and 12 tasting tickets along with 2pm admission on Friday. Limited quantity available.

Designated driver tickets available for $5 and includes a bottle of water. May be purchased at the gate only.

All tickets allow re-admission Fri/Sat with wristband and glass.

Food: Specially paired foods available for purchase from Whole Foods Market, Capitol Cider and three twins ice cream. Additional snack vendors planned.

Music: Live music on both Friday & Saturday on the Jim Miller Festival Stage.

Sponsors: Presented by Whole Foods Market. Supporting sponsors include Capitol Cider, Oregon Fruit Products Company, Umpqua Bank, Hood River Juice Company, ILY Pet, Click Wholesale and media sponsors CIDERCRAFT Magazine, KEXP, and The Stranger.

Other:

The Oregon Fruit Products Fruit Cider Challenge. 17 ciders made exclusively for Cider Summit with consumer voting.
Cider cocktails created by Capitol Cider & Eden Ice Cider Company.
The ILY Pet/Seattle Humane Dog Lounge. Dogs of all ages are welcome.
Event store featuring bottles-to-go, wearables, cider books, & more.
THIS EVENT IS STRICTLY 21 & OVER.

Beneficiaries:

Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research
Northwest Cider Association
Seattle Humane

Tickets and Info:

Woodchuck Local Nectar Makes it to Washington! (Plus Inside Scoop on Upcoming Woodchuck Releases)

August 21, 2015November 28, 2015 cidersays local, review, Woodchuck cider, cider tasting, Gumption, hard cider, hard cider tasting, Hot Cha Cha Cha, Local Nectar, lynnwood, Special Brews, Woodchuck

Wednesday was tap night at Special Brews in Lynnwood WA, and this week was a special treat, with four ciders on tap from Woodchuck. Their NW representative, Jen, was even on hand. She brought plenty of giveaways (my husband got a sweet Woodchuck polo). Gumption, Fall Harvest, Pumpkin, and Hopsation were listed.

However, as the night went on, the Pumpkin came into question, as it was reported as pouring a very light color and not being very pumpkiny. After some taste testing, it was determined it was actually Local Nectar! Yes, the 100% Vermont apple Local Nectar cider which Woodchuck only sells in Vermont (they also have a Michigan version though). The keg must have got mislabeled. So, this may have been the first time that Local Nectar was sold in Washington!

I tried Local Nectar before at Ciderbration 2014, Woodchuck’s grand opening party for their new cidery, which we were lucky enough to win a free weekend trip to! They are having a repeat this year by the way, Ciderstock, happening this very weekend. Too bad I didn’t win their contest again this year… Anyway, back to Local Nectar. It is one of Woodchuck’s drier selections, pretty middle of the road as far as sweetness. Its not one of my favorites as it has some bitterness on the tail end, but it is a very nice cider, clean & refreshing. I had thought I liked it more, but after re-tasting it, I think I was thinking of their special-release Ciderbration cider. Now that stuff was awesome! Sweet and very sparkling. Otherwise, I would have got a growler, as Local Nectar in Washington is rare indeed.

Before we found out the Pumpkin was actually Local Nectar, I had ordered Gumption, their newest core cider which I recently reviewed. Its even better on tap! Of course, I also did some bottle shopping. It becomes very easy to buy cider while drinking a cider.

We also chatted with the Woodchuck rep Jen. She had some great inside scoop to share with us:

(1) Woodchuck’s next Out on a Limb release (next month) will be a spicy cider, Hot Cha Cha Cha. Woodchuck tested this variety out in April with a “Firkin” keg, per their Twitter feed. I’ve had a few spicy ciders but haven’t been a fan so far, as the heat seems to overwhelm the cider. I imagine it will be more likable though if it has more sweetness and less heat.

(2) A Washington version of Local Nectar is in work. This will be made at an unspecified cidery in Washington for Woodchuck, using 100% Washington apples. Should be interesting. I wonder if it too will only be sold in the state the apples are from (Washington), because if so, it has a lot of competition here. No release date yet.

I’ll definitely be reviewing both of those once they are out, so stay tuned! Be sure to follow Cider Says on Facebook, through Wordpress, or by e-mail (link in sidebar on right, or at the bottom of the page on mobile devices) to get blog post notifications.

Cider Tasting Terminology 101

August 11, 2015August 2, 2015 cidersays cider education cider, cider education, cider tasting, cider tasting education, cider tasting terminology, cider tasting vocabulary, cider terminology, cider vocabulary, hard cider

As my cider journey has evolved and I’ve been reviewing ciders, I’ve been more interested in cider tasting (descriptor) terminology. So, I thought I’d share some common cider tasting vocabulary:

TERMS

Acidity: The presence of significant malic acid, which causes a sharpness, briskness, sourness, or “zing” in a cider.

Aftertaste: The lingering taste of the cider on the back of the throat, hopefully pleasant.

Apple juice concentrate: Syrup from apple juice with water content reduced. Often used in commercial cidermaking to cheaply make a sweeter cider.

Balanced: A cider which has no single component (such as sweetness, bitterness, or acidity) as overpowering.

Barrel aged: Further aging of a cider in a wood barrel, which influences the cider, imparting additional flavor. This can add a good deal of complexity. Note that cider can also be barrel fermented.

Bittersharp cider apple: High acid and high tannin apples.

Bittersweet cider apple: Low acid and high tannin apples.

Brix: Residual sugar content in liquid (sweetness). One degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution Measured using a hydrometer (which also can tell you the Alcohol by Volume, ABV, and specific gravity, relative density of the liquid). A formula can be used to determine Brix and in turn specific gravity if you know how many grams of sugar there are in a certain amount of cider.

Clarity: A cider’s opacity. Brilliant, clear, slightly hazy, hazy, or cloudy.

Cloying: Sticky, tacky, syrupy, or sickly sweet in taste & mouthfeel.

Diacetyl: Aroma and flavor described at butter, butterscotch, or toffee.

Ester: Sweet chemically artificial, banana, or tropical fruit flavor or aroma.

Mouthfeel: The feel / impression of the cider in the mouth. Its body, weight, texture, etc.

Sharp cider apple: High acid and low tannin apples.

Single varietal: Cider made from only one type of apple (in contrast to most cider which are blends).

Sugars: Yeast ferments sugars to alcohol. Sugar may be added to aid the fermentation process.

Sweet cider apple: Low acid and low tannin apples.

Sweetness: Taste associated with sugars in cider, including vanilla, honey, or syrup notes. The percentage of residual sweetness makes a cider sweet, semi-sweet, semi-dry, or dry. There can often be a difference between measured and perceived sweetness though, and acidity plays a big roll.

Tannins: Contribute to bitterness and astringency. Can cause a mouth-puckering taste and in excess can dry the mouth.

Sources:
Drinking Cider, Cider Glossary
Cider Monger, Cider Glossary
Candle Wine Project, Cider Tasting Vocabulary
United States of Cider, Terminology Category

LINKS

I’m no expert, so I think often the experts can explain things better than I can, Here are some great bonus links:

Previously posted links to a great video series from Schilling on Cider Tasting

Previously posted cider tasting guide

Article on cider apple varieties.

Cider style guidelines from Beer Judge Certification program

Countdown to Cider Summit Seattle!

July 24, 2015March 29, 2017 cidersays Cider Summit, event, local cider, cider event, cider summit, cider summit seattle, cider tasting, hard cider, port townsend, seattle, summer cider day

7 weeks left until Cider Summit Seattle (Friday & Saturday September 11 & 12, 2015! I haven’t been before, so am very excited for Seattle’s biggest cider event of the year. This is part of Washington Cider Week (Sept 10-20), so stay tuned for more Cider Week event notifications as I read of them (100 separate events are expected, so clear your calendar!).

And, speaking of cider events, Summer Cider Day 2015 is coming up (Saturday August 8, 2015, in Port Townsend WA). I unfortunately won’t be able to make it, but apparently it is a great event for getting face-to-face time with some of the 17 Northwest cidermakers and cidery representatives that are expected to be there. Although cidery folks will be on hand for Cider Summit, there is a much larger turnout. Plus, there is a bottle shop.

Press release for Cider Summit Seattle:

Cider Summit Seattle Celebrates 6 Years!
Region’s Largest Cider Festival Returns to South Lake Union

July 21, 2015 – SBS Imports and the Seattle Beer Collective are pleased to announce the return of the Cider Summit Festival to Seattle, WA. The sixth annual event will be Friday, September 11th from 3p-8p and Saturday, September 12th from 12n-6p. Cider Summit will once again be at The South Lake Union Discovery Center near Westlake & Denny in downtown Seattle. The event is presented by Whole Foods Market.

This will be the 16th Cider Summit produced by SBS & Seattle Beer Collective, having launched the concept in Seattle in September 2010 and expanding to Portland, Chicago, and San Francisco. Each event features 150+ elegantly crafted ciders from producers in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, California, Michigan, New Hampshire, England, France, Spain and others.

“We’ve been very pleased with the growth of our event in Seattle,” noted SBC’s Ian Roberts. “We believe we have added some nice features and a unique cider selection that will help us reach an even wider audience of cider enthusiasts.”

The owners and cidermakers will be on hand to inform and guide guests through the samplings which will be available in 4-ounce tasting portions. In addition to the superb range of ciders, the event will feature live music, specially paired food selections from Whole Foods Market, Capitol Cider and others. A returning popular feature is the Cider Summit “dog lounge” water station benefitting Seattle Humane. New for 2015 is a Cider Cocktail Lounge hosted by CiderCraft Magazine and Capitol Cider, with a special appearance from author Darlene Hayes.

“We believe we’ve created a unique event,” added event co-founder Alan Shapiro of SBS Imports. “We have found a great home in the South Lake Union neighborhood and we expect a terrific range of ciders. Interest in artisanal cider is exploding right now, and this event is the premier sampling opportunity for both the cider enthusiast and cider curious.”

Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 (cash only) at the door and are available online via Stranger tickets, all Seattle Metro Area Whole Foods Market locations, Capitol Cider, Umpqua Bank South Lake Union and selected bottle shops. Admission includes a souvenir glass and 8 tasting tickets. Additional tasting tickets will be available for sale onsite at $2 per ticket. Re-admission will be allowed at any time with event wristband and tasting glass. The event is 21 and over only. Dogs of all ages will be allowed on event grounds.

A special VIP ticket is available for $40. This ticket includes 4 additional tasting tickets and exclusive early admission on Friday from 2p-3p. Only 200 of these tickets are available – exclusively online via the event website. Cider Summit benefits Northwest Cider Association, The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research, and Seattle Humane.

Cider Summit is presented by Whole Foods Market. Supporting sponsors include Capitol Cider, Oregon Fruit Products Company, Umpqua Bank, Click Wholesale Distributing, Ryan’s Juice, with media support from The Stranger, KEXP, and Cidercraft Magazine.

For more information contact:
Alan Shapiro – SBS Imports
206.527.4191
alanmshapiro@sbs-imports.com

Schilling Cider House – Cider Tasting Notes

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

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

Schilling’s Ciders

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other Ciders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photos

101 Ciderhouse Cactus Red

Elemental Cherry

Finnriver Lavender Black Currant

Locust Cherry

Moonlight Meadery How do you like them Little Apples

Closing Notes

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

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

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

Schilling Cider House Trip Report

July 21, 2015July 22, 2015 cidersays local, Schilling cider, cider house, cider tasting, ciderhouse, Fremont, hard apple cider, hard cider, Schilling, seattle

The Schilling Cider House in Fremont (Seattle). In one word, awesome! A cider enthusiast’s paradise. 32 ciders on tap and a huge unique selection of bottled ciders. Only craft cider to be found here, no commercial stuff. They opened September 2014. Two of the taps are Nitro (nitrogenated, which adds some additional smoothness) and they also have a Randall setup (although it didn’t appear they were infusing anything that day, as no offerings were mentioned when we asked to have our suspicions confirmed). This will be a two part review, with this part covering the cider house, and a second part with tasting notes on the 18! ciders I tried. Considering I had either already tried or wasn’t interested in the remaining ciders, I think that is mildly impressive.

Thankfully I didn’t have to get too inebriated when trying the 18 ciders, as I had 12 3oz+ samplers and 6 small tastes over a couple hours, and my husband helped sip on them a bit too (although he was gracious enough to be my DD).

I apologize in advance on the quality of the photos; I am a horrible photographer and clearly need to work on that for cider blog purposes! Click to biggify the photos by the way.

They have cider available in:
– 3oz sampler for $2 each (which most folks get in a flight/tray of six)
– pint (priced individually by the cider, $5-$11 when I was there)
– growler (also priced individually by cider, and they can only do this for ciders under 7% by law, which is the vast majority of them)

Therefore the sampler size can be a good deal for some of their more expensive ciders which cost double the price of something else.

My husband and I checked out the Schilling Cider House on a Saturday, early afternoon. My husband was even nice enough to grab us some take out from a Thai place down the street (Zap Verr) during our visit. It wasn’t anything special, but highly convenient, as Schilling does not offer any food (but do allow folks to bring food in or have it delivered). I think they would do well to sell some snacks, even some chips or something easy to stock, as its hard to stay too long at a place that has alcohol but no food, even with their open food policy.

The Schilling Cider House is a great hang out spot. They even have a stack of games available. There are about six stools at the bar and the remainder are at four long tables. The decor is all cider and all Schilling. The empty kegs they keep around add a nice touch. Empty kegs were even to be found in the restroom! I was the cider geek who had to come right back to the restroom after I grabbed my phone, so I could take photos…

I was bummed to see that I missed Reverend Nat’s The Passion, as I’ve been wanting to try that.

I also missed Schilling’s own Berry cider, only available at their cider house. Although I’ll get more into the actual ciders in the second installment, I can say that I was surprised Schilling didn’t offer all their ciders on tap at their own cider house! There were eight Schilling ciders though, and a handful were ciderhouse-only (or out of season). They were at least missing their Berry, Spiced, and Oak Aged (a cider I really like and my favorite cider of their’s). Serving ciders other than their own is quite unique for a ciderhouse, but a really great idea.

However, there were definitely many cider options, from dry to sweet, for any taste. Their chalk board menu is color-coded by sweetness (dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, and sweet), and for the most part I agreed with their classifications. The taps are numbered, and you can take a business card size card and write down your selections. They definitely change often, as they switched out two taps during our visit! Their Facebook page can give you an idea of what is available, but I found it wasn’t quite up to date.

Their bottle shop is extensive (250+ selections), chock full of both local craft ciders and interesting imports. They also allow folks to buy & open a bottle there to drink, no corkage fee, although I’m not sure why you would with 32 ciders on tap! I’m surprised they didn’t have some bottled beer & soda selections, but maybe I missed them (I did however see a cold canned coffee selection). All bottles are chilled, in three triple door glass-front fridges (a very smart move on their part). There were many selections I hadn’t seen anywhere else.

I picked up five varieties (reviews forthcoming of course!). Left to right in photo below: MillStone Cellars Cobbler (Monkton MD), Aspall English Imperial Cider (Suffolk England), Attila Scourge of God (Ellensburg WA), Freyeisen Apfelwein (Frankfurt Germany), and Dragon’s Head Wild Fermented Cider (Vashon Island WA).

I could have spent an hour just reading all the bottle labels and Googling them and such, but my husband was patient enough, so I made some semi-quick (for me) selections of ciders I hadn’t seen before. They also offer some merchandise, such as t-shirts, and of course, growlers ($5 + cider fill cost).

However, of course, the main attraction is the cider itself. From what I overheard there seemed to be a mix of new & old cider lovers. We sat next to a young woman who was a tourist from New York who found them just walking by. And there was an older lady buying growlers of cider for a get together. I was surprised how busy it got as the afternoon went on (we were there about 1:30 to 3:30 pm), as I had expected it to be rather dead until the evening, but it was a weekend. Luckily we got there not too long after they opened (at noon) and were able to get two seats at the bar.

They have some great bartenders, and ours was very helpful! He kept passing us tastes of ciders, asking us what we thought. Some of them were things I wouldn’t have otherwise even ordered a taster of. I never turn down cider! I did unfortunately pushed some away we found weren’t to our taste though. They have several of what could be referred to as “novelty” ciders. Fun for a taste but I’d be shocked if someone ordered a pint.

[Yes, this is almost the entire place! And yes, this is a horrible photo. But I guess I don’t have to worry about people’s privacy since I’m showing their faces lol.]

Due to the time of our visit, I can’t comment on the nighttime scene here, how busy they get in the evening, etc. I imagine the place fills up though, as it is pretty small tasting room (it seats around 50 people). The bartender commented they are plenty busy on weekdays too. If you want to chat up the bartender, secure a seat at the bar, and increase your chances of getting passed tasters of stuff the bartender likes, I’d recommend getting here when they open (I imagine mentioning I’m a blogger could have helped too). If you want a more vibrant atmosphere, then later in the day may be a better idea.

In case you are curious, I much preferred Schilling to Capitol Cider, which just wasn’t my scene. Capitol Cider does however get a nod to having a full (gluten free) kitchen.

We spotted some cool swag (coasters & stickers) below the bar as we were being rung up, and ask and thou shall receive!

[Maybe they had a Thistly Cross tasting at some point? It also looks like Thistly Cross has three varieties I haven’t found here: Elderflower, Strawberry, & Original. I’ve had the Whisky Cask (one of my favorites) and Traditional (very similar to Whisky Cask), and am not a fan of ginger so I haven’t tried that one.]

The Schilling Cider House is open noon-11pm seven days a week. 21+ only, but they do appear to be dog friendly (a patron next to us had a cute & well behaved pitt bull). I highly recommend it and look forward to returning!

Stay tuned for Schilling Cider House review Part 2, with tasting notes on all 18 ciders I tried!
Update: Part 2 covering the 18 ciders I tasted is now available!

Have you been to the Schilling Cider House, or any other cider bar? What did you think?

Cider Says Weekly Preview

July 19, 2015July 25, 2015 cidersays preview blog, cider, cider review, cider tasting, eaglemount, hard cider, Schilling, washington

What posts to expect in the upcoming week at Cider Says:

Schilling Cider House Trip Report
Schilling Cider House – Cider Tasting Notes
Spotlight on Washington Cideries
~~Eaglemount Quince cider review~~
added: Do You Know How Many Cider Bars there are in the U.S.?
added: Countdown to Cider Summit Seattle!
added: Sea Cider Prohibition / Rumrunner review

Stay tuned, and remember to follow us on Facebook or e-mail (sidebar on right, or at bottom of page on mobile devices) or follow on WordPress (top left bar) to be notified of new posts here at Cider Says. Have a great week!

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