Georgia

Urban Tree Cidery Classic

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Review of Urban Tree Cidery’s Classic variety, described as crisp, sweet, and refreshing.  It is my first time trying any of their ciders, and I sampled their current flagship line-up of three ciders all at once.

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

Cider:  Classic
Cidery:  Urban Tree Cidery
Cidery Location:  Atlanta Georgia
ABV:  6.5%
How Supplied:  750ml bottles (and kegs)
Style:  American craft cider

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Availability:  Their tasting room in Atlanta, these locations around Atlanta, and online sales (in Georgia)

Cider Description:  Composed to be refreshing and pleasant with bright apple notes, this delicious symphony inspired by Georgia’s sweet charm will make your senses sing. It’s best accompanied with a light meal or snack, dessert, or interesting conversation.

Cidery Description:  At the core of Georgian pride and Atlanta’s spirit live the seeds of change. A new legacy is rising – challenging the conventions of good taste and fine drink.

Urban Tree was founded by a husband and wife in 2015, opened a tasting room in 2016, and is described as Atlanta’s first cidery.  They use local apples from the Cathey Family Orchard in Mountain City Georgia.

Price:  n/a (retails for $13-16)
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  the cidery contacted me

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First Impression:  Light golden amber.  Very low carbonation with some foam.  Smells of sweet baked apple with a hint of cinnamon.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Low tartness and acidity.  No bitterness, sourness, funk, or tannins.  Notes of baked apple, caramel, honey, and a hint of cinnamon.  Quick finish.  High apple flavor and sessionability.  Moderate flavor intensity.  Low to moderate complexity.

My Opinion:  I enjoyed it.  It reminded me of fall.  Very easy to drink and apple-forward, although slightly juice-like.

Most Similar to:  D’s Wicked Baked Apple (except drier and less spiced), Locust Sweet Aged Apple (except drier), One Tree Crisp Apple (except less citrusy), and 2 Towns Return of the Mac (except less citrusy and more filtered).

Side Notes:  I love their bottle labels, and their website is well laid out and thorough.

Closing Notes:  This was my favorite of the three ciders, likely as it didn’t have any sourness (although the other two only had a hint).  My husband’s favorite was the Barrel-Aged, and my friends seemed to prefer the Original.   However, if these ciders were available in the PNW, I believe they would do better if sold in multi packs rather than large bottles, especially the Classic (I’m not familiar with the cider market in the South though).  Although the price point is on the low end for 750s and they are tasty, I don’t know if they would hold their own in a taste test against other ciders sold in 750s that are more cider apple centric.  It was great to have a chance to try ciders not available to me in Seattle.  They were a solid initial offering from Urban Tree, and I’m interested to see what they release next.

Have you tried cider from Urban Tree?  What did you think?

Urban Tree Cidery Barrel-Aged

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Review of Urban Tree Cidery’s Barrel-Aged variety, described as a premium cider aged in oak rum barrels.  It is my first time trying any of their ciders, and I sampled their current flagship line-up of three ciders all at once.

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

Cider:  Barrel-Aged
Cidery:  Urban Tree Cidery
Cidery Location:  Atlanta Georgia
ABV:  6.5%
How Supplied:  750ml bottles (and kegs)
Style:  American craft cider, rum barrel aged

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Availability:  Their tasting room in Atlanta, these locations around Atlanta, and online sales (in Georgia)

Cider Description:  Our hand-pressed apple juice is slowly fermented with champagne yeast, then aged to perfection in Nicaraguan rum barrels. Hints of brown sugar, woody vanilla and oak notes play in this dry, sturdy sip. A perfect complement to those moments you want to slow down a little to soak up the memory.

Cidery Description:  At the core of Georgian pride and Atlanta’s spirit live the seeds of change. A new legacy is rising – challenging the conventions of good taste and fine drink.

Urban Tree was founded by a husband and wife in 2015, opened a tasting room in 2016, and is described as Atlanta’s first cidery.  They use local apples from the Cathey Family Orchard in Mountain City Georgia.

Price:  n/a (retails for $13-16)
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  the cidery contacted me

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First Impression:  Light golden amber hue.  Low carbonation with some foam.  Smells acidic and slightly sour, with a hint of richness.

Tasting Notes:  On the sweeter side of semi-dry.  Medium bodied.  Low tartness and acidity.  Low tannins.  Hints of sourness, bitterness, and funk.  Notes of caramel, lemon, grapefruit, wood, earth, and nuts.  Moderate length finish.  Low oak influence.  Hints of rum influence.  Moderate apple flavor, sessionability, complexity, and flavor intensity.

My Opinion:  I enjoyed it.  I had been expecting more barrel influence due to the cider’s name, but I perceived it as pretty mild.  However, my husband picked up significantly more oak & rum flavor than me and my friends, likely as he drinks aged spirits more often.  I imagine they were going for approachable, which makes sense.  It was similar to their Original, except with the tang mellowed out a bit, and hints of richness.

Most Similar to:  This was less intense than the rum barrel aged ciders I’ve previously tried, such as Crispin 15 Men, Sea Cider Prohibition / Rum Runner, and Vermont Cider Co. Wassail.  Slightly reminiscent of Montana CiderWorks North Fork Traditional and Moonlight Meadery How Do You Like Them Apples.

Closing Notes:  Next up (and last) is Urban Tree’s Classic cider.

Have you tried cider from Urban Tree?  What did you think?

Urban Tree Cidery Original

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Review of Urban Tree Cidery’s Original variety, described as a European-style dry cider.  It is my first time trying any of their ciders, and I sampled their current flagship line-up of three ciders all at once.

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

Cider:  Original
Cidery:  Urban Tree Cidery
Cidery Location:  Atlanta Georgia
ABV:  6.5%
How Supplied:  750ml bottles (and kegs)
Style:  American craft cider from bittersweet cider apples

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Availability:  Their tasting room in Atlanta, these locations around Atlanta, and online sales (in Georgia)

Cider Description:  Our original cider is dry, yet crisp, with subtle notes of apple sweetness, the way traditional European-style cider is designed to go down. Crafted from bittersweet apples and with less than .5% residual sugar, it boasts of tannic and acidic notes. For a real taste of the old country, pour yourself a glass and enjoy.

Cidery Description:  At the core of Georgian pride and Atlanta’s spirit live the seeds of change. A new legacy is rising – challenging the conventions of good taste and fine drink.

Urban Tree was founded by a husband and wife in 2015, opened a tasting room in 2016, and is described as Atlanta’s first cidery.  They use local apples from the Cathey Family Orchard in Mountain City Georgia.

Price:  n/a (retails for $13-16)
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  the cidery contacted me

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First Impression:  Light golden hue.  Low carbonation with some foam.  Smell is reminiscent of Chardonnay, acidic and slightly oaked.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-dry to dry.  Low to moderate tartness.  Moderate acidity.  Low tannins.  Hints of sourness, funk, and bitterness.  Tangy, with notes of lemon, grapefruit, wood, and honey.  Moderate length finish.  Low apple flavor.  Moderate sessionability, flavor intensity, and complexity.

My Opinion:  I liked it.  Very interesting, as it was tangy, but not really tart or sour.  Slightly Farmhouse-style, with the tang, citrus notes, and hints of sourness.  The scent was quite different from the taste.

Most Similar to:  This was very unique, but I’ve had a few ciders that were slightly similar – Ace Blackjack 21, Angry Orchard Walden Hollow, Number 12 Sparkling Dry, Sietsema Traditional Dry, and Three Kees Dessert Apple

Closing Notes:  Next up is Urban Tree’s Classic and Barrel-Aged ciders.

Have you tried cider from Urban Tree?  What did you think?