harvest cider | Cider Says

Review of Eden’s Peak Bloom, a new semi-dry canned harvest cider offering, co-released with Deep Cut (dry), which I’ll review soon. It is my first time trying this, but I’ve had most of their line-up (see here).

Cider: Peak Bloom
Cidery: Eden Specialty Ciders
Cidery Location: Newport VT
ABV: 6.2%
How Supplied: 12oz cans
Style: American craft orchard-based heritage cider from heirloom & cider apples, semi-dry

Availability: soon, in limited markets and through their website

Cider Description: This is an off-dry, clean and refreshing cider made from a blend of Dabinett, McIntosh, Empire, Spartan and Esopus Spitzenburg apples harvested in 2018. Like Deep Cut, Peak Bloom was also fermented slow and cold, blended with a few drops of ice cider, and then filtered, before being carbonated and pasteurized. Tasting notes include applesauce, honey, white grape and slate. Pairing suggestions include curries, barbecue and outdoor fun!

For more info, see here and here.

Cidery Description: Our specialty ciders reflect the cold winter climate and apple heritage of Northern New England. We make ciders that are unique and innovative, but that also respect the rare and expensive apples we use, and refrain from aggressive manipulation and industrial beer and wine processing techniques.

Price: ~ $3-4 / can
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: it showed up

First Impression: Light straw yellow hue. Low carbonation. Smells mild, clean, of acidic citrus.

Tasting Notes: Dry. Light bodied. Moderate tartness. High acidity. Hints of tannins. No bitterness, sourness, or funk. Notes of complex heirloom apple, citrus, honey, and floral. Moderate length tart finish. Moderate apple flavor and overall flavor intensity. High sessionability and complexity.

My Opinion: Great! I enjoyed the flavor profile, and found it super sessionable, but with plenty of complexity to keep my interest. I’d personally prefer a bit more sweetness, although I say that about most heritage ciders.

Most Similar to: Eden’s 2019 Harvest Cider

Closing Notes: This is yet another excellent cider option from Eden.

Have you tried Eden Peak Bloom? What did you think?

Review of Eden Harvest Cider, their second canned cider release (see here for my review of the first). I’ve also tried Eden’s Sparkling Dry, Cinderella’s Slipper, Heirloom Ice Cider, Sparkling Semi-Dry, Northern Spy Ice Cider, Honeycrisp Ice Cider, Imperial 11 Rosé, Heirloom Brandy Barrel Aged Ice Cider, Guinevere’s Pearls, Windfall Orchard Ice Cider, Two Ellies (collaboration with Tilted Shed), The Falstaff, Siren Song, and Ezekiel Kingston Black.

Cider: Harvest Cider
Cidery: Eden Specialty Ciders
Cidery Location: Newport VT
ABV: 6.4%
How Supplied: four pack of 12oz cans
Style: American craft canned heritage cider from Vermong grown heirloom & cider apple varieties

Availability: limited, to parts of CO, MA, NC, NJ, NY, SC, and VT

Cider Description: Aromatic. Generously sparkling. Off-dry. Our new, canned Eden Harvest Cider reflects everything we care about: High flavor, heirloom and tannic apples grown in small, regional orchards. Fresh pressed at harvest to capture the full flavor of the fruit just as it ripens. Fermented dry and blended with just a drop of our award-winning Eden Ice Cider to create an everyday cider with extraordinary complexity. Contains heirloom and tannic apples varieties from local small family orchards, including: Dabinett, McIntosh, Empire, Spartan, and Esopus Spitzenburg.

See more on their website, here and here. They amazingly only make this once a year.

Cidery Description: Eden Orchards and Eden Ice Cider began on a trip to Montreal in 2006 when we first tasted ice cider and wondered why nobody was making it on our side of the border. We had dreamed for years of working together on a farm in the Northeast Kingdom; it was a dream that had vague outlines including an apple orchard, cider, and fermentation of some sort. That night we looked at each other and knew ice cider was it. In April 2007, we bought an abandoned dairy farm in West Charleston, Vermont and got to work. Since then we have planted over 1,000 apple trees, created 5 vintages of Eden Vermont Ice Ciders, and have introduced a new line of Orleans Apertif Ciders. Out goals are to create healthy soils and trees in our own orchard, to support out Vermont apple orchard partners who do the same, to minimize our carbon footprint, to contribute to the economic and environmental health of our employees and our Northeast Kingdom community, and most of all to make world-class unique ciders that truly reflect our Vermont terroir.

Price: n/a (runs ~ $16 / four pack, which sounds like a lot, but is an awesome deal at just over $8 / 750ml, instead of $15-20)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: a cidery rep contacted me

First Impression: Light straw yellow hue. Low carbonation. Smells mild, of citrus and heirloom apples.

Tasting Notes: Dry to semi-dry. Light bodied. Low tartness. Moderate acidity. Low tannins. No bitterness, sourness, or funk. Notes of super juicy apple and lemon with hints of floral and tropical fruit. Quick finish. Moderate apple flavor, flavor intensity, and complexity. High sessionability.

My Opinion: Awesome! This went over really well with my husband and non-cider drinking house guests too. Lots of complex flavor without being sweet. Super refreshing and easy to drink.

Most Similar to: A sessionable version of a drier heritage cider.

Closing Notes: This is definitely the highest quality cider currently available in a can. I liked it even better than last year’s version. I’m impressed! Too bad it doesn’t sound like it’ll be available locally, as I’d love to stock some in my cider fridge.

Have you tried any canned heritage cider? What did you think?

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