lemonade

Big B’s Lazy Daze Lemon Hard Cider

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crabbie’s Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade (not cider, I know)

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Review of Crabbie’s Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade, part of their new Crabbie’s Fruits line, branching out from the alcoholic ginger beer they are known for.  This definitely isn’t cider, but instead a sweetened malt beverage with natural lemon flavor, and could likely be classified as an “alcopop”.  It however looked really interesting, so I gave it a try.

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Beverage:  Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade
Maker:  Crabbie’s (Halewood International Ltd)
Location:   Huyton, United Kingdom
ABV:  4.8%
How Supplied:  four pack of green 11.2oz bottles

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Availability:  appears to be wide release

Description:  Crabbie’s continues to pioneer refreshment with the addition of a Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade to their world famous range. Only premium ingredients and selected squeezed natural lemons are used to give the Cloudy Alcoholic Lemon it’s delicious flavor – with added zest. Best enjoyed chilled from the bottle or over ice for a refreshing summer drink.

Price:  ~$9 for a four pack (I bought a single bottle for ~$2.50)
Where Bought:  Special Brews in Lynnwood WA (I’ve also seen it at Total Wine and Full Throttle Bottles in Seattle WA)
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  browsing.  They do a very smart thing at Special Brews, in that they sell you alcohol while you are already drinking alcohol (it’s a combination beer/cider bar & bottle shop); I end up buying much more this way!

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First Impression:  Looks and smells like lightly carbonated lemonade.

Opinion:  Semi-sweet.  Tastes like real fresh squeezed lemonade with a bit of fizz and an alcoholic kick.  Only mild tartness.  Quite flavorful and awesome!  I really wasn’t expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The alcohol is well hidden.  I’ve never tried Mike’s Hard Lemonade, but I’m guessing this is less sweet and of a higher quality.  Definitely an easy drinking beverage for a hot summer day.  Its also not so sweet that I’d limit myself to one.

Closing Notes:   Very tasty!  I’d recommend this if you enjoy lemonade and want to try something different.  I’ll have to pick up a full four pack of it.

Have you tried Crabbie’s Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade?  What did you think?