reverend nat’s

Reverend Nat’s Viva La Pineapple

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Review of Reverend Nat’s Viva La Pineapple.  I first tried this cider awhile when I visited their tap room (see here), during my Portland cider trip, which also included Cider Rite of Spring (see my event review and my cider tasting notes).

I have also tried Rev Nat’s Revival, ¡Tepache!, Hopland #5 / Envy, Newtown Pippin, Ciderkin, Winter Abbey Spice, Hallelujah Hopricot, Deliverance Gin & Tonic, Revival Dry, Sacrilege Sour Cherry, The Passion, Whiskey Barrel Aged Golden Russet with Black Currant, New Moon Mandarin, Revelation Belle de Boskoop, Wooden Hellfire, and Tassjara Peach Book.

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Cider:  Viva La Pineapple
Cidery:  Reverend Nat’s
Cidery Location:  Portland Oregon
ABV:  6.0%
How Supplied:  500ml bottles
Style:  craft cider from dessert apples with pineapple juice and a touch of spices

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Availability:  Summer seasonal.  Rev Nat’s ciders are in general sold in AK, CA, HI, ID, MT, NY, OR, and WA, as well as Alberta & B.C. Canada, and Japan.  They have a cider finder and also have online sales for Tent Show ciders.

Cider Description:  This cider is a blend of fermented fresh apple juice (sourced, like all the apples I use, from Oregon and Washington, but mostly Eastern Washington in the case of this cider), and unfermented fresh pineapple juice. A touch of spice is added (cinnamon and cloves and allspice) and it is not to be consumed by those allergic to pineapples.

Cidery Description:  Reverend Nat is a single-minded cider evangelist who searches the world for superior ingredients to handcraft the most unusual ciders that no one else will make.

Price:  ~$7.99
Where Bought:  Whole Foods in Seattle WA
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  I first tried this at the cidery’s Portland tap room

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First Impression:  Still (no carbonation).  Dark straw yellow hue.  Smells of pineapple juice.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Low to moderate tartness.  Moderate acidity.  No bitterness, sourness, funk, or tannins.  Notes of pineapple juice and lime.  Low apple flavor and complexity.  High sessionability.  Moderate flavor intensity.

My Opinion:  I enjoyed it.  However, I didn’t pick up any of the spices mentioned in the description, which was just fine with me.  Definitely on the easy drinking side.  It would be perfect on a hot summer day.  I recommend lightly shaking the bottle before pouring as otherwise it will be a bit chunky at the end.

Most Similar to:  Jester & Judge Pineapple Express (although I’ve also previously tried pineapple ciders from Ace, Atlas, Locust, Pear Up, Portland Cider, Schilling, Swift, and Wyder’s)

Closing Notes:  My favorite ciders from Reverend Nat’s have been the most mainstream ones, like this one, Revival, and The Passion, plus Whiskey Barrel Aged Golden Russet with Black Currant.

Have you tried Reverend Nat’s Viva La Pineapple?  What did you think?

Notes from a Cider Tasting Class with Reverend Nat

cidersays 2 Towns, Bull Run, Cascadia, Liberty, Rambling Route, Rev Nat's, review, Seattle Cider, Wandering Aengus, Washington Cider Week , , , , , , , , ,

For my third Washington Cider Week 2017 event, I attended a cider tasting class with Nat West of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider (in Portland Oregon), at Downtown Spirits in downtown Seattle.  It was my first time at that store, which had a large selection (spirits, wine, beer, cider, mead, etc), plus an area set up with chairs & tables for classes & tastings.

The Event

I only read about the event the day before, but it sounded like a cool opportunity, as The Reverend (as he is commonly referred to – and he is an actual online ordained Reverend) has a lot of interesting insight on the industry.  I already missed out on some fun cider week events as I didn’t find out about them until after the fact (apparently the official NW Cider calendar stopped accepting submissions pretty early), so I didn’t want to pass this up.

The tasting list was a bit underwhelming with multiple mass market PNW canned ciders, but the two hour event with 10 ciders only cost $10.  That was crazy good deal, as that probably only covered the cider (and maybe even not), so Nat was basically volunteering his time.  He took the train up from Portland just for this and one other event.  There were only 11 of us who attended (and 2 of those were store employees).

I liked that the class was very informal.  We were encouraged to ask questions whenever, and we were even allowed to just pass the ciders around and pour how much we wanted (with a suggested amount so everyone got to try some).  Although that meant we couldn’t go back and taste anything (unless there were leftovers), it also meant I didn’t have cider poured into my glass which I would have felt obligated to drink to move on.

Cider Tasting Notes

We tasted the following ciders, in this order:  Cascadia Granny Smith, Liberty McIntosh, Wandering Aengus Golden Russet, Seattle Cider Winesap Rosé , Seattle Cider Semi Sweet, Rambling Route Apple, Reverend Nat’s Revival, Bull Run Bramble Berry, 2 Towns Cot in the Act, and Reverend Nat’s The Passion.  The first was described as a palette cleanser, the next three as American Heirloom, the following three as American common, and the last three as flavored.  Most of the time he would also include some European ciders, like English, French, and/or Spanish, but I think he was limited to what this store had in stock and cold.

The only new-to-me cider was Seattle Cider Winesap Rosé.  Nat asked if anyone had tried all the ciders, and I said 9/10, and it was the same for him (apparently that is a new ish Seattle Cider release).  The majority of the class seemed to be more so fans of Reverend Nat’s cider (which tend to be beer fans), than overall cider enthusiasts like me.

Cascadia Ciderworks United (Portland OR) Green Apple (6.9% ABV) – This retails for $9.99 / four pack of 16oz cans, and is made by Reverend Nat’s.  Semi-dry, very tart, and definitely green apple flavor (single varietal).

Liberty Ciderworks (Spokane WA) McIntosh (8.1% ABV) – See my previous notes here.  Liberty was described as a more traditional cidermaker, plus I know they are unique in that they are not orchard based, but only use heirloom & cider apples.  This single varietal is available in bottles and on draft, and retails around $16 / 750ml.  Nat described this apple variety as making a juice which is very appley (more than many other heirloom apple varieties), and it not being as common in the PNW as it is in the NE.  Semi-dry.  Low to moderate tannins.  Notes of apple juice, caramel, honey, and must.  Some other folks in the class were picking up hints of “bandaid” flavor (which is from a combination of Brettanomyces, tannins, and polyphenols).  I must not be sensitive to that, as I’ve never noticed it with any cider.  However, in contrast, I am very sensitive to sourness, common in farmhouse and Spanish style ciders.

Wandering Aengus (Salem OR) Golden Russet (9.0% ABV) – See my previous notes here.  Wandering Aengus was described as one of the first cideries in the NW, starting in the 1990s, under the name “The Traditional Company”.  This is a single varietal made using Golden Russet apples which they grew themselves, and dry farmed (no irrigation).  It retails for around $9 / 500ml.  I would have described it as on the sweeter side of semi-dry, but apparently this measures full dry (my all have different palettes!).  Tart, acidic, bitter, and slightly tannic.  Rich flavor.  Long acidic tannic finish.

Seattle Cider Co. (Seattle WA) Winesap Rosé (6.0% ABV) – I’ve tried multiple single varietals from Winesap apples, and multiple rosé ciders, but not this one.  Winesap Rosé is a single varietal from Winesap apples, and pink/rosé from being aged in red wine barrels.  It retails for around $11 / 500ml.  Semi-dry.  Watery.  Slightly fruity, with a hint of oak.  The carbonation was visible but not detectable.  Low tartness and acidity.  Hints of tannins.  Quick finish.  I think this would appeal more to wine folks.  Like most of their ciders, the flavor was very mild.

Seattle Cider Co. (Seattle WA) Semi Sweet (6.5% ABV) – See my previous notes here.  This is a very commonly found cider in Seattle, and retails for about $11 / four 16oz cans.  Semi-sweet to semi-dry.  Fuller bodied.  Low acid.  Notes of apple juice, honey, and citrus.

Rambling Route (Yakima WA) Apple (6.9% ABV) – See my previous notes here.  This is made by Tieton, and retails for about $9 / four 16oz cans.  Higher carbonation.  Semi-sweet to semi-dry.  Very similar to Seattle Cider, but slightly more apple-forward.  We were told these two ciders are so similar as they use the same dessert apple juice blend, same wine yeast, sugar for back-sweetening, etc.

Reverend Nat’s (Portland OR) Revival (5.8% ABV) – See my previous notes here.  This retails for about $15 / six 12oz bottles or $6 / 500ml bottle.  This is a very unique cider as it gets a lot of different flavors just from the use of multiple yeast strains, piloncillo sugar, and a secret ingredient which he told us but said I couldn’t write down.  It is made by mixing two batches of cider together.  One has yeast strain 1 and the sugar, and results in a high ABV.  The other has yeast strain 2, and results in a more typical ABV.  Then fresh juice is added, which is about 20% of the makeup.  Semi-sweet to semi-dry.  Notes of apple juice, yeast, brown sugar, honey, and hints of tropical fruit.

Bull Run (Forest Grove OR) Bramble Berry (6.8% ABV) – See my previous notes here.  This cider with marionberries, blackberries, and boysenberries retails for $8 / 500ml.  Semi-dry, with the berry more in the nose than the flavor, low acid, and hints of tannins from the berries.

2 Towns (Corvallis OR) Cot in the Act (6.2% ABV) – See my previous notes here.  This is a seasonal apricot cider (made using the whole fruit, not just juice) which retails for about $12.50 / six 12oz cans or $8 / 500ml.  Very strong apricot scent.  Semi-sweet to semi-dry, juicy, notes of stone fruit, and flavorful.

Reverend Nat’s (Portland OR) The Passion (6.9% ABV) – See my previous notes here.  This is a seasonal cider made with Ecuadorian passion fruit juice, toasted coconut, and vanilla, and retails for about $14 / 500ml.  I had previously heard this described as a sour cider, but this bottle pour and my previous draft pour were both free from sourness, so I’m game to buy it sometime as I really enjoy the flavor.  Semi-sweet (his sweetest cider).  Tart.  High flavor intensity, with a strong passion fruit scent & flavor, with hints of vanilla & coconut.

My favorite ciders of those were from Liberty, 2 Towns, and Rev Nat’s.

Info from Rev Nat

  • We discussed some cider basics such as sweetness vs. acidity and the cidermaking process.  However, I was surprised that I don’t think the word “tannins” came up at all (although it was on the handout, which had one side of general cider info and one side with info about the 10 ciders), despite at least the Liberty and Wandering Aengus ciders being good examples.
  • Rev Nat’s has five cider bases, and two of them are the Cascadia green & blue cans
  • 2 Towns (another common Oregon cidery) is six times as large as Rev Nat’s (I assume in context of cider produced/year)
  • Rev Nat’s currently has 22 employees
  • Rev Nat’s will be moving into a new 25,000 sq ft cidery space, and will then convert their current 8,000 sq ft space into only a tap room, including food.  It doesn’t look like the news about this being finalized has been officially announced, but this article from last year mentioned the same info.
  • Profit margins are about the same for all cideries, so ciders that cost more do actually cost more to make.
  • Specific gravity is a way to measure the sweetness of a cider, using the weight of the cider compared to the weight of the same amount of water.  The interesting thing with SG however is that you can have a cider with a specific gravity lower than water, so that would say the cider was drier than water lol.
  • Single varietal ciders are apparently more of an American thing, due to our new experimental cider culture.  They are probably second most common in England.
  • Wine/champagne yeast is often used in cidermaking as it ferments cleanly at low temperatures, is easy to remove (it will clump at the bottom of the tank), and it is designed to not impact the flavor.
  • Rev Nat’s in contrast uses beer yeast, which is designed to impart flavor (we were told the yeast in beer is actually what has the most impact on a beer’s flavor, not the grains or hops).  I think this class did a good job showcasing Rev Nat’s ciders, as they were two of the 2-4 most flavorful ciders of the group of 10.
  • Nat said cider that is cloudy is more of a marketing gimmick, and cloudy ciders don’t really retain more flavor than the more commonly found filtered ones.  Cloudiness in a cider can be from suspended yeast, apple debris/pulp, or pectin (naturally in apples).  The first two can be filtered out, but not the last.  This really made me think, as I’ve had a number of ciders which were cloudy and very flavorful (Downeast comes to mind).  They did tend to be sweet and apple juice forward though, so its quite plausible they would have still tasted like that after filtering.  Also, I’ve never tried the same cider before and after filtering, which I think would be the real test.
  • Nat often does an expanded cider tasting class during Oregon Cider Week, which includes 30! ciders in 3 hours

After the Event

I forgot to snag a photo before the tasting, but I got one of the aftermath:

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After the event I looked around the Downtown Spirits shop and was excited to find an entire shelf of cider that was 50% off – Alpenfire, Eden, Eric Bordelet, Slyboro, etc.  Its sad, but the high end and/or imported ciders just don’t sell very quickly.  I’ve heard from several shops that they won’t be re-stocking those sorts of items.  It has got more difficult for me to get imports especially.  I hadn’t planned to pick up any cider as my cabinet is full, but I picked up six bottles of high end ciders for under $50, as it was too good of a deal to pass up.  Very cool!

Reverend Nat’s Sacrilege Sour Cherry

cidersays Rev Nat's, review , , , , , , , ,

Review of Reverend Nat’s Sacrilege Sour Cherry cider.  I tried this at Cider Summit Seattle 2017 (although that draft version was listed at a higher ABV).  I’ve also previously tried Rev Nat’s Revival, ¡Tepache!, Hopland #5 / Envy, Newtown Pippin, Ciderkin, Winter Abbey Spice, Hallelujah Hopricot, Deliverance Gin & Tonic, Revival Dry, The Passion, Whiskey Barrel Aged Golden Russet with Black Currant, New Moon Mandarin, Viva la Pineapple, Revelation Belle de Boskoop, Wooden Hellfire, and Tassjara Peach Book.

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Cider:  Sacrilege Sour Cherry
Cidery:  Reverend Nat’s
Cidery Location:  Portland OR
ABV:  5.0%
How Supplied:  500ml bottles
Style:  American craft cider from granny smith apples with sour cherries, pear juice, and a hint of spice from ghost peppers

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Availability:  Year round.  Rev Nat’s ciders are in general sold in AK, CA, HI, ID, MT, NY, OR, and WA, as well as Alberta & B.C. Canada, and Japan.

Cider Description:  Others profess to produce a cherry cider, but none begin with 100% sour Granny Smith apples (eschewing all other apple varieties for their lack of sourness) unified with the superior Montmorency sour cherry (aka Prunus cerasus, a superior and vastly dissimilar cherry to Prunus avid, the bird cherry, the mere mazzard, so commonly used in cough syrup and children’s sweet-snacks) and the exotic Baladon sour cherry (hailing from my native country of Hungary), fermented with an English Ale yeast (procured from a fine brewery in Chiswick, London), rounded out with a spot of Bartlett pear juice (undeniably the world’s greatest pear-flavored pear) and completed with a touch of spiciness (largely attributable to the ghost chili pepper, although married with a secret spice), precisely enough to make your vigor race and spirits embrace another gulp. 

Cidery Description:  Reverend Nat is a single-minded cider evangelist who searches the world for superior ingredients to handcraft the most unusual ciders that no one else will make.

Price:  $7.00
Where Bought:  Special Brews in Lynnwood WA
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  My husband remembered liking this and bought a bottle (this appears to be his favorite cidery…he likes the weird stuff, like Wooden Hellfire), and I tried some.

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First Impression:  Cherry red-brown hue.  Still (no carbonation).  Smells of cherry and hot peppers (silly me made the mistake of taking a huge whiff of it too!).

Tasting Notes:  Semi-dry.  Light bodied.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  No bitterness, sourness, tannins, or funk.  Low spiciness (heat).  Notes of real cherry, green apple, lemon, and hot peppers.  Long lingering spicy finish.  Low to moderate cherry flavor, flavor intensity,  complexity, and sessionability.

My Opinion:  As expected, same as my previous trial, I didn’t like this due to the spiciness (although it was admittedly mild…I just don’t enjoy spicy beverages).  The cherry part of the cider was nice though.  My husband said the spiciness dissipated some by the time he got to the end of the bottle, but I only wanted two sips.  My husband however really enjoyed it, and was happy he got the whole bottle to himself (he is a big fan of both cherry and anything spicy).

Side Note:  Some other reviews said this was sour (like sour beer, from wild yeast), but I only picked up tart (like lemons and granny smith apples); I think the variety of cherries used are called sour cherries (similar to Doc’s Sour Cherry, my favorite cherry cider), but this wouldn’t be classified as an actual sour cider.

Most Similar to:  I’ve had plenty of cherry ciders (28 last I counted), but none that were also spicy.

Closing Notes:  My favorites from Rev Nat’s remain Revival, The Passion, Whiskey Barrel Aged Golden Russet with Black Currant, and Viva la Pineapple….ie. his more mainstream and sweeter selections.

Have you tried Reverend Nat’s Sacrilege Sour Cherry?  What did you think?

Tasting Notes from Reverend Nat’s Tap Room in Portland Oregon

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Reverend Nat’s tap room was the next stop in our Portland Oregon cider weekend adventure after Cider Rite of Spring (see my event review and tasting notes), checking into our hotel (the Embassy Suites on Pine St – nice for being in a historic building), and dinner at The Ringside steakhouse (I’m not a steak eater but my husband was a big fan…dinner there was his only request of the weekend).

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Reverend Nat’s Cider has been around officially since 2011, and moved into the current building in 2013, although “The Reverend” Nat West (he is actually ordained online) has been making cider since 2004.  They specialize in making weird & interesting ciders that no one else would have the guts to make, and they actually sell very well.

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It was shockingly quiet in the tap room for a Saturday night, but I guess its not really in an area which gets a lot of foot traffic, despite being in the downtown area.  Its a cool building, with high ceilings, and one wall was a roll-up garage door.  There were about four barstools at the main bar, a few at a center bar, one booth, and the rest were stools pulled around wine barrel tables.  There were maybe six other patrons and one bartender there with us.

They have 12 ciders on tap (and sometimes bottle pours), and sell bottles & growlers of their ciders as well as some merchandise.  Many of the ciders poured in the tap room are varieties which never leave the tap room.  They also offer a “Tent Show” cider club which gives members first pick at special release ciders (and only if any bottles are left are they sold in the tap room); there is currently a waiting list to even sign up for their cider club.

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The tap room is also the production area (although obviously not in use late at night), so I got to have a peek at the cidery itself.  I was surprised how small it was compared to how large Reverend Nat’s (and Cascadia Ciderworks United‘s) cider distribution is.

2017-03-25 20.13.47.jpgthe full menu

My husband and I ordered some tasters to share ($2-$5 for 4oz) of #7 Viva la Pineapple!, #10 Tent Show Wooden Hellfire, #11 Tassjara Peach Book, and #12 Belle de Boskoop (I’ve previously tried the Revival, Sour Cherry 2016 and 2015 versions, Hallelujah Hopricot, and New Moon Mandarin).

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<left to right:  Viva la Pineapple!, Revelation Belle de Boskoop, Tent Show Wooden Hellfire, and Tassjara Peach Book>

Viva la Pineapple! (6.0% ABV):  Described as a granny smith apple cider with pineapple juice and cinnamon.  Semi-sweet.  Medium bodied.  Low tartness.  Moderate acidity.  Moderate pineapple flavor.  Mild spice.  This was reminiscent of their Tepache, but apple not pineapple based, less spiced, and more drinkable by itself.  I really liked it.

Revelation Belle de Boskoop (6.8% ABV):  Described as a single varietal cider from an heirloom apple variety.  Semi-dry.  Apple forward.  However, the flavor for me was overwhelmingly vinegary with some sourness too.  I wasn’t a fan.

Wooden Hellfire (16.6% ABV):  This is a very unique cider which was started by boiling cider for 18 hours, making a concentrate (similar to freezing is used when making ice cider), then barrel aged for one year.  Very dark hue.  Dry to semi-dry.  Rich flavor with notes of caramel, prune, oak, and smoke.  High complexity and flavor intensity.  I liked the flavor (although the prune was odd), but this is something more to sip on a shot of than drink in any quantity or frequency.  My husband fell in love with it, saying it was the best cider he had ever tried, and ended up buying a bottle ($30, although its 750ml of 16.6% cider, if you can really call it cider anymore), plus two more bottles for some friends he told it about.  I really wish they would have sold this in smaller bottles, as 750ml is a lot of an intense high ABV cider, plus that would decrease the price point.

Tassjara Peach Book (8.5% ABV):  A cider with Mosaic hops, which are described as adding the scent and flavor of peaches to this cider without using any actual peaches.  Semi-dry.  There was definitely a very subtle peach flavor in addition to some citrus and hops notes.  Moderately bitter finish.  I found it to be average.

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Bottom Line:  To be honest, most of the ciders Rev Nat’s makes aren’t to my liking…they tend towards the weird, dry, spicy, sour, etc.  However, some of the staples such as Revival are awesome.  I also had a draft-only special release from them for last year’s Cider Summit (Whiskey Barrel Aged Golden Russet with Black Currant) which I really enjoyed.

Reverend Nat’s Revival

cidersays Rev Nat's, review , , , , , , , ,

Review of Reverend Nat’s Revival.  I’ve tried this cider before in 500ml bottles and draft, but not a six pack.  I’ve also previously tried his ¡Tepache!, Hopland #5 / Envy, Newtown Pippin, Ciderkin, Winter Abbey Spice, Hallelujah Hopricot, Deliverance Gin & Tonic, Revival Dry, Sour Cherry, The Passion, and Whiskey Barrel Aged Golden Russet with Black Currant.

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Cider:  Revival
Cidery:  Reverend Nat’s
Cidery Location:  Portland Oregon
ABV:  5.8%
How Supplied:  six pack of 12oz bottles (and 500ml bottles & draft)
Style:  American craft cider from dessert apples, with Mexican piloncillo sugar and two yeast strains

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Availability:  Year round in AK, CA (Southern), HI, ID, OR, and WA, as well as B.C. Canada, Singapore, and Tokyo & Nagano Japan, although the 500ml bottles are easiest to find.

Cider Description:  My newest release is Revival Hard Apple and I couldn’t be more thrilled to share it with you. I start with a secret blend of Washington-grown apples and add piloncillo, dark brown evaporated cane juice, purchased direct from Michoacan, Mexico. I ferment this dark base to all the way to dry using two exotic yeast strains: a beer yeast known for the round mouthfeel in Saisons and a rarely-used secret culture which produces aromas of pineapple, guava and peaches. This cider is brilliantly golden in color and deeply complex while remaining subtly familiar, with just the right amount of sweetness and acidity to be an everyday beverage.

Cidery Description:  Reverend Nat is a single-minded cider evangelist who searches the world for superior ingredients to handcraft the most unusual ciders that no one else will make.

Price:  $13.99
Where Bought:  Target
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  Browsing.  Its easy to find the single 500ml bottles, but this is only the second time I’ve seen the six packs.  The first was at Whole Foods, but only once.  Per ounce the six packs are a good deal.  I was very surprised to see it at Target, which otherwise only had commercial ciders.

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First Impression:  Light amber hue.  Low carbonation.  Smells of apples and yeast.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-sweet to semi-dry.  Light to medium bodied.  Low to moderate tartness.  Moderate acidity.  Hints of bitterness and tannins.  No sourness or funk.  Notes of apple juice, apple pomace, yeast, brown sugar, and honey.  Slight richness.  Quick finish length.  Moderate to high apple flavor.  High sessionability.  Moderate flavor intensity.  Low to moderate complexity.

My Opinion:  Yum!  This is a tasty everyday cider.  It varies quite a bit batch to batch, more than any other cider I’ve tried (but that is typical for craft ciders).  Sometimes I like it better than other times, but its always good.

Most Similar to:  Breton French cider, as it is apple-forward and yeast-forward, although less carbonation.

Closing Notes:   This is Reverend Nat’s most typical cider, and my favorite from him.

Have you tried Reverend Nat’s Revival?  What did you think?

Reverend Nat’s ¡Tepache!

cidersays not cider, Rev Nat's, review , , , , , , ,

Review of Reverend Nat’s ¡Tepache!.  Note this technically isn’t even cider, as it is only made using pineapple juice, no apples.  I tried this awhile back, and I’ve sampled a number of ciders from Reverend Nat’s (see here).

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Cider:  ¡Tepache!
Cidery:  Reverend Nat’s
Cidery Location:  Portland OR
ABV:  3.2%
How Supplied:  22oz brown bottles
Style:  American craft fermented pineapple juice with spices

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Availability:  Summer Seasonal sold in Oregon, Washington, Southern California, Idaho, Hawaii, Alaska, British Columbia Canada, Japan, and Singapore

Cider Description:  During a holiday in Veracruz I had a chance meeting with a peddler hawking Traditional Tepache out of a push-cart. A few pesos poorer and I was on Cloud Nine. ‘I unquestionably must have that recipe!’ I shouted. My Spanish is dreadful and his English was no better but over a few minutes of pictographic correspondence, I felt sanguine in my capacity to recreate that sumptuous drink upon my return to Portland.

Composed exclusively of pineapples sourced from my second cousin’s plantation in Costa Rica, piloncillo from the Mexican state of Michoacan and a furtive selection of spices, this lightly alcoholic elixir is sure to please your palate.

Much like American Apple Pie, there is no recipe for Tepache. It is a traditional Mexican drink, frequently consumed out of a plastic baggie with a straw, sold by street vendors in Jalisco and made at home. It’s not a cider – NO APPLES! The fermentation happens on the scales and rind of the pineapples, imparting a deep and unique flavor. This beverage is low-alcohol and sweet like a Summer Shandy or Radler due to a partial fermentation of the pineapples. Available starting Cinco de Mayo.

Cidery Description:  Reverend Nat is a single-minded cider evangelist who searches the world for superior ingredients to handcraft the most unusual ciders that no one else will make.

Price:  $6.99
Where Bought:  Total Wine
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  Browsing.  It sounded good, and I wanted to try mixing it with cider this time versus drinking it straight, so it ended up being an impulse try.

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First Impression:  Hazy yellow/brown hue (I recommend to lightly shake before pouring to distribute the sediment).  Still.  Smells strongly of pineapple and moderately of spices.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-sweet to semi-dry.  Medium bodied.  Low tartness and acidity.  No bitterness, tannins, sourness, or funk.  Notes of juicy pineapple, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  Moderate length finish.  Moderate pineapple flavor and moderate amount of spice.  Low complexity.  Moderate flavor intensity.  High sessionability.

My Opinion:  Yum!  Great by itself or mixed with cider.  I tried it with Number Six Dry 99 (although that didn’t help boost the 3.2% ABV much as its only 4.2% ABV).  I agree with the suggestion to use more Tepache than cider (or 50-50).  I don’t like beer so I can’t comment on that mixture, although it appears plenty popular.

Most Similar to:  Nothing really.  You can’t really compare it to pineapple cider as it doesn’t use apples.  However, like a number of other beverages, I thought the pineapple came across more in the scent than the flavor.  I only know of one other cidery doing Tepache, Argus Cidery in Texas, although I haven’t tried it as I heard its sour and thats not my thing.

Closing Notes:   If you are looking to try something unique and like pineapple and spices, Tepache may be to your liking.  This definitely isn’t an everyday drinker (like his Revival, which remains my favorite from Rev Nat’s), but its unique.

Have you tried Tepache?  What did you think?

Reverend Nat’s Tent Show Deliverance Gin & Tonic

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Review of Reverend Nat’s Deliverance Gin & Tonic, a selection of their Tent Show cider club.  I’ve previously tried a handful of their ciders (see here), with Revival being my favorite.

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Cider:  Deliverance Gin & Tonic
Cidery:  Reverend Nat’s
Cidery Location:  Portland OR
ABV:  10.0%
How Supplied:  750ml bottle
Style:  American craft Imperial single varietal Newtown Pippin cider with spices, gin barrel aged

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(standard Tent Show bottle, where only the label changes)

Availability:  Only at Reverend Nat’s Portland Oregon cidery, only for Tent Show cider club members unless there are leftover bottles, 46 cases produced

Cider Description:  Imperial (high ABV) Newtown Pippin cider with ginger, quinine, lime juice & zest, lemongrass, juniper berries, and cucumber, aged in Ransom Old Tom gin barrels

Cidery Description:  Reverend Nat is a single-minded cider evangelist who searches the world for superior ingredients to handcraft the most unusual ciders that no one else will make.

Nat West (who is actually an online ordained minister) has been making cider since 2004, started Reverend Nat’s in 2011, and opened a tap room with 12 taps in Portland in 2013 (which also includes bottles and selections from other cideries).

Price:  n/a (a friend brought this to a cider tasting dinner)
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  n/a

First Impression:  Hazy medium amber.  Nearly still.  Smells rich and boozy, of spices and botanicals.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-dry.  Medium bodied.  Low tartness.  Moderate acidity.  Moderate bitterness.  Low funk.  Low tannins.  No sourness.  Notes of caramel, ginger, and spices & botanicals I’m unfamiliar with.  No apple flavor.  Low sessionability.  High flavor intensity.  High complexity.

My Opinion:  This was a really interesting cider.  I didn’t really enjoy it at first, but it grew on me, especially once I added a couple ice cubes, which reduced the harshness.  This cider is more like a cocktail, and reminds me a bit of Pommeau.  I think without the ginger I would have liked it better (I’m not a ginger fan).

Most Similar to:  Not anything I’ve tried.  I’ve had Portland Cider Company London Dry Gin, which was gin barrel aged (dry, high tannins, and botanical).  I’ve also had Liberty Cider Works Abbess, which used gin botanicals (semi-dry, bold flavor with a hint of botanicals).  Both had the botanicals, but not the body, haziness, and richness of this cider.

Closing Notes:   I’m glad I got a chance to try this cider, as I’m not a Tent Show member, and Seattle is a bit far from Portland to just pop in and check if they have anything interesting.

Have you tried Reverend Nat’s Deliverance Gin & Tonic?  What did you think?

Reverend Nat’s Winter Abbey Spice

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Review of Reverend Nat’s Winter Abbey Spice, “apple wine with raisins and spices”.  Its a seasonal New England Style spiced cider (marketed as apple wine as it is over 7% ABV).  This appears similar to Reverend Nat’s Providence, which is also a New England Style spiced cider, but has a lower ABV.  At first I thought they were the same, as the store actually stuck a barcode label on this one saying “Providence”, but it appears not.

By the way, New England Style cider is typically considered a barrel aged strong cider (8-12% ABV) which underwent a secondary fermentation with additional sugars and raisins.  So, Winter Abbey Spice meets that definition except its a tad low on the ABV.

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Cider:  Winter Abbey Spice
Cidery:  Reverend Nat’s
Cidery Location:  Portland OR
ABV:  7.4%
How Supplied:  750ml flip top bottle
Style:  New England style American spiced cider

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Availability:  Winter time, where Reverend Nat’s cider is sold.  It appears this occurs in OR, WA, Southern CA, parts of ID, AK, British Columbia, Japan, & Singapore, and online at InsideTheCellar.com and ShipCider.com (although I didn’t see this variety on either website).

Cider Description:  Our good friends in the North counteract the bitter chill of winter with this traditional drink, but in flavor, bold in character, made with raisins, unrefined cane sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg and fermented to dryness with oak.  This tipple is sure to warm your bones.

The apples for this cider were from Kiyokawa Family Orchards.  It was aged in oak for 6 months.

Cidery Description:  Reverend Nat is a single-minded cider evangelist who searches the world for superior ingredients to handcraft the most unusual ciders that no one else will make.

Nat West (who is actually an online ordained minister) has been making cider since 2004, started Reverend Nat’s in 2011, and opened a tap room with 12 taps in Portland in 2013 (which also includes bottles and selections from other cideries).

Price:  $12.99
Where Bought:  Total Wine
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  This was recommended to me, so I was on the look out for it.  At first I thought it was the same as Providence as that is what the label from the store said and I remembered Providence being a New England Style spiced cider, but it appears the recipe and ABV is slightly different.  I had passed on Providence as the whole raisins and spices thing sounded weird.  However, I’m now more open to spiced ciders, and apparently raisins aren’t all that uncommon to add to ciders (New England Style is a thing and raisins were traditionally used as their wild yeast would ferment the cider, and they add some sweetness, alcohol content, flavor, color, and tannins).

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First Impression:  Rich caramel orange amber.  Low carbonation.  Smells rich, of caramel, butterscotch, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-dry.  Low acidity, tartness, and sourness.  A touch of bitterness and funk.  Mild to moderate spice (mostly cinnamon).  Lovely rich flavor with lots of burnt caramel and brown sugar notes.  The oak is barely noticeable.  I only picked up raisins in the scent, not the flavor.  Medium bodied.  Long finish.  Full flavored.  Low sessionability.

My Opinion:  This was pretty tasty, but the slightly sour thing was off putting to me.  The sourness wasn’t overt, and took me awhile to figure out what I was picking up.  However, reading online reviews, I can’t find anyone else noting it was sour, and I’m the first to admit I’m sensitive to it, so I imagine most folks wouldn’t notice at all.  My husband said this was in his top 5 favorite ciders at least (he samples everything I open).

Most Similar to:  Other high ABV spiced ciders (such as 2 Towns Nice & Naughty, although that is 10.5% ABV) and New England Style ciders.  I don’t think I’ve tried a New England Style cider before, but at least a few exist in the current craft cider market (such as from Blackbird and Headwater).  Apparently its fairly popular for home cidermakers too.

Closing Notes:   I can see why this cider is popular.  It wasn’t really my thing, but was nice to try.  I’m not opposed to trying another New England Style cider though.

Do you have a favorite spiced cider?

Hard Cider News Edition 2

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Here are some recent hard cider news/articles/links/posts I found interesting and have shared on Facebook lately.  To get the latest scoop, like Cider Says on Facebook!

Blogs & Facebook

Cider Log
My favorite cider Facebook group, who is in my neck of the woods.  Its a group of folks who enjoy hard cider. They have a cool photo album of the craft cider selection at various stores in the Seattle area, tasting notes, meetups, etc. They are not associated with any cidery, although one member does work for one.  I got to meet Sarah over the weekend at a Sonoma Cider tasting she was hosting at Whole Foods!

Rekorderlig and Kopparberg are NOT Cider
Interesting writeup on the Ciderplex Blog on two ciders which aren’t actually cider, as they aren’t made from fermented apple juice.  I wonder how many other products are like this?  Good thing we have ingredient lists to check out.

The Meteoric Rise of 2 Towns Cider
Story of 2 Towns Cider (from Corvallis OR), from All Into Cider Blog.

Learning to Use Cider in Cocktails
Q & A with Darlene Hayes about her cider cocktails book, from The Cider Journal.

Schilling Cider infographic on craft vs. all other cider
I think its important to know the difference between craft and commercial cider to be an informed consumer.  Personally I have nothing against buying commercial cider, and there are a number of selections I enjoy (such as Woodchuck).  They can be had for less money, found easier, and make for easy drinking.  I do however buy a good deal of craft cider, which is real cider, and often more complex.  It feels good to support a local business as well.

News Articles

10 Must-Try New Summer Beers & Ciders
Only one cider on the list unfortunately, Cider Riot’s Lemmy’s Summer Camp (Meyer Lemon Cider), from Portland OR.  It caught my eye as it comes in a plastic 2 liter bottle!  I spotted something like this at the Schilling Cider House (my first time seeing a cider in a 2 liter bottle), but it could have been another variety of Cider Riot’s.  This one is described as Dry with lemon tartness with a creamy overripe butterscotch tannic flavor.

Woodchuck Hard Cider Takes on the Big Guns
Woodchuck’s nearly around the clock production schedule to meet demand while allowing days off, and their new advertising strategy to compete with competition from the big name breweries such as Angry Orchard from Boston Beer.

Hard Cider, Hard Cash:  How a Father-Son Team from California is Tackling the Cider Craze
Story of Sonoma Cider (from Healdsburg CA).

Apples, apples everywhere
Cider scene in Poland of all places, where there are a lot of startups as they have an apple surplus due to not being able to export them.

Cider could lead wine drinkers “astray”
Is cider a threat to the wine industry as much as the beer industry?

Behind the scenes at Reverend Nat’s, Portland’s largest cidery (Photos)
Neat writeup of Rev Nat’s with behind the scenes photos!

Video

Made in the Northwest – Liberty Ciderworks
Segment on KXLY Spokane on Liberty Ciderworks.

Text & Video

Olympia Honey Hard Cider, a collaboration of Seattle Cider Co. and the Georgian Room at the Fairmont Olympic hotel. They are featuring the cider in a five course prix fixe dinner dubbed the “Extraction Menu” throughout August. Unfortunately the KING 5 Seattle New Day Northwest segment didn’t say if this cider would be available outside of the hotel’s restaurant & bar, but with some research it appears it won’t be (at least initially). I wonder if you can stop buy and purchase a bottle to go? Sure sounds tasty!

honey cider
(photo from @FairmontOlympic on Twitter of bees & cider while they were getting ready for the New Day Northwest segment)

Seattle International Beerfest 2015 Trip Report

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What a lovely day to be outside drinking cider in Seattle!  Luckily we had some cloud cover and it cooled off from the high 80s we’ve had of late to the low 70s.

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Although this was obviously a beer event, they had 10 cider choices out of the approximately 200 selections.  This was a three day event and we thankfully had the foresight to get there not too long after they opened at noon on the first day (Friday).  Yay for an excuse to take off work!  As the day went on it got only more crowded, and I can only expect the same for the rest of the weekend.

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Fisher Plaza in Seattle Center near the International Fountain was a great venue choice.  The event was mostly outside on the lawn, but there was also an inside portion.  Inside even had real restrooms (although there were also port a potties outside).  Sadly they did not allow outside beverages, even sealed bottles of water, so we dumped them and eventually found the water bottle fill station by the restrooms (otherwise it was $1 or $2 from a food vendor).

They housed the bottled selections inside and all the taps outside.  Most taps were coolers with two taps per cooler.  There was some seating & shade thankfully, so the blanket I brought wasn’t necessary (although it would be when they were busy).  There were numbered Tables with four selections per Table, and the event program listed all the beer/cider details and location.  This was very very well organized, especially compared to many tasting events I’ve been to.  I imagine Saturday afternoon here will be a zoo though!

This is a dog friendly event and we saw many many dogs.  They even had water bowls out for them, which I’m sure was appreciated.  There were also games to check out, which appeared to also be appreciated.  We saw lots of people just hanging out listening to the live music.  Others were more obviously beer aficionados.  There was even a smoking tent which kept the smell contained, although the cigar area at the top of the hill allowed cigar smoke to waft down a bit.

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before the crowds…

This event was staffed by volunteers, who gave up three hours of their time to serve beer & cider in exchange for a free t-shirt and entry to the event.  Tastes of beer & cider (4oz) cost between 1 and 7 tickets each, depending on the product cost, with a ticket worth $1.  Most selections were 2-3 tickets, but there were plenty of 1 ticket and 4-7 ticket selections.  They also offered some pints for 3 tickets, including Crispin Blackberry Pear.  I would have loved to have the brewers and cider makers at this event, but alas it was focused more on quantity and supposedly international & rare finds, than connecting drinkers with makers.

Lots of yummy food choices, although I was really craving a soft pretzel or pizza or something.  BBQ, gyros, burgers, burritos, grilled cheese, hot dogs, etc.  I ended up with a hot dog while my two drinking companions (hubby & friend) had Gyros.  We later snacked on some kettle corn and even a weird buckwheat pancake with butter & sugar confection (Miri’s Poffers).  There were also a few non-food vendors, everything from engraved growlers to beer themed t-shirts to beef jerky.

And now, on to the cider tasting notes…I ended up trying six ciders, four of which I hadn’t tried before.

(1) Aspall Dry Cider (bottle, 6.8%, from England, 3 tickets).  Dry English draft style cider.  This was the surprising winner of the day!  I would call it semi-dry.  Very crisp & smooth with a traditional English cider taste.  I found it to be pretty similar to Crispin Browns Lane.  I plan to try another selection of theirs which is available near me (the only one), Aspall Blush cider.

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(2) Reverend Nat’s Hopland #5 / Envy (draft, 10.2%, from OR, 2 tickets).  Intensely hopped cider with 11 hops varieties.  I didn’t expect to like this as I don’t like hops, but thought I might as well try it.  It has an unfiltered look to it, a bit orange and hazy.  Very very hoppy, both smell & taste!  It was also a bit boozy, which is to be expected at over 10%.  I really couldn’t pick up anything in this besides hops.  My companions tried it and couldn’t even taste that it was cider.  This is definitely a beer drinker’s cider.  Unfortunately after a couple sips it got dumped out, as it wasn’t even drinkable for my two beer loving companions.

(3) Wyder’s Reposado Pear (draft, 6.9%, from VT, 1 ticket).  Tequila barrel aged pear cider.  I’ve had this at home a number of times and was curious if it would taste any different on tap than bottled.  Surprisingly, not.  If anything I didn’t like it as much on tap as it seemed to have less carbonation.  For me this cider starts off with pear and finishes with tequila.  Its smooth, and sweet to semi-sweet.  I think its quite tasty.

(4) Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider (bottle, 5%, from England, 2 tickets).  This was pretty unremarkable for me.  It had a definite sweet apple scent, but tasted semi-dry.  It had a very quick finish to it and was overall quite plain.  I think there is much better cider to be had for the cost.

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(5) Anthem “Raz & Boyz” (draft, unknown ABV but I’d guess 5-6%, from OR, 2 tickets).  This was Wandering Angus’ mystery cider selection, from their Anthem line.  I really don’t have any info on it, as it wasn’t in the event program and it appears to be brand new (no information even online).  I wouldn’t be surprised if it is a new selection they released for the first time for the International Beerfest for Portland & Seattle, as they are from OR.  All I could go off of was the name they scrawled on the small white board lol, so this likely isn’t even the cider’s real name.  Very very tart!  Semi-dry to dry.  Brilliant red color.  I only picked up raspberry, no boysenberry.  It was more palatable once it opened up a bit by the end of the tasting glass.  One of my companions thought it would be much better as a beer mixer than on its own, as it was just too dry & tart.  I had fun watching people take their first sip after getting a glass of it, as most scrunched up their face!

(6) Crispin Blackberry Pear (draft, 5%, from CA, 3 tickets for a full pint).  Pear cider with blackberry.  This was something else I’ve had at home but was curious if it was any different on tap (and I was out of new ciders to try).  This is a sweet fairly straight forward blackberry & pear cider.  Smooth, easy to drink, and slightly tart.  This appeared to be a very popular selection, and I saw more folks with this in their pint glass than beer!  It was actually a good deal too for $3 a pint as this cider runs about $9 for a four pack of 12oz bottles.  Plus it really hit the spot to finish out the day.

Sorry I don’t have photos of the draft ciders, but they unfortunately didn’t have info sheets nor was there a surface to take a photo on…

Overall, I highly recommend this Seattle-area tasting event.  It’ll be a crowd pleaser for beer & cider lovers alike.  It was unfortunately a bit spendy though:  $95 for advance purchase admission for three with 60 tickets, $15 for parking, and food & souvenirs.  Still a great way to spend the day though.  We ended up getting one pack of 40 tickets for one person and two packs of 10 tickets each for two people, which worked out well to share.  Although you can buy extra tickets, the “Big Deal” as they called it (advance purchase only) essentially gave you 10 free tickets, and having the tickets in advance encouraged us to go big and try some of the more expensive stuff (vs. having to shell out extra money for single tickets).

My best advice is to arrive Friday afternoon when they open at noon, as around 4pm the crowds really picked up.  Other advantages of arriving Friday are that you have in & out privileges (just need your wristband & tasting glass), and they may run out of some selections.  Looking forward to next year!

Reverend Nat’s Revival

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Here is a review of Reverend Nat’s Revival cider, which is one of my favorites:

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Cider:  Revival
Cidery:  Reverend Nat’s
Cidery Location:  Portland OR
ABV:  6%
How Supplied:  500ml clear glass bottle
Availability:  year round, available in OR, WA, CA, ID, and B.C. (released Dec 2014)

Description:  My newest release is Revival and I couldn’t be more thrilled to share it with you. I start with a secret blend of Washington-grown apples and add piloncillo, dark brown evaporated cane juice, purchased direct from Michoacan, Mexico. I ferment this dark base to all the way to dry using two exotic yeast strains: a beer yeast known for the round mouthfeel in Saisons and a rarely-used secret culture which produces aromas of pineapple, guava and peaches. This cider is brilliantly golden in color and deeply complex while remaining subtly familiar, with just the right amount of sweetness and acidity to be an everyday beverage.

Price:  $6.99
Where Bought:  The Cave in Kirkland, Total Wine
How Found: Browsing
Where Drank:  home (I’ve also had it on tap at Tavern Hall in Bellevue)

Opinion:  This is an awesome semi-sweet cider with a unique tropical fruit aroma & flavor.  Surprisingly the tropical aspect is all from the apples (dessert, not cider apples) & yeast, nothing else was added.  I find this more semi-sweet than semi-dry, although apparently that is a suggestion from the tropical flavor, or as Nat West (Rev Nat’s founder) said, “It gives a perception of sweetness, while maintaining an semi­-dry character and rich complexity”.  Revival also has a wonderful deep hue from the piloncillo.  If you are lucky enough to find this flavor on tap, give it a try, as it is even better than bottled!

Note there is a Rev Nat’s variety called “Revival Dry”, which is different than this one.  I’ve also tried Rev Nat’s Tepache, which is a very unique beverage made from fermented pineapple and spices.  I look forward to trying more Rev Nat’s cider, once I find one that interests me, as so far near me I’ve seen varieties with spices, hops, and ginger, none of which interest me.  Rev Nat’s taproom also sounds like a fun place to visit, and they have had all sorts of events & special releases, so its on my short list.  A unique cider from a unique cidery.  Highly recommended!

Have you tried Rev Nat’s Revival?  What did you think?