Woodchuck Sangria

June 3, 2019June 1, 2019 cidersays review, Woodchuck cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, sangria, Sangria cider, tasting notes, Woodchuck

Review of Woodchuck’s Sangria cider. It is my first time trying this, although I have had most of their line-up (see here).

>>This is a review of a sample can provided to Cider Says by Woodchuck. 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: Sangria
Cidery: Woodchuck
Cidery Location: Middlebury VT
ABV: 5.5%
How Supplied: 12oz cans
Style: American commercial cider from dessert apples, with natural fruit flavors and grape skin extract for color

Availability: semi wide release by July 2019

Cider Description: A semi-sweet cider with notes of red wine, citrus and berry to give a full-bodied taste inspired by Sangria.

Cidery Description: Vermont Cider Company is a leading hard cider maker in the United States, with a state of the art cidery located in Middlebury, Vermont. Vermont Cider Company crafts a variety of ciders fora variety of consumers. There’s ultra-craft Vermont Cider Co., iconic Woodchuck, fruit-forward Wyder’s as well as the classic Magners Irish Cider and Blackthorn, rounding out our import offerings. Vermont Cider Company reinvigorated American hard cider in 1991, with the launch of Woodchuck, and stays focused on the category today through our commitment to crafting innovative and refreshing hard ciders.

Price: n/a (runs ~ $9.99 / six pack)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: it showed up

First Impression: Deep red hue. No carbonation. Smells of red grape.

Tasting Notes: Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Medium bodied. Low tartness. Moderate acidity. No bitterness, sourness, tannins, or funk. Notes of red grape and green apple, with hints of lemon, pineapple, and red wine. Moderate length finish. Very high sessionability. Low to moderate flavor intensity and complexity. Low apple flavor.

My Opinion: I liked it. Super easy to drink and fruity, although rather grapey.

Most Similar to: Portland Cider Sangria plus Portland Cider Concord Grape

Closing Notes: This would be a great cider to bring to a bbq or similar summer event.

Have you tried Woodchuck Sangria? What did you think?

Portland Cider Cans – Apple, Hop’Rageous, and Sangria

January 26, 2018December 15, 2018 cidersays Portland Cider, review canned cider, cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Hop'Rageous, portland, Portland Cider, sangria, tasting notes

Review of Portland Cider’s three current canned varieties – Apple, Hop’Rageous, and Sangria. I’ve tried these all before, but had previously only had Hop’Rageous and Sangria in bottles (see my previous reviews of Apple, Hop’Rageous, and Sangria). Their Sangria is new to cans (and is currently also still sold in 22oz bottles), but the Apple and Hop’Rageous have been around in cans for awhile (and “Apple” has only ever been sold in cans). I have also tried their Passion Fruit, Pearfect Perry, Kinda Dry, London Dry Gin, Crooked Cock Scrumpy, Strawperry, Pineapple, Mojito, and Cranberry ciders.

>>This is a review of sample cans provided to Cider Says by Portland Cider. 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: Apple, Hop’Rageous, and Sangria
Cidery: Portland Cider
Cidery Location: Portland Oregon
ABV: 5.5% or 6.5%
How Supplied: four or six pack of 12oz cans of a single variety (it appears they are moving from four packs to boxed six packs)
Style: American craft cider from dessert apples, with nothing (Apple), Citra hops (Hop’Rageous), or fruit added (Sangria)

Availability: year round, in Oregon, Washington, and Colorado

Descriptions:
Apple – An authentic medium-dry cider classic, bursting with juicy crisp apple taste.
Hop’Rageous – Dry hopped with Citra Hops then infused with bitter orange peel to reinforce the citrus notes. Delicious & Hop’Rageous!
Sangria – Blend our delicious cider with the juices of orange, strawberry, pear, passionfruit, elderberry, and lime, to get our Sangria cider. It’s your new favorite fruit punch, for grown-ups!

Cidery Description: Portland Cider Company was started in October 2012 by an Oregonian and a family of British expats with the mission of bringing cider, handcrafted in the English tradition, to the Northwest.

They have two tap rooms in the Portland area.

Price: n/a (retails for ~ $7.99 / four pack)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: it showed up

Apple: Medium straw yellow hue. Low carbonation. Smells mild, of tart apples with a hint of honey. On the sweeter side of semi-dry. Light bodied. Low to moderate tartness and acidity. No sourness, bitterness, funk, or tannins. The flavor was pure apple with hints of honey & citrus. Quick finish. Mild to moderate flavor intensity. Low complexity. Moderate apple flavor. High sessionability. I liked how this had a lot of juicy apple flavor without tasting like alcoholic apple juice (which I think many commercial ciders do) or being too sweet. Most similar to Jester & Judge American Apple.

Hop’Rageous: Light straw yellow hue. Very low carbonation. Smells mild, of citrus and floral with a hint of hops. On the drier side of semi-dry. Light bodied. Low tartness and acidity. No sourness, bitterness, funk or tannins. The flavor was very citrus (orange and lemon) with hints of hops and floral. Moderate length finish with more citrus than hops. Mild to moderate flavor intensity, complexity, and apple flavor. High sessionability. I liked how refreshing it was, with only a mild hops flavor, and lacking bitterness. I used to think I didn’t like hopped ciders, as I don’t like beer and the first couple hopped ciders I tried were very intense, but since then I’ve found a few hopped ciders I enjoy, like this one. Most similar to Tod Creek Mala-Hop and Incline The Explorer.

Sangria: Pink hue. Moderate carbonation. Smells deliciously fruity. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Light bodied. Moderate tartness and acidity. No sourness, bitterness, funk, or tannins. Notes of strawberry, kiwi, white grape, lime, and passion fruit. Moderate length finish. Low apple flavor. Moderate flavor intensity. High sessionability. Low complexity. I liked the flavor variety and complexity, with all the different fruit flavors. This would be perfect in summer! Most similar to Bull Run Strawberry Fields and Portland Cider Strawperry.

Closing Notes: Canned cider is becoming popular, and I’m seeing a lot of cideries launch with only canned products, add cans to their lineup, or switch to cans, even cideries that you’d never expect to.

Have you tried Portland Cider’s canned ciders? What did you think?

Portland Cider Sangria

February 6, 2017February 3, 2017 cidersays Portland Cider, review cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, portland, Portland Cider, sangria, tasting notes

Review of Portland Cider’s Sangria, released last month. It is my first time trying it, although I have tried their Passion Fruit, Pearfect Perry, Kinda Dry, Hop’Rageous, London Dry Gin, Apple, Crooked Cock Scrumpy, Strawperry, and Pineapple ciders.

Cider: Sangria
Cidery: Portland Cider
Cidery Location: Portland Oregon
ABV: 5.5%
How Supplied: 22oz bottles (and kegs)
Style: American craft cider from dessert apples with 7 fruit juices

Availability: year round, in California (Los Angeles), Colorado, Oregon, and Washington

Cider Description: Blend our delicious cider with the juices of orange, strawberry, pear, passionfruit, elderberry, and lime, to get our Sangria cider. It’s your new favorite fruit punch, for grown-ups!

Cidery Description: Authentically crafted Cider with quality Northwest ingredients. Our business 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 100% Northwest grown apples. We then carefully ferment it, using yeast that protects the delicate characteristics of the fruit. The results are ciders that are high quality – easy to drink, refreshing, and downright delicious. That’s why we say, Drink it, it’s Good!

They were founded in 2012 and have tap rooms in Hawthorne and Clackamas in Portland Oregon.

Price: n/a (retails for ~$6.99)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: contacted by the cidery

First Impression: Pink hue. Moderate carbonation. Smells deliciously fruity.

Tasting Notes: Semi-sweet. Light bodied. Moderate tartness. High acidity. No bitterness, sourness, funk, or tannins. Notes of strawberry, kiwi, white grape, lime, and passion fruit. Moderate length fruity acidic finish. Low apple flavor. High flavor intensity. High sessionability. Low complexity.

My Opinion: Yum! I really enjoyed it. This would be especially great in summer. The notes of kiwi were interesting considering they didn’t add kiwi juice, but I imagine it was the combination of juices. I liked the higher carbonation level. The acidity helped balance the sweetness.

Most Similar to: Bull Run Strawberry Fields cider also had some great strawberry notes, but didn’t have any other fruits. Portland Cider Strawperry had some similar strawberry notes, but wasn’t nearly as flavorful as their Sangria. Cider Brothers William Tell Dry Hard Apple Cider with Strawberry also had strawberry, but Portland Cider’s Sangria had a more real flavor. As for strawberry (and watermelon) flavor without any strawberries added, Alpenfire Glow is an amazingly complex cider made from red-fleshed apples.

Closing Notes: This is my favorite cider so far from Portland Cider.

Have you tried Portland Cider Sangria? What did you think?

Cider Cocktails for the Independence Day Holiday, Anyone?

July 3, 2015July 12, 2015 cidersays misc apple, apple cider, cider, cocktail, hard apple cider, hard cider, ice cream, limeade, margarita, mimosa, punch, rum, sangria, watermelon

I’ve been wanting to get into trying cider cocktails, and in my research found some of the following ideas:

Woodchuck Watermelon Cider Cubes: A blended mix of watermelon, pineapple, & raspberries, frozen in an ice cube tray to add to cider (such as their hint of blueberry cider, Summer Time). Useful in warm weather to keep a cider cool without watering it down. They give a bonus recipe to pour any extra fruit mixture into half an empty watermelon, mix in their Gumption cider variety, and freeze it–slushy anyone?

Cider Sangria: This sounds yummy, and I imagine there are many directions it can be taken. Not sure I’d do a semi-dry cider with Grand Marnier and ice cider though (plus the later two ingredients would be expensive)…I’m thinking more of cider with juice & fruit. I think even just adding fruit to cider would be yummy…it reminds me of Rev Nat’s Revival, with a wonderful tropical fruit flavor.

Cider Mimosa: Either pear cider (perry) with orange juice (Perry Mimosa) or méthode champenoise (a champagne-like sparkling cider) with pineapple juice (Summer Mimosa). Both are simple and sound yummy! I imagine with these as well there are many directions they can be taken.

Cider Margarita: Tequila, cider, and Grand Marnier. Sounds interesting enough to be good! They use cinnamon & sugar on the rim instead of salt.

Cider Ice Cream Float: Not exactly a cocktail, but it is something I’ve been meaning to try for awhile. For some reason I think it would be especially good with dark cider, such as Spire Mountain Dark & Dry.

Orchard Limeade: Green apple cider, absinthe, and lime juice. I haven’t seen anything like this before.

Apple Rum Punch: Coconut rum, spiced rum, dark rum, cider, orange juice, and pineapple juice. I’m curious how this would be with cider added. I’ve had similar drinks without cider, and think they can be tasty if they aren’t overly sweet.

Have you tried any cider cocktails? How did it turn out?

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: