Schilling Cider House Visit 17 Tasting Notes

June 23, 2016June 18, 2016 cidersays AEppelTreow, Cockrell, Finnriver, Greenwood, Honey Moon, review, Schilling cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, tasting notes

Tasting notes from my seventeenth visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA. Check out my past posts with tasting notes here.

I was there on a random Tuesday afternoon and enjoyed a flight of six ciders. Even though I had just been there the week before, a good portion of the taps had turned over and there were plenty of ciders to choose from which were new to me.

Schilling (Auburn WA) Rhubarb Pear (6.0% ABV): I thought I hadn’t tried this one, but I actually had (its an apple cider with rhubarb & pear, also called Lumberjack and available in cans); see here. I’ve tried many of their ciders previously (see here). Pale peach hue. Smells sweet, fruity, and mild. Semi-dry. Medium bodied. Moderate tartness and acidity. Mildly flavored–rhubarb, strawberry, pear, and peach. Easy to drink. I think I liked it better canned, as it was higher carbonation and more tart.

Finnriver (Port Townsend WA) Pear Wood (6.9% ABV): This is a Crew Selection keg-only release, a rendition of their Pear cider (which I reviewed here). Its made from bittersweet apples with Malo-Lactic Fermentation and aged with oak staves, mixed with barrel aged cider, then backsweetened with pear juice. I’ve tried many of their ciders previously (see here). Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Medium bodied. Moderate tartness and acidity. Hints of bitterness. Notes of bittersweet apple, pear, and oak. Fairly simple.

Greenwood (Seattle WA) Cedar Cider (6.5% ABV): This is a keg-only release. I’ve tried a couple of their ciders previously (see here). Mild scent. Dry. Light bodied. Mild to moderate tartness, acidity, and bitterness. Earthy wood flavor with some bite that reminds me of crabapples. A hint of vinegar. Citrus and vanilla. Unique.

AEppelTreow (Burlington WI) Blackbird Berry-Apple (5.5% ABV): This cider is available in kegs and bottles, and is apple cider with black currant and elderberries. I’ve tried a few of their ciders previously (see here). Deep berry hue. Smells of raspberries and blackberries. Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Light to medium bodied. Moderate berry flavor, more raspberry than anything else. I didn’t really detect black currant or elderberries. Moderate tartness. Low acidity. Hints of tannins and bitterness. Not overly juice-like which I notice often happens with sweeter berry ciders. I found it to be very well-balanced and its one of my favorite berry ciders.

Honey Moon (Bellingham WA) CiderHead Bourbon Barrel (5.5% ABV): This is a keg-only release. I’ve tried a couple of their ciders previously (see here). Smells sour. Dry to semi-dry. Light bodied. Mild sourness and bitterness. Moderate tartness and acidity. Vinegar and citrus notes. Mild barrel and bourbon influence.

Cockrell (Puyallup WA) Pub Cider (6.2% ABV): This is a keg-only release. I’ve tried a couple of their ciders previously (see here). Smells sweet and rich. Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Frothy. Very mildly flavored and it kinda tasted watered down, although it was medium bodied. Apple-forward.

The AEppelTreow Blackbird Berry-Apple was oddly enough my favorite, probably as it was the most flavorful. I would have guessed that I’d prefer the Bourbon Barrel or Pub Cider based on my typical preferences, but I didn’t really like either (especially the Bourbon Barrel, as I don’t like sour ciders).

Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 16 Tasting Notes

June 17, 2016June 11, 2016 cidersays Alpenfire, Carlton, Eaglemount, Locust, review, Schilling Alpenfire, cider, cider bar, cider flight, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, seattle, washington

Tasting notes from my sixteenth visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA. Check out my past posts with tasting notes here. I was there on a Tuesday evening for a tasting event with Alpenfire Cider (from Port Townsend WA). Its pretty rare they do events, besides some pricey (but awesome sounding) dinners with cider pairings.

Philippe (Nancy & Bear’s son) was there from Alpenfire. The Cider House was featuring a flight of six ciders from Alpenfire (five of which were bottle pours, which was a first for the Cider House, and Apocalypso on draft, which is a rarity for Alpenfire) plus a Shrub cider cocktail.

I arrived early so I tried a few ciders before the event. I had been there just a week earlier, but quite a few of the taps turned over (although there weren’t too many I hadn’t tried).

Eaglemount (Port Townsend WA) Perry (8.0% ABV): Smells of pear and citrus, slightly sour. Semi-dry. Medium bodied. Mild to moderate tartness and acidity. Mild bitterness. Hints of sourness, funk, and tannins. Notes of pear, citrus, spice, and vanilla. Alcohol-forward and sharp. Moderate length finish.

Locust Cider (Woodinville WA) Apricot (6.0% ABV): Smells sweet, of apricot and peach. Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Light to medium bodied. Moderate tartness and acidity. A hint of bitterness. No sourness, funk, or tannins. Medium flavor intensity with simple but real tasting apricot flavor. Quick finish.

Carlton Cider (McMinnville OR) Bourbon Peachy Keen (6.5% ABV): Foamy. Smells of bourbon and fruitiness (peach and apricot). Semi-dry to dry. Very light bodied with a frothy mouthfeel. Low tartness. Moderate acidity. Low bitterness. No sourness, funk, or tannins. Low barrel influence. Moderate spirit influence. Medium to long length finish. They also make a non barrel aged version of this cider.

The Alpenfire ciders were ready as it got closer to 6pm. I’ve previously tried all the ciders they were offering in the flight, so I decided to just order a pint of Apocalypso (a draft-only version of their Calypso blackberry rum barrel aged cider with double the blackberries and barrel aged 4 instead of 2 months).

Alpenfire (Port Townsend WA) Apocalypso (6.5% ABV): Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Medium bodied. Mild to moderate tartness. Mild acidity. Mild tannins. No bitterness, sourness, or funk. Mild rum influence. Moderate barrel (oak) influence. Moderate blackberry flavor. Moderate length finish.

I also tried a couple sips of the Shrub cocktail, made with Alpenfire bittersweet cider, Alpenfire apple cider vinegar, blackberry puree, and sparkling water.

Alpenfire (Port Townsend WA) Shrub: Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Medium bodied. Vinegar more in the scent than flavor. There is tartness and a hint of vinegar flavor, but not any sourness like I was expecting. No bitterness, sourness, funk, or tannins. Moderate blackberry flavor. Moderate length finish. Unique, but not my thing.

My favorite of the night was the Alpenfire Apocalypso cider. I liked this batch even better than the last one I tried for WA cider week 2015 at the Burgundian Bar (see here), as it was slightly sweeter, more fruity, and more oaky.

They even got in some bottles of Alpenfire Cinders (the Méthode Champenoise version of Glow, their rosé cider made with red-fleshed apples). Its a rare find outside of the Alpenfire tap room (which I visited in February; see here). I actually prefer Glow though, as its sweeter and more flavorful.

Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 15 Tasting Notes

June 8, 2016June 4, 2016 cidersays Farnum Hill, Jester & Judge, Longdrop, Red Tank, review, Schilling, Snowdrift, Whitewood cider, cider bar, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, seattle, tasting notes

Tasting notes from my fifteenth visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA. Check out my past posts with tasting notes here. I was there on a Tuesday evening for a tasting event with Longdrop Cider (from the Boise Idaho area).

I started with a flight before the event, then sampled four Longdrop ciders (2 on tap, 1 bottled, and 1 canned) and a bit of a Canadian ice cider which Sarah opened. There were supposed to be 4 kegs from Longdrop, but 2 didn’t make it in time. I hadn’t previously tried any of their ciders. Longdrop is relatively new to Washington (their ciders are sold throughout Idaho and in Seattle WA and Portland OR). I got to meet their “head apple wrangler” (Chris Blanchard) and they had some giveaways (I got a sweet t-shirt).

Schilling Peach Grapefruit Habanero, 5.0% ABV, Auburn WA: This is a one-off keg of their Grapefruit cider infused with peach and habanero. I’ve tried many of their ciders. Very hazy. Smells like grapefruit with some definite spiciness. Semi-sweet. Moderate tartness. Mild acidity. I didn’t really taste any peach, only grapefruit, and the spiciness was overwhelming for me. Long spicy finish. I learned that the Cider House will maintain one “spicy” tap line, and this currently replaces their Sriracha Lime. I couldn’t do more than two tiny sips of this one; my favorites from them remain King’s Shilling and Pineapple Paradise.

Red Tank Roughneck, 6.5% ABV, Bend OR: This is one of their flagship ciders. I’ve tried a few of their ciders. Semi-dry. Light bodied. Low tartness and acidity. A hint of bitterness and sourness. Kinda bland / low flavor intensity, but it had a bit of unfiltered apple juice flavor, yeast, and earthiness. For unfiltered ciders, I prefer 2 Towns OutCider.

Whitewood Winesap, 6.8% ABV, Olympia WA: A special release tap-only cider. I’ve tried a few of their ciders. Semi-dry. Moderate tartness and acidity. A hint of tannins. Slightly sharp, apple-forward, and citrus-forward. It mellowed out a bit as it warmed up. Medium bodied. I found this similar to the other single varietal winesap apple ciders I’ve tried from Blue Mountain and Locust, and slightly wine-like. My favorite from them is the Whiskey Barrel Aged Kingston Black, which is one of my all time favorite ciders (and I was only able to sample a bit twice; hopefully it is released in bottles sometime).

Farnum Hill Dooryard, 7.5% ABV, Lebanon NH: This is one of their best selling / flagship ciders; Farnum Hill typically labels the different batches of this cider with a code, and you can look up what is in them online (they vary apple varieties and such quite a bit under the same Dooryard label), but I don’t know what batch this was. Also available in bottles, and sold from their Poverty Lane Orchard in growlers. I’ve previously only tried their Extra Dry cider. Dry. Mild tartness and acidity. Mild to moderate bitterness. Mild funk. A hint of sourness as it warmed up. Mild tannins. Citrus, vanilla, mineral, and clove notes. Wine-like and nuanced. This isn’t really my cup of tea.

Jester & Judge Pineapple Express, 5.5% ABV, Stevenson WA: This is a new tap-only release. I’ve tried a few of their ciders. Hazy. Semi-sweet. Strong fresh pineapple flavor! Nice fizziness/frothiness. Moderate tartness and acidity. Light bodied. Quick finish. I really enjoyed this one, despite its simplicity. I found it similar to Schilling’s Pineapple Passion / Trouble in Paradise, but with slight lime instead of slight passion fruit notes.

Snowdrift Semi-Dry, 7.1% ABV, Wenatchee WA: This is one of their flagship ciders, and although I’ve tried most of them, I had only seen their Dry variety previously. Available in bottles and kegs. Dry. Moderate tartness and acidity. Mild bitterness. Mild tannins. Medium bodied. Sharp flavor with some crabapple, apple pomace, and brown sugar notes, and slight richness. Moderate length finish. My favorites from them remain Red, Cornice, and Cliffbreaks Blend.

Longdrop Tanager Pear Cider, 6.0% ABV, Eagle ID: This is their spring seasonal release, a pear cider (apple + pear, not perry), available in 22oz bottles. Smells like juicy pear. Semi-dry. Moderate tartness and acidity. Light bodied, with a fizzy/frothy mouthfeel. Quick finish. Simple apple & pear flavor, but it was nice & light and easy to drink.

Longdrop Vanilla Honey, 6.0% ABV, Eagle ID: This is one of their two most commonly found ciders. Available in 12oz cans and draft. Made from Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith apples, with Madagascar Vanilla beans and Idaho honey. Smells strongly of honey. Semi-dry. Light bodied. Low tartness and acidity. Honeycomb flavor with a hint of vanilla. Quick finish. I really loved the honeycomb flavor; you can tell it was high quality honey.

Longdrop Derby Canyon, 6.9%, Eagle ID: This is a special release for the 2016 Apple Blossom Festival, named after a landmark in Washington nearby where the apples for this cider are from. This cider was made with 100% Wenatchee Valley apples…”it’s got a big apple taste with some complexity – probably because it’s got one of every kind of apple out there in it”. Available in 220z bottles and kegs. Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Light bodied. Apple-forward with some unfiltered apple juice flavor.

Longdrop Semi-Sweet, 5.5% ABV, Eagle ID: This is one of their two most commonly found ciders. Available in 12oz cans and draft. Made from Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith apples. Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Light bodied. Apple-forward with some vanilla notes and a hint of vinegar/salt?

Pomme De Coeur ice cider, 6.9% ABV, Rougemont Canada: This is the first Canadian ice cider I’ve tried, and the lowest ABV I’ve seen. Its pretty widely available in boxed tall 375ml bottles. Ice cider originated in Quebec, and is made with either apples or apple juice which has been exposed to cold cycles, which concentrates the sugar (and thus flavor), and produces a higher ABV beverage as well. Smells like caramelized sugar. Sweet but not as sweet as other ice ciders such as from Eden. Medium bodied. Very juice-like, with less complexity than other ice ciders. It also doesn’t have the body and higher ABV of most ice ciders. I liked the first couple sips, but after that its inferior quality was apparent. I like the super concentrated intense flavor of other ice ciders; Eden Northern Spy (barrel aged) is my favorite so far. Although its about $15 (vs. $30+) for 375ml, I’d rather get the good stuff. I imagine there are much better Canadian ice ciders available than this (often the more commercial beverages are the ones which have the means to export their products), so I hope to try another in the future.

My favorite Longdrop cider was the Vanilla Honey, and my favorite cider from my flight was Jester & Judge’s Pineapple cider.

Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 14 Tasting Notes

April 15, 2016April 13, 2016 cidersays 2 Towns, Cockrell, Red Tank, Rev Nat's, review, Schilling cider, cider bar, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, seattle, tasting notes

Tasting notes from my fourteenth visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA. Check out my past posts with tasting notes here. I was there on a Saturday afternoon with my husband and a friend, who was here from out of state.

I started with a flight of four ciders.

2 Towns Return of the Mac, Corvallis OR, 8.9% ABV: This is an unfiltered special release cider made with McIntosh apples, tap-only. Darker slightly unfiltered hue. Semi-sweet. Smells and tastes very apple-forward. Mild tartness and acidity. A hint of bitterness. Medium bodied. Simple in flavor, but tasty. This reminds me some of their Out Cider, but its sweeter and even more apple-forward.

Red Tank Sour Cherry, Bend OR, 5.4% ABV: A seasonal tap-only release made with Montmorency cherries. Mild cherry hue and scent. Semi-dry. Mild to moderate tartness and mild acidity. There was (thankfully) no sourness, so I think this could be more accurately called Tart Cherry not Sour Cherry. Light bodied. True but mild cherry flavor.

Reverend Nat’s Hallelujah Hopricot, Portland OR, 6.7% ABV: This is their flagship cider, but I’m not a huge hops fan, so I hadn’t tried it. My husband however requested I get a taster (he’s a big Rev Nat’s fan). Semi-dry. Very mild floral scent. Mild tartness and medium acidity with a hint of bitterness. Medium bodied. Stone fruit, floral, citrus, and hops notes. The hops remained quite mild, more floral & citrus than hops.

Schilling Cider Raspberry Smoothie, Auburn WA, 3.5% ABV: This is a new tap-only release, and literally a smoothie. I imagine this wouldn’t have the shelf life of a regular cider due to its high fruit content and low alcohol content. I couldn’t taste any alcohol or apples, but it was quite tasty and refreshing on a warm day. Semi-sweet. Mild to moderate tartness. Very raspberry-forward, and they definitely used the real thing. Very full bodied. I actually ordered a full pint of this one, although that ended up being a bit much for me (it was quite filling, although I think it was just cider and fresh raspberries).

While I was there they tapped a new keg, Cockrell Brewing’s Edgewood Heirloom cider. I asked for a taste.

Cockrell Brewing Edgewood Heirloom, Puyallup WA, 6.5% ABV: This is their first cider made exclusively with apples from their own farm. Smells mild, of crisp apples, champagne yeast, and citrus. Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Light bodied. Mild tartness and acidity. Mildly flavored. Apple-forward.

My favorite was surprisingly the Raspberry Smoothie (I’d be interested in some background info on that one…very unique). I also really liked 2 Towns Return of the Mac. The Red Tank Sour Cherry, Rev Nat’s Hallelujah Hopricot, and Cockrell Edgewood were all rather average for me.

I actually didn’t buy any bottles, as I have quite a few at home at the moment.

Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 13 Tasting Notes

April 8, 2016October 21, 2017 cidersays AEppelTreow, Elemental, Liberty, Portland Cider, review, Schilling, Zeffer cider, cider bar, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, seattle, tasting notes

Tasting notes from my thirteenth visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA. Check out my past posts with tasting notes here. I was there on a random Friday, as I was in the mood for some cider shopping and had some extra time as my hubby was out of town (I may have also gone to three other bottle shops that week…).

I brought some dinner with me from the PCC down the street, and ordered a flight of six ciders–Elemental Margarita Randall, Schilling Vanilla Clove, Liberty Cellar Series #G15, AEppelTreow Sparrow Spiced, Portland Cider Crooked Cock Scrumpy, and Zeffer Crisp Apple (left to right in photo below).

Elemental Margarita (Jalapeno Lime Cilantro) Randall with Strawberries, Mango, and Lime, 6.5% ABV, Woodinville WA: Schilling took Elemental’s Margarita (Jalapeno Lime Cilantro) cider and put it through a Randall (flavor infuser) with fresh strawberries, mango, and lime. The Cider House does a Randall most weekends. I’ve had this cider before, and its nice and flavorful without a real discernible spiciness when drinking small quantities. The additional lime and fruitiness was tasty, and would be awesome in summer. The additional ingredients however took away the cilantro and jalapeno flavor notes of the base cider. Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Moderate tartness from the added lime. Light to medium bodied. Moderate to strong acidity. This one really hit the spot as we’ve been having summer-like heat in Seattle.

Schilling Vanilla Clove, 6.3% ABV, Auburn WA: I’ve had a lot of ciders from Schilling. This appears to be a tap-only release (weird time of year for a spiced cider though?). Smells rather strongly of vanilla with a hint of clove spice. Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Medium bodied. Mild acidity and tartness. Very vanilla with hints of spice. It tastes dessert-like without being overly sweet. Moderate length finish.

Liberty Cellar Series #G15, 8.6% ABV, Spokane WA: I’ve tried a number of their ciders. This is a special tap-only release. Its made from Golden Russet, Chisel Jersey, and Empire apples, wild-yeast fermented, then barrel-aged. Semi-dry to dry. Light bodied. Mild acidity, tartness, bitterness, and tannins. A hint of sourness, but not as much as I’ve found with other wild yeast ciders. Notes of oak, spice, honey, stone fruit, and hops?. Moderate length finish.

AEppelTreow Sparrow Spiced, 5.8% ABV, Burlington WI: I’ve had a few ciders from them. This one is made from Red Delicious, Cortland, McIntosh, and Greenings apples, with mace, cinnamon, star anise, and cardamon. Its also available in bottles. It smells of cinnamon. Semi-sweet to semi-dry. Medium bodied. Mild to moderate tartness. Low acidity. A hint of bitterness. More cinnamon flavor than anything else, but the base cider had a bit of richness to it. There were also notes of oak (although not barrel aged), vanilla, and other spices. Moderate length finish.

Portland Cider Crooked Cock Scrumpy, 13.5% ABV, Portland OR: Wow! Quite boozy, without much else going for it. I think with some sweetness or flavor (richness or tannins) this would have been better. I wonder where the pinkish hue came from? Semi-dry to dry. Light bodied. Low acidity and tartness. Moderate bitterness. Long warming boozy finish.

Zeffer Crisp Apple, 5.0% ABV, Matakana New Zealand: This is my first time trying anything from this brand. I found it rather bland and apple juice-like. Semi-dry. Low tartness and acidity. Light to medium bodied. I didn’t really pick up any flavor notes besides apple juice, apple pomace, and yeast. I’d guess this is made with dessert apples and back sweetened. Quick finish.

My favorites of the evening were the Elemental Margarita Randall, plus Liberty #G15 and AEppelTreow Sparrow Spiced. I really didn’t like the Portland Scrumpy one though, and especially once it warmed up, didn’t feel like finishing it.

On my way out I picked up bottles of Aspall Imperial (blue instead of black label this time…I’m curious whether they are different) and E.Z. Orchards Poire (French-style perry).

Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 12 Tasting Notes

March 23, 2016March 19, 2016 cidersays Anthem, Carlton, Cider Riot, Grizzly, Moonlight Meadery, Red Tank, review, Schilling cider, cider bar, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, seattle, tasting notes

Tasting notes from my twelfth visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA. Check out my past posts here. I was there on St. Patrick’s Day, and they were having a potluck. I also met David from Cider Expert (apparently I’m a superuser there and he wanted my feedback) and we had a spirited cider discussion for almost a couple hours. Cider Expert is a cider rating & review website currently in Beta testing. I think once it goes live it will be great, as the other beverage review websites like Untappd and RateBeer don’t really work well for cider (plus this one has ratings for taste properties specific to cider, and algorithms to actually suggest ciders).

I got there after work, around 4pm, and had a flight of 6 ciders. I was there for a few hours so I was expecting to order something else too, but they were large pours and one was high ABV, so that was it for me. I had thought that 5/6 were new for me, but after I ordered I realized I had 2 of them before, so only 4/6 were new for me. There were a couple other ciders on the tap list I hadn’t tried, but weren’t of interest. I brought in some Thai food takeout; I guess I must be picky as I’m 0/3 as far as liking the local Thai food options in Fremont. The PCC (natural grocery store with a large ready-made food section) remains my favorite takeout option nearby.

Carlton Cyderworks First Fruits, 6.5% ABV, McMinnville OR: Described as an apple cider fermented with plums and mulberry juice, aged in wine barrels for 5 months, which appears to be tap only. Light pink grapefruit hue. Semi-dry. Moderate acidity and mild tartness. Light bodied. I really liked the texture most of all with this cider; kinda frothy (note the foam in the photo). I didn’t recognize it as being barrel aged though (only read that later). It was lightly fruity and really refreshing.

Moonlight Meadery How Do You Like Them Apples (cider), 13.5% ABV, Londonderry NH: I’ve absolutely loved everything I’ve tried from Moonlight Meadery. I had tried this one before, and knew I wanted to include it in my flight as its a rare, and like all their ciders, tap-only. Them Apples is described as being aged with brown sugar for 6+ months in barrels from their Last Apple cyser (which were barrels from Jim Beam whiskey). Note that they also have a “How Do You Like Them Little Apples”, which is similar, but only 6.5% ABV (see my review here). Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Low acidity, low tartness, a hint of bitterness, and a hint of sourness. Very smooth, with a well hidden ABV. Medium bodied. Notes of baked apple, whiskey, oak, citrus, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. This was different than I remembered previously…much less sweet, and with hints of bitterness and sourness. It was very good, but I think I prefer the Little Apples version (or at least the batch of this one I tried previously). On a side note as this was aged in Last Apple barrels, I also love that one, and have a bottle at home.

Red Tank Cider Yukon Cornelius, 6.0% ABV, Bend OR: Described as including vanilla, cranberry, and cinnamon. Schilling actually called it Vanilla-Cran-Cinnamon, probably as the keg was labeled that way, but with some research it looks like Yukon Cornelius is the actual name. Light punk hue. Strong cinnamon scent. Semi-dry. Mild vanilla, moderate cinnamon spice, and a hint of fruitiness but mostly tartness from the cranberry scent. Light bodied. Interesting combination, but it worked.

Grizzly Ciderworks Woodlander Wit, 6.9% ABV, Milton-Freewater OR: This is the one I thought I hadn’t tried before, but I had (see here). They modeled this cider after Belgian wit-style beer (they used that variety of beer yeast), and added orange peel and coriander. Semi-dry. Moderate acidity, low tartness, and low bitterness. Medium bodied. Mildly flavored, with notes of oak, spice, herbs, and citrus (I didn’t specifically identify orange or coriander). I like The Ridge from them better, which has more woody earthiness without the herbal & citrus flavors of this one, although is even drier.

Anthem Rose Pinot, 6.5% ABV, Salem OR: Described as being aged with pinot noir grapes (its unclear whether in a barrel or tank). Bright red hue. Semi-dry. Moderate tartness and mild acidity. Light bodied. Very mild flavor which to me had a lot of cranberry notes. I didn’t really like the flavor of this one. I imagine wine lovers would enjoy it.

Cider Riot! Burn Cider, 6.8% ABV, Portland OR: Described as being made with Oregon-grown English cider apples, tart wild apples, and dessert apples, and being inspired by English West Country pub draught ciders. Dry. Moderate bitterness, moderate acidity, low tannins, and low tartness. Light bodied. Hints of bittersweet cider apples, but overall it was on the mild end of the flavor spectrum, and kinda watered down tasting. Notes of vanilla and spice as well. I think if it had been more flavorful, slightly less bitter, and slightly more sweet, this would have been nice.

My favorite of the evening was the Moonlight Meadery cider, which I also loved the last time I had it (see my Cider Summit Seattle 2015 tasting notes here). I also enjoyed First Fruits, even though I usually don’t go for fruity ciders. Lately I’ve realized I enjoy ciders that best I can explain are very “textural” (Locust Winesap was another example; see my tasting notes here). Overall though I was a bit underwhelmed by my flight, but many I tried mostly just to try them. I wish Schilling would offer more unflavored ciders (not fruity, hopped, spiced, etc), English & French imports, etc, on tap, but I imagine the flavored stuff sells well.

On my way out I picked up another bottle of 2 Towns Pommeau, as its that awesome (see my review here), a great value, and the bottle says it ages well (up to 20 years?). I also bought a cider I hadn’t seen in this area before from ÆppelTreow, Kinglet Bitter, which sounds like something I’ll like (made from bittersweet apples); I’ve enjoyed a couple other ciders from them (Appely Doux and Barn Swallow).

Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 11 Tasting Notes

February 19, 2016March 6, 2016 cidersays 101 Ciderhouse, Celt, Honey Moon, Original Sin, review, Schilling, Sonoma Cider cider, cider flight, cider house, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling, Schilling Cider House, seattle, washington

Tasting notes from my eleventh visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA. Check out my past posts here. I was there mostly as I wanted to pick up a couple bottles (Schilling’s new seasonal King’s Shilling brandy barrel aged & fortified cider and this year’s version of Two Towns’ Pommeau), but this isn’t exactly the kind of place where I can stop in without having some cider!

I got there after work, around 4pm, and started with a flight of five ciders (I had tried everything else so skipped out on #6). I brought some take out food I picked up from PCC (the Caprese sandwich went well with 101 Cider House Piña Mint).

Schilling Blackberry Pear (Auburn WA), 5.5%: This is a new draft-only release. I believe it is apple cider with blackberry and pear juice infused after fermentation (vs. being a blackberry flavored perry). Semi-sweet. Full flavored with blackberry and a hint of pear. Fruity, refreshing, and flavorful without being over the top sweet. The apple remains pretty well hidden. Medium bodied. This was pretty good (and I’m usually not a big berry cider fan), although maybe I was just underwhelmed with most of the rest of the flight. It reminded me of Atlas Blackberry (although less tart) and Crispin Blackberry Pear (although sweeter).

Schilling London Dry (Auburn WA), 6.5%: Described as an English pub style cider, sold in four packs of 16oz cans and kegs. Somehow I had never tried this one even though its been out awhile. Dry. High acidity. Moderarate tartness. Light bodied. It was lacking the richness of English cider, likely as I doubt they used high tannin cider apples. I thought this was a pretty average cider, but many people ordered pints of it while I was there (although maybe because it was the most inexpensive drier cider by far?).

Sonoma Cider Dry Fuji (Healdsburg CA), 6.5%: This is a reserve series release from Sonoma Cider, an organic Fuji apple single varietal, oak barrel aged, sold in 22oz paper wrapped bottles and kegs. Nearly clear hue. Completely Dry (0 residual sugar). High acidity. Moderate sourness. Mild tartness. Light bodied. Kinda Sidra-like due to the sourness, although it also reminded me of white grape wine. Mildly flavored. I wasn’t a fan at all, mostly due to the sourness.

Original Sin Northern Spy (York NY), 6.9%: This Northern Spy single varietal is part of Original Sin’s Heirloom series. This appears to be tap-only at this time (although they had similar heirloom series releases in 750ml bottles, like Newtown Pippin). Semi-dry. Low acidity. Low tartness. A hint of sourness. Citrus notes. Light bodied. Overall mildly flavored. Average.

101 Cider House Piña Menta (Los Angeles CA), 6.9%: This is a new 101 Cider House release, a pineapple mint cider. Smells of citrus and mint. On the sweeter side of Dry. A hint of sourness. Citrus and mint notes. I didn’t really pick up pineapple? Moderately flavored. Light bodied. Unique with the mint flavor, but overall I thought it was average.

They also put Honey Moon CiderHead Quince on tap while I was there.

Honey Moon CiderHead Quince (Bellingham WA), 8.3%: This is described as their Quince mead with cider, so that would make it a cyser. Semi-dry. Mild tannins, tartness, and acidity. Mildly fruity. Light and refreshing. Mild to moderate flavored. Tropical notes, passion fruit and pineapple. This was good, but I prefer Eaglemount Quince, which was more complex and flavorful.

I wanted a little something else, but didn’t feel the need for another pint, so I bought a bottle of Celt for $3 and drank it there. The Cider House is pretty awesome as they don’t charge extra to drink their bottled cider there (vs. taking it home). An awesome cider for an awesome price! Its the only French cider I’ve seen that comes in a multipack (4 bottles). Check out my previous review here. I had forgotten how I much I enjoy this cider, and picked up a couple more bottles to take home.

I’m excited to compare the last two years of Two Towns’ Pommeau in a vertical pour, now that I have a bottle of each. I highly recommend it by the way, and if anyone is in the Seattle area, at $25 for an amazing 375ml bottle of 19% ABV Pommeau at the Schilling Cider House, its also a good buy. I also spotted it at The Cave in Kirkland.

Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 9 Tasting Notes

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016 cidersays Blue Mountain, E.Z. Orchards, Finnriver, Grizzly Ciderworks, J.K.'s Scrumpy, Locust, review, Schilling, Sea Cider, Seattle Cider cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, hard cider review, hard cider tasting, Schilling Cider House, seattle, washington

Tasting notes from my ninth visit to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA. Check out my past posts here. I hadn’t thought I’d have time for another visit in December, but managed to fit it into my schedule.

I was there for a Finnriver Bingo event, although I didn’t have much interest in the actual game & prizes, just used it as an excuse to go. The event was a packed house! There were six Finnriver ciders on tap: Habanero, Black Currant, Barrel in the Forest, Cranberry Rosehip, Fresh Hopped, and Pear (all of which I’ve had except Fresh Hopped).

I started with a flight of six ciders.

Blue Mountain Estate Winesap, 6.75% ABV, Milton-Freewater OR: This is a single varietal made with Winesap apples which Blue Mountain sells year round. Nearly clear. Tart, dry, and slightly funky smell. Dry to semi-dry. Moderate tartness and acidity. Mild bitterness. Very mild tannins. Hint of funk. Slight floral and oak notes. Light bodied. Moderate to long finish. I thought this was a basic dry & tart cider, and pretty low on flavor.

Seattle Cider Oaked Maple, 6.9% ABV, Seattle WA: This is one of Seattle Cider’s winter seasonals (they also did a Cranberry cider this year). I couldn’t remember if I had tried this before, but I’m leaning towards yes. Dark straw yellow hue. Smells of sweet maple and oak. Semi-dry. Moderate acidity. Mild tartness. Light bodied. Very light oak and light maple flavor. Quick finish. I thought this was pretty good, but I would have liked more flavor.

Finnriver Barrel in the Forest, 6.5% ABV, Chimacum WA: This is a limited release of a barrel aged version of Finnriver’s Forest Ginger cider (which I haven’t tried). I usually don’t like ginger, but this sounded interesting. Smells of sweet ginger. Semi-sweet. Light oak notes. Very mild ginger notes, much less than most ginger ciders (which usually seem to hit me at the back of the throat and linger). Low acidity, tartness, and bitterness. Light bodied. Moderate length finish. The ginger flavor however increased as it warmed up. This paired well with the Thai food I had for dinner. Overall I didn’t mind this one, despite the ginger, but probably wouldn’t get it again.

Locust Ciderworks Pumpkin, 5.0% ABV, Woodinville WA: This is a seasonal release from Locust, apparently draft-only. Hazy pumpkin orange-yellow hue. Smells of sweet pumpkin spice. Very sweet. Mild pumpkin and spice flavors, but overall very full flavored. Low acidity and tartness. Full bodied. Moderate length finish. I really liked this (even though I usually don’t go for pumpkin or spice), except it was too sweet for my liking, so not something I could have a pint of.

E.Z. Orchards Semi-Dry, 6.9% ABV, Salem OR: This is a regular release cider from E.Z. Orchards which uses French bittersweet apples. After ordering this I remembered I had tried it before, at Cider Summit Seattle 2015. Light amber. Smells slightly rich. Semi-dry. Herbal notes. Very light boded. Low tannins and tartness. Low to moderate acidity. Quick finish. Overall mildly flavored. It tasted a bit off, and I wondered if the tap line could have used more flushing. I also liked it much better at Cider Summit. Different batches can turn out much differently.

Grizzly Ciderworks Pomnivore on Nitro, 6.7% ABV, Woodinville WA: This is a tap-only release from Grizzly. Light ruby red. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Low acidity and tartness. Moderately flavored. Quick finish. I liked the pomegranate flavor without too much tartness like many pomegranate ciders have.

I met Nathan from Cider Chronicles (we just happened to sit next to each other at the bar!), who was awesome enough to share bottle pours of a couple ciders with me. He said Sea Cider Wassail, J.K.’s Scrumpy Winterruption, and Elemental Seasonal Spiced Apple were his three favorite seasonal ciders, although Reverend Nat’s Winter Abbey Spiced may be replacing J.K.’s Scrumpy Winterruption in his cue. I haven’t seen Rev Nat’s Winter Abbey, but picked up a bottle of Elemental Spiced, and tried the other two.

Sea Cider Wassail, 14% ABV, Saanichton BC Canada: This is Sea Cider’s winter seasonal. Rich amber-orange hue. Smells like orange and holiday spices. Semi-dry. Well-hidden ABV! Low acidity, tartness, and bitterness. The orange and spice notes continued into the flavor. Rich and full-flavored. Medium bodied. Moderate length finish with lots of heat. I liked this a bit more as it warmed up from fridge temperature. Overall this was enjoyable, but I like their Prohibition best.

J.K.’s Scrumpy Cuvee Winterruption, 6.9% ABV, Flushing MI: This is J.K. Scrumpy’s winter seasonal. Very sweet. Honey, orange, and mild spice notes. Mild acidity and tartness. Moderate to full bodied. Apparently this cider usually has much more spice. It was very easy drinking, between the sweetness and low ABV. Overall I found it ok.

Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 8 Tasting Notes

December 24, 2015August 12, 2016 cidersays 2 Towns, AEppelTreow, Cider Riot, Eaglemount, Number Six, review, Schilling cider, cider flight, cider review, cider tasting, flight, Fremont, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, seattle, tasting notes

Yes, I made yet another trip to the Schilling Cider House! Check out my past posts here. This time it was for a random visit in early December, as I knew I wouldn’t have time to go for awhile with the holidays. I wasn’t disappointed, as there were a good number of ciders on tap I hadn’t tried previously.

I had a flight of six ciders, then picked up a half growler of Locust Bittersweet (which I have a bottle of, but was a really good deal and is quite tasty) and a few bottles. I was intrigued by a new Liberty Ciderworks (Spokane WA) cider called Garretza, but learned it is a barrel aged sour, and passed as I’m not into sours.

Schilling Pineapple Passion (aka Trouble in Paradise), 5% ABV, Seattle WA: This is a brand new currently tap-only release at Schilling which added pineapple & passion fruit juices to cider, and may be canned in the future. Slightly hazy pineapple-yellow hue. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Light bodied. Moderate pineapple flavor. I didn’t pick up any passion fruit flavor. The only other pineapple ciders I’ve had are Ace Pineapple (apple cider backsweetened with pineapple juice) and Reverend Nat’s Tepache (made only using pineapple juice, very low ABV, and lots of spice). In my mind I was comparing this to Ace’s pineapple cider. I liked Schilling’s much better, as it wasn’t as juice-like (I used to really enjoy Ace’s Pineapple, but my tastes moved away from ciders which taste like juice). However, Schilling’s Pineapple cider seemed to be missing something…maybe it needed more carbonation?

Number 6 Pomegranate, 5.4% ABV, Seattle WA: I’ve previously only had their “True Cider” variety. Light cherry / pomegranate type hue. Semi-sweet. Light bodied. Low acidity and tartness. It remained light to moderate on the pomegranate flavor, similar to Elemental’s “Oxygen” Pomegranate cider (Elemental is also in the Seattle area, in Woodinville WA). I found this to be rather average, as it left me wanting more flavor. I mostly tried it as I hadn’t had it before.

AeppelTreow Barn Swallow, 6% ABV, Burlington WI: This is the first cider I’ve had from them. Made from Red Delicious, Cortland, Ida Red, and Greenings apples. Semi-sweet. Medium straw yellow. Low acidity and tartness. No bitterness. Medium boded. There was a slight richness which I enjoyed. Overall definitely well above average, and quite tasty. I look forward to trying the bottle of their Appely Brut I have at home.

Eaglemount Cyser, 8% ABV, Port Townsend WA: Cysers are made by fermenting both apple juice and honey, so are classified in between cider and mead. Smells dry, of yeast & honey, with a slight funk. Medium straw yellow. Semi-sweet. Nice mild honey flavor. Medium bodied. Moderate acidity. Mild tartness. The higher ABV was noticeable. Really nice! However, I was more impressed with their Quince cider I had a bottle of awhile back, which was crazy complex and fruity. I want to try more from them.

2 Towns Nice & Naughty Bourbon Barrel Aged, 10.5% ABV, Corvallis OR: I had 2 Towns’ Nice & Naughty (their holiday seasonal) on tap only a couple weeks before this, but this one is a special bourbon barrel aged release of it which appears to be tap-only. Smells spiced, rich, and alcohol-forward. The spice remains very mild, even more so than the regular version. Moderate barrel influence and mild bourbon influence for the flavor, but this tastes quite boozy. Some caramel and vanilla notes, and oddly enough, ginger? Mild tartness, acidity, and bitterness. Medium bodied. Long finish with a lot of warmth. I drank it last, letting it warm up to close to room temperature, based on my previous experience with the regular version of Nice & Naughty tasting better that way. However, it may have been a mistake, as I didn’t really care for this version of the cider. The high ABV, spice, barrel aging, and bourbon influence seemed to be competing for attention. I much preferred the regular Nice & Naughty (which is odd as typically I love barrel aged ciders), but would be curious to try this one again when it was very cold.

Cider Riot Champoeg X-17 on Nitro, 4.6% ABV, Portland OR: This is a hopped cider, part of their new Champoeg line, and made using an experimental hops variety. Smells herbal & floral. Semi-dry. The hops flavor remains very mild, and is more herbal & floral than hoppy. It reminded me some of Portland Hop’rageous and Tod Creek Mala-Hop, which are also both mild (although this cider was even milder on the hops). Very light boded. The Nitro tap didn’t seem to add much except additional foam (I think it works best with Berry ciders). I’m not a hops fan, so I don’t think I fully appreciated it, but it wasn’t bad. Overall it left me wanting more flavor, but I wouldn’t have wanted any more hops flavor.

My favorites of the evening were Eaglemount Cyser, AeppelTreow Barn Swallow, and Schilling Pineapple Passion, in that order.

Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 7 Tasting Notes

December 3, 2015November 26, 2015 cidersays 2 Towns, Attila, Avid (prev. Atlas), Greenwood, Julian, local, Locust, Portland Cider, review, Schilling, William's cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling, Schilling Cider House, Seatttle

Yes, I made yet another trip to the Schilling Cider House! Check out my past posts here. This time it was for a monthly potluck, with a “Thanksgiving Recipe Trial Run” theme. I actually opted out of the potluck as I’m not a big Thanksgiving type food fan (and it ended up having a low turnout anyways), but there were plenty of folks at the cider house.

I started with a flight of six ciders.

2 Towns Ciderhouse Nice & Naughty, 10.5% ABV: I started off not really liking this one much at all, but it became one of my favorites of the night once it warmed up to closer to room temperature. This one had less spice scent than the other two spiced ciders I had in this flight. Semi-dry. The spice hit more at the back of the palate, and wasn’t so much cinnamon as it was clove and nutmeg. I bet this would be amazing served warm. The alcohol remained pretty well-hidden, and it reminded me of Imperial-style cider.

Atlas Hard Cider Company Cinnamon Pear, 8.5% ABV: Very mild cinnamon scent, and I don’t detect any pear scent. This one is an apple-based cider with some pear juice (not perry). Semi-sweet. A bit boozy (alcohol-forward). Only a hint of pear flavor. The cinnamon came across more in the finish. This one remained rather mild flavored.

Portland Cider Company London Dry Gin, 6.8% ABV: Dry. Smells like tannins, spice, herb, and dry cider. Quick finish. Acidic with some bitterness. Higher tannins but light bodied, which is an interesting and rare combination. Quite herbal. This one grew on me a bit and I ended up liking it. It reminds me of Liberty Ciderworks Abbess, which used gin botanicals.

Julian Hard Cider Apple Pie, 6.9% ABV: Very strong cinnamon scent, but less so in the flavor. Semi-sweet. I was surprised with the moderate tartness. I’m not a huge spiced cider fan to begin with, but this was my least favorite of the three spiced ciders I tried in this flight. Its fairly popular though.

Attila Hard Apple Cider Rapture (Concord Grape), 6.5% ABV: Deep berry color with foam from the Nitro process. Semi-sweet to sweet. I pick up grape, with hints of pomegranate, cranberry, and huckleberry. Juice-like and the apple is well-hidden, but it was tasty and full flavored.

Schilling Cider Company Grumpy Bear Cold Brew Coffee Nitro, 5.0% ABV: Another very unique cider. Deep hazy amber with froth from the Nitro process. Semi-sweet. Smells mildly of coffee grounds, and I don’t pick up any apple. Moderate to full bodied. Some spice and herbal qualities. The coffee comes across more in the scent than the flavor, but still, the apple remains hidden. Its a bit like an iced coffee drink with some alcohol. This one became a bit more bitter as it warmed up. Its not really my thing, but not as bad as I was expecting.

I got handed a sample of Greenwood Sweet Orange Cinnamon. This batch ended up having the carbonation really mellow out the flavor (per the cidermaker), so it mostly had a hint of spice in the scent and that was it. They put together a Randall while I was there to add additional orange and cinnamon flavor, using ingredients from the cidery.

Next I got tastes from some sample bottles.

I had a few sips of Locust Washington Dessert Apple Aged Hard Cider. I had this one a few months ago (review here), but this batch definitely was a bit wonky, as it continued to aggressively bottle condition. Like my bottle, it was very fizzy, even after being open for awhile. However, the additional time in the bottle had made it significantly drier than mine.

William’s Excalibur: This one tastes like a typical sweet commercial cider (and has an ingredient list to confirm this). It had the slightest bittersweet flavor, but was otherwise quite disappointing. I can’t believe they import this type of cider!

William’s Sir Perry: A bit more drinkable than Excalibur, but its still a sweet commercial cider. I don’t pick up much pear flavor at all. Slightly less sweet than Excalibur.

Locust Bittersweet Reserve: This is a special release cider for them which benefits Hydrocephalus (which the owner’s daughter and 1/1,000 babies has). Only 1,000 bottles and some kegs were released Nov/20/2015. Made from French and English bittersweet apple varieties. Bittersweet apple scent with hints of orange and spice. Semi-sweet to sweet. Rich, smooth, and luscious! Caramel notes, full flavored, and medium bodied. Lovely mild to moderate tannins. This reminds me of English-style cider, but its a bit more approachable than some, and the hints of orange and spice are nice (even though I usually don’t like those sorts of flavors). No bitterness, which can be difficult to pull off. This was definitely my favorite cider of the evening! I’m happy I was able to pick up a bottle (so look for a future full review of it here). $18 for 750ml, likely only found in the Seattle WA area. Oddly enough I was told it must stay refrigerated (although it didn’t say that on the bottle)?

I definitely tried a lot of cider and had a blast, as always. Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 6 Tasting Notes

November 23, 2015November 21, 2015 cidersays Ace, Apple Outlaw, Carlton, Cider Riot, Doc's, Finnriver, Liberty, Rev Nat's, review, Snowdrift, Tieton, Whitewood cider, cider flight, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling, Schilling Cider House, seattle

Yes, I made yet another trip to the Schilling Cider House! Check out my past posts here. This time it was for a Sidra event, but that is one type of cider I’m just not into, so I sampled some non-Sidra selections from of the tap list (and some bottles). The Cider Log crew was there, and brought an awesome spread of Spanish treats–thanks for sharing!

I started with a flight of six, as usual.

Tieton Cider Works Cranberry, 6.9% ABV: Semi-dry to semi-sweet. Very tart! Lots of cranberry flavor. More tart than the Finnriver cranberry cider I tried at the same time (see below). A bit astringent. I’m a bit over cranberry (I used to like it more), so I prefer most of Tieton’s other ciders to this one. This is a new release for them, and its also available bottled.

Doc’s Draft Pumpkin, 5.0% ABV: Sweet. Lots of pumpkin pie spices with a bit of earthiness & pumpkin flavor. Full bodied. Unlike many pumpkin ciders & beers, this one uses actual pumpkin. I’m not a pumpkin or spice fan, so needless to say I didn’t really enjoy this cider (I tried it more out of curiosity). The folks who blind tasted it for this article were much bigger fans though, giving it the highest score of 23 pumpkin ciders & beers! This is a yearly seasonal release for Doc’s, and also available bottled. This was my second time trying Doc’s, but neither were flavors I’m a fan of…hopefully I get a chance to try something I have a better shot of actually enjoying soon (I’ve been eyeing their Sour Cherry, but alas it isn’t sold in the Seattle area, so I may need to make a trip down to Portland OR or order online).

Reverend Nat’s (and Cider Riot!) Ciderkin, 3.2% ABV: Dry. Ginger! Moderate tartness, astringency, and acidity. Slightly funky. Ciderkin is a lower alcohol content cider traditionally made from the pommace (apple skin and pulp leftover after pressing apples into juice). This one however is quite different than the version of ciderkin I had awhile back from Argus (tasting notes here). The ginger (although admittedly mild) was overwhelming for my palate as I’m just not a fan of it. My favorite cider from Rev Nat’s so far is their Revival. They’ve released this Ciderkin cider a few times, but it doesn’t appear to be available bottled.

Liberty Ciderworks Gravenstein, 8.0% ABV: Dry. Moderate sourness, tartness, astringency, tannins, and acidity. Almost no carbonation. Very mild on the nose. Although this was a Gravenstein single varietal, I picked up a lot of crabapple notes…it reminds me of their Crabenstein, which used Gravenstein and Crabapples, although not quite as harsh. So far I prefer their Manchurian Crabapple, English Style, and Stonewall to this one. This cider is also available bottled.

Finnriver Cranberry Rosehip, 6.5% ABV: Semi-sweet. Moderate tartness. Lots of cranberry flavor. I didn’t really pick up any herbal (rosehip) flavor, but I imagine it mellowed the cranberry a bit, especially drinking it side by side to the Tieton variety. I liked this one better than the Tieton Cranberry, probably as it isn’t as tart. However, my favorite “cranberry” cider so far is probably a tie for this and Schilling’s Mischief Maker (cranberry-pomegranate). Cranberry Rosehip is part of Finnriver’s Elijah Swan Seasonal Botanical line, which is also available bottled, and includes some of my favorites such as Honey Meadow and Lavender Black Currant.

Apple Outlaw Blackberry Bounty, 5.5% ABV: Semi-dry. Very mild berry flavor. Mild tartness. This seems to be another one of the drier and milder flavored berry ciders coming out. This one was pretty average in my book. It is also available bottled. This was my first time trying their regular line of ciders (although I tried their Oaked Sweet Dark Cherry at Cider Summit Seattle 2015, which appeared to be a special draft release).

I also had a sip of Whitewood Red Cap. It was a bit weird…dry and almost Sidra-ish with some sourness and quite mild flavored. They describe it as a Session cider, which usually indicates a low ABV and easy to drink cider, but its 6.2% ABV. Also available bottled. It reminded me some of their Summer Switchel, but without the salty & ginger notes. Both are quite different from their Kingston Black Whiskey Barrel Aged cider, which is amazing!

I mostly wanted to sample what Schilling had on tap that I hadn’t tried, despite not being too excited about the varieties. Therefore there were a few I didn’t really enjoy, so I ended up not finishing a lot of the flight. Thankfully that freed up some ability to try more ciders! Next up we sampled a couple bottles (which I don’t believe they sell at the Cider House).

Ace Space (blood orange) was another weird one. Odd hazy orange hue. Semi-dry. The nose and some of the flavor was almost medicinal/artificial (like Tang or a Vitamin C supplement), but there is definitely some blood orange flavor too. Mild tartness and sourness. I wasn’t really a fan…not sure what they were thinking with this one? This is Ace’s newest cider, a special release. I kinda had the same opinion on their last special release, Blackjack 21, which tasted like Chardonnay to me (although admittedly it was aged in Chardonnay barrels, so maybe they were going for that). Apparently I’m in the minority though as it sold well so they are releasing it again this year.

Carlton Cyderworks Sugar and Spice. Semi-sweet. I was surprised I liked this, as I usually don’t tend towards spiced cider. However, the spice was quite mild and balanced. It also wasn’t overly sweet. This is a seasonal bottled release for them, new for this year.

I also had a pint of Snowdrift Red–yum! One of my favorites. However, this batch seemed a bit more tart than previous, and with a bit less fruitiness. There can definitely be variability from batch to batch in a craft product. I like when cideries such as Snowdrift batch label their ciders, so you know whether what you buying may be slightly different. Anthem is another example of a cidery which does this, but they actually go so far as to use different apple varieties in different batches of their flagship cider (and you can look up what was used by the batch number on the bottle).

Oddly enough the Carlton Sugar and Spice was the winner of the afternoon as far as a new cider I enjoyed the most! I think it would taste really good warm (which is how I like mead, but I haven’t tried that for cider as I usually avoid spiced cider).

I definitely tried a lot of cider and had a blast, as always. Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 5 Tasting Notes

November 3, 2015October 24, 2015 cidersays Avid (prev. Atlas), Bull Run, Carlton, Cider Riot, Cragie's, D's Wicked, Elemental, Eric Bordelet, Finnriver, Fox Tail, Millstone, review, Schilling cider, cider flight, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling, Schilling Cider House, seattle, tasting notes

This time an event brought me to the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle WA, a great excuse to drink cider on a weeknight if you ask me. It was their monthly potluck, which this month had a “sweet” theme, for both cider and food. There were still plenty of drier cider options on tap too (and with 32 tap selections and hundreds of bottles, there is something for everyone). I even found out there is one hush-hush bottled beer selection at Schilling.

I started with a flight of six. However, I ended up staying there for over 4 hours, so it definitely wasn’t the only thing I drank! I picked up a nice weird dinner at PCC of some coleslaw, cheese, and pretzel bread (which is one of my favorite things to have with cider, unsalted though).

Fox Tail Sweet Tooth, 5.0% ABV: This is the second cider I’ve had from this Hood River OR cidery (the first was Fuzzy Haven, tasting notes here). This was an interesting selection as they called it sweet, but it was more semi-dry? Probably more that it was sweet for their cidery. Straw yellow hue, no haziness. Rather plain and on the mild & boring side, but I don’t have any complaints. Mild tartness and acidity. Nicely balanced.

Carlton Black Currant Scrumpy, 4.4% ABV: This is the first cider I’ve had from this McMinnville OR cidery, although I have a bottle of their Slake at home to try. Rich black currant scent and a lovely deep berry hue. Semi-dry. Sour! Definitely wasn’t expecting that. Unfortunately I’m not a fan of sour cider so I didn’t have more than a couple sips.

Cragie’s Ballyhook Flier, 5.8% ABV: This is an Irish cider which I’ve seen in bottles and have wanted to try, so here was my chance. Hazy yellow-orange hue. Dry cider apple and yeast scent. Dry. Moderate bitterness. Mild sourness, funkiness, tartness, and astringency. Moderate tannins. Complex and unique. However, it was too bitter for my liking. I think some additional sweetness to balance it would have been nice. I’ve had some ciders made from higher tannin cider apples which weren’t bitter, but it appears to be difficult to pull off.

Bull Run Strawberry Fields, 6.5% ABV: This is the first cider I’ve had from this Forest Grove OR cidery, although I’ve been meaning to try their ciders for awhile (way too much good stuff available around here). Light cherry color. Lovely real sweet strawberry scent. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Moderate strawberry flavor. I imagine it was difficult to develop this cider, to get a true strawberry flavor without seeming fake or being too sweet. I have found very few fruity ciders that were full flavored without being very sweet or overpowering the apple (Snowdrift Red and Eaglemount Quince are two I love, but they are on the more spendy side). I’m a fan!

Finnriver Pear, 6.5% ABV: I’ve had a number of Finnriver selections, but hadn’t had this one before (Chimacum WA). This is a cider (apple juice) with pear juice added (ie. its not perry, which are made only using pear juice). Straw yellow, no haze. Light clean pear scent. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Plain, but it had a nice real pear flavor. Quite good, but not my favorite from them (I’d recommend Lavender Black Currant, Honey Meadow, and Fire Barrel).

Elemental Atomic Root Beer, 6.5% ABV: I’ve tried a couple of their ciders, but I was curious about this new one (Woodinville WA). Its a hard root beer, but in contrast to other products (such as Not Your Father’s Root Beer), it is cider instead of malt based! Nice caramely root beer hue. Smells of root beer with a hint of baked apple. Tastes like a nice mild root beer with a hint of baked apple at the core. Only semi-sweet, which I appreciated. It could have used some additional carbonation, but I say that about most ciders. Tasty! I can see why this one has been a huge hit for them.

I then realized I had finished my first flight and the actual event hadn’t started yet, as I got there so early (due to my work schedule). So, I ordered a half flight. Without realizing it I got three berry ciders (they were about the only ones left on the board I hadn’t tried, besides ginger & hops & such that I don’t care for).

Atlas Pom-Cherry, 5.8% ABV: I’ve had the Apple and Blackberry selections (reviews here and here) from this Bend OR cidery. I also have their Apricot variety at home to try. Tart cherry scent. Semi-sweet to sweet. Lots of pomegranate flavor. Only mild tartness and the slightest hint of sour. Thin bodied. Bold flavored. It was my favorite of these three, but I still think I like their plain apple best of the three varieties I’ve tried from them so far, and overall its not a favorite of mine or anything.

Cider Riot Never Give An Inch Oregon Blackberry, 6.9% ABV: This is the first cider I’ve had from this Portland OR cidery, although I have a bottle of their 1763 at home to try. Dry. Very tart. Only mild berry flavor. I found it kinda unremarkable, and my least favorite of these three. It was too tart for my liking and I don’t think I finished it. Tart fans who like berry ciders but find them all too sweet may want to give this one a try though.

Elemental Oxygen (Pomegranate), 6.5% ABV: I’ve had a number of ciders from this Woodinville WA cidery. Poured very foamy. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Tart. Thin bodied. Rather mild flavor, which appears typical for them. Their Atomic Root Beer is definitely my favorite from them so far.

During this time the actual potluck started (5pm), and it got busy (for awhile I was the only customer!). I got to see Mick from Click Distributing again, meet two guys from D’s Wicked Cider (Kennewick WA), meet Sarah’s mom, and see Merce from Cider Log again. Plus I nimbled on some tasty treats.

I sampled D’s Wicked Baked Apple, their new 6.9% instead of 8.5% ABV variety. Apparently most folks won’t be able to taste the difference. One of the reasons they did this was because there is an apparent WA state rule against doing growler fills above 7% ABV. This is the first cider I’ve tried from them. I had avoided buying a bottle of this one as I assumed it would be too spiced for my liking (not a spiced cider fan, or any spices in general…not even pepper on food). However, the cinnamon was quite mild (at least when the keg wasn’t fully cold yet), and it had more baked apple flavor. Quite tasty actually. They said the cinnamon showed up more when it was fully cold though. Nice and frothy and on the unfiltered side. Semi-sweet. Medium to heavy bodied. Its not something I’d buy, but I was pleasantly surprised, and definitely see why they are so popular.

Also, Sarah remembered about a bottle of Eric Bordelet Poire Authentique in the cool room (I think this was a sample or something, as its not one of the Bordelet varieties they carry). It was definitely flat after being open about a week (apparently its typically quite sparkling), but we all found it tasty (there was enough for a couple sips each). At only 3.5% ABV, this French perry is easy drinking at its finest. I have only heard rave reviews about Bordelet and they’ve been on my want to try list. Bold flavor, but clean, unlike some perries. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Rich flavor and very balanced. I really enjoyed this one, but I’m not sure I could bring myself to pay $15-20 for a 750ml bottle of a sub 4% ABV cider. This reminded me of the bottle pour of another Poire I had here, Domaine Pacory Poire Domfront (tasting notes here).

They also had a Randall going that night where they infused Schilling Gold cider with oranges, coconut, and Chai tea. An interesting combination, as always! It was pretty tasty, although I would have preferred no tea and lots more coconut. The tea seemed to make the cider seem drier than I remembered Gold tasting (which is one of Schilling’s sweeter varieties, and their only plain cider I believe). Sarah said this was her favorite Randall so far.

Mick also decided to pick up a bottle of Millstone Farmgate Dry and share it with us. I had this one at Cider Summit Seattle 2015 (tasting notes here), in an attempt to see if there was any variety from Millstone I’d enjoy (as I definitely didn’t like their Cobbler). This variety is definitely sour & funky, but less harsh than Cobbler by a few times probably. I’m always surprised to see Cobbler make cider lists without any notes of its sour flavor, but apparently a lot of folks like that sort of thing (like sour beer I guess). Its a good thing they make so many ciders, so there is something for everyone.

I definitely tried a lot of cider and had a blast, as always. Stay tuned for more Schilling Cider House tasting notes here at Cider Says! Have you had any good draft cider / cider flights recently?

Schilling Cider House Visit 4 Tasting Notes

October 19, 2015October 13, 2015 cidersays Aspall, Blue Mountain, Cockrell, Doc's, Jester & Judge, Le Brun, local, review, Schilling, Wandering Aengus, Waupoos cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, seattle

Another trip to the Schilling Cider House! I always have a blast (especially now that Sarah from Cider Log works there), and its kinda on my way home, and pretty affordable for a cider flight, so I make time for it when I can.

I had barely sat down this time when Sarah asked my opinion on the sweetness level of Cockrell’s Valley Red (raspberry) they had just tapped (as they color code the tap list by sweetness level). My vote was semi-sweet. I actually tried that one at the Seattle Cider tasting room (The Woods) awhile back. Bright cherry-pink hue. Semi-sweet. Nicely balanced tart-sweet, The raspberry comes across with a nice bite, and is easily noticeable, but not overpowering.

Then, I ordered a flight. It actually wasn’t too difficult to find 6 I hadn’t tried before, as they have 32 cider taps.

Wandering Aengus Byrd, 8.5% ABV:
Made from Wickson Crabapples and Nehou English Bittersweets, wild fermented. Semi-dry to Dry. Orangeish hue. Lots of crabbapple flavor and heavy tannins. Richer but light bodied. Slight funk. Not too much bitterness. Nice tang. Quite tasty, my favorite Wandering Aengus so far by far (usually not a big fan of them or their subsidiary Anthem). Reminds me of English cider. Apparently the name was because a bird made a nest on top of the tank, so they decided to name whatever cider they made a variation on bird.

Jester & Judge Sharp Cherry, 5.8% ABV:
First time I’ve tried Jester & Judge, although I have a bottle of their cider in the fridge to try. They are a newish cidery out of Stevenson WA. Semi-dry. Orange/pink hue. Very very mild cherry. Some tartness. Overall kinda blah. I’d call it Hint of Cherry, not Sharp Cherry lol. I guess I’m just a fan of bolder flavor. By the way, my favorite cherry cider so far is made by Washington Gold, and has a lovely bold real tart cherry flavor.

Blue Mountain Semi-Sweet, 6.3% ABV:
Second time I’ve tried Blue Mountain (only tried their Peach before). Semi-dry. Floral scent. Kinda watered down tasting / mildly flavored. Some tartness and some bitterness. Very mild tannins. Floral and citrus notes. Easy drinking and I think this would be widely appealing. Overall kinda average.

Le Brun Organic Cidre, 4% ABV:
French cidre! Semi-sweet. Nice richer flavor with mild tannins. I pick up some apple skin type flavor with this one, and its a bit larger bodied than some other French ciders I’ve had. Overall quite good, but as far as French ciders go, I prefer Dan Armor, which I found to be more flavorful. They carry this in bottles at the Schilling Cider House by the way.

Waupoos Premium, 6.5% ABV:
I’ve heard of this cidery from Ontario Canada, but hadn’t had a chance to try their cider. On the sweeter side of semi-dry. Plain yeasty apple scent. Some tartness, bitterness, and acidity, but rather mild. A rather basic cider without much flavor, but I don’t really have any complaints about it either. Well-hidden ABV.

Doc’s Raspberry on Nitro, 5.5% ABV:
I’ve been wanting to try Doc’s. Sarah recommends their Sour Cherry, but I haven’t seen it yet. This one was weird…I picked up some saltiness. Maybe from the tap line? It also unfortunately didn’t take well to the Nitro (there wasn’t any noticeable Nitro influence; typically the ciders get really foamy & smooth). Semi-sweet. Nicely balanced tart-sweet raspberry. Smelled better than it tasted though. I’ll have to give them another try.

Overall: The only ciders I truly enjoyed from my flight were the Wandering Aengus (oddly enough) and Le Brun. I kinda wished I had got a flight of the ciders I knew I liked that they had on tap, but I’m a sucker for trying new things, especially ciders, and especially when I haven’t tried anything from that cidery.

While I was there they also put together a very unique Randall using Schilling Oak Aged cider, mushrooms, walnuts, and black olives! The olives cam through most in the scent. The taste was quite earthy with some funk, and a bit chunky honestly (I got the first pour I think). It wasn’t as bad as it sounds though, although a couple sips was plenty. Looks like Friday afternoons are their typical Randall time, as the same thing happened during my previous visit.

Sarah also shared some of a bottle of Aspall Dry with me! This was the very first Aspall variety I had (at the Seattle International Beerfest; see my post here), and is quite excellent. Its an awesomely crisp apple-forward semi-dry cider. I haven’t been disappointed by any Aspall variety yet, and am looking forward to trying the bottle of Imperial I have at home.

So, all in all, obviously I highly recommend the Schilling Cider House! By the way, the Schilling Cider House has a monthly potluck. The next one is on Thursday October 22 from 5-9pm, and being called Dude…Sweet, with a theme of sweeter ciders, and asking folks to bring in sweet treats to share. There will even be a new Schilling release!

Schilling Cider House Visit 3 and Portland Cider Tasting at Total Wine

October 9, 2015October 9, 2015 cidersays Greenwood, Moonlight Meadery, One Tree, Portland Cider, review, Rootwood, Schilling cider, cider review, cider tasting, Fremont, hard cider, Portland Cider, Schilling Cider House, Total Wine

I enjoyed my last visits (one and two) to the Schilling Cider House so much that I was looking for another opportunity to visit. I got my chance the following week when my husband had Friday night plans that didn’t interest me, so I went my own way. I arrived at the Schilling Cider House around 3:30pm, and it was already pretty busy.

I had tried a number of their tap selections (especially since I was there only the week before), but found six of interest that I hadn’t tried yet.

Schilling Mischief Maker Cran-Pom, 5.8% ABV: This is a newish cranberry-pomegranate cider by Schilling (available in bottles too). A bit foamy of a pour. On the drier side of sweet. Nice balanced sweet & tart. However, it was a bit too heavy on the cranberry for my liking, and quite juice-like.

Schilling Barrel #1, 21% ABV: This is similar to their Barrel #2 I had the previous week, some sort of spirit (not sure if it was distilled or fortified with brandy). I was able to find out that this one is whiskey barrel aged However, this was much drier than Barrel #2, on the sweeter side of dry. It was very very boozy in comparison to Barrel #2. I really didn’t like it much at all. It didn’t have nearly as much flavor as Barrel #2.

Moonlight Meadery Boys ‘nd Berries, 6%: Cherry color. Boysenberry scent. On the drier side of semi-sweet. Moderate tartness. Kinda boring, but it is one of the better berry ciders I’ve had. I’ve found I’m just not a fan of berry ciders, as they are often really juice-like. This cider oddly enough though came across as a bit boozy, tasting higher than 6% ABV, which is unusual for a berry cider.

Rootwood Cider Company Lot 17, 7.2% or 7.5% ABV: This is the first cider I’ve tried from Rootwood, which hails from the Lake Chelan WA area. They are newish to cider (launched about a month ago and had a launch party at the Schilling Cider House during Washington Cider Week), but have been growing apples for over 100 years. They have their own tasting room in Manson WA, which offers growler fills. They are working on getting their ciders bottled and out to stores, but for now, can be found on tap in the greater Seattle area (such as the Schilling Cider House and 192 Brewing Company in Kenmore). “Lot 17” refers to the name of one of the family’s original orchard plots in the hills outside of Manson, and it is primarily made using Fuji apples (but also includes Jonagold, Elstar, Foxwelp, Browns, and Kingston Black). Semi-dry. Fairly simple. Mild tartness. Moderate acidity & bitterness. Light bodied. It had hints of a rich flavor, and some mild fruity notes, but left me wanting more. Overall I found this rather boring.

Greenwood Cider Company Huckleberry Wedding Cider, 6.5% ABV: This is the first cider I’ve tried from Greenwood, which hails from the Seattle WA area. I hadn’t even heard of them, despite them being local and my interest in cider. I really couldn’t find any info on them online oddly enough, just a Facebook page, so I e-mailed them. They are about a year old and currently only sell kegs of their small batch ciders. In the Seattle area, their customers include Capitol Cider, the Schilling Cider House, and Chuck’s Hop Shop. I found out this cider was primarily huckleberry, but also included blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries (the “wedding” part), and made from piñata, golden delicious, fuji, braeburn, granny smith, and golden russet apples. It had an orange-pink hue, which was interesting for what I thought was only a huckleberry cider, especially compared to the very dark colored One Tree Huckleberry cider. I picked up much more citrus (grapefruit?) than berry in it. Ryan from Greenwood thought I may have been picking up some of the tartness of the raspberries or acidity of the heirloom golden russet apples in detecting citrus notes. Still, this one was a bit too unique for me, and my least favorite of the seven ciders I ended up trying. I’m definitely game to try other ciders from them though!

One Tree Hard Cider Huckleberry on Nitro, 6.8% ABV: Deep deep berry hue. Excessive foam from the Nitro process and the scent I have come to associate with it. Very sweet. I found this to be just your standard juice-like berry cider. Medium bodied. There actually wasn’t any perceivable tartness, which was surprising, and would have been welcomed.

All in all I wasn’t impressed with any of my selections. The Moonlight Meadery Boys ‘nd Berries was probably my “favorite” of the six (actually seven; see below). They had ciders I really liked still on tap though, such as Moonlight Meadery Last Apple, Schilling Barrel #2, NV Cider Pear Essentials, and 2 Towns Bad Apple & Prickle Me Pink…I just wanted to get ciders I hadn’t tried before.

They also ended up putting a Randall together while I was there, which was a cool process to watch. Apparently they often will do this on the weekend. It doesn’t appear they charge any extra for a Randalled cider either. The process appeared to be a seat of the pants sort of thing, with ingredients they picked up from the PCC grocery store down the street. I had a front & center view of it all too! They started with Rootwood Lot 17, then added corn, cilantro, and hot peppers to the infuser chamber.

I got a sample of the resulting cider, and it was pretty good! It mostly had cilantro flavor, with a hint of heat (the peppers were placed at the top of the chamber so the cider didn’t get much of their influence). I really love Cilantro, so it was nice. This would have paired very well with Mexican food, which few ciders do (my choice would be Wyder’s Reposado Pear). I didn’t really pick up the corn in the flavor, but I think it added a bit of color & texture. You can really see a difference in hue between the pre-Randall Lot 17 (fourth cider from left in flight photo above) vs. the post-Randall Lot 17.

I didn’t have a good view of the cutting board of ingredients, but here is a photo from their Twitter feed:

After going to the Schilling Cider House, on my way home, I stopped at the Northgate Total Wine, where they were having a Portland Cider Company cider tasting (4-7pm). I had spotted it on Total Wine’s event calendar and taken note. I met their rep Ingrid (whose business card says “cider maven” lol) and tried three of their ciders. They were pouring Kinda Dry, Pearfect, and Hop’Rageous. I had tried a bottle of Kinda Dry (review here) and had Pearfect Perry on tap awhile back at my first visit to the Schilling Cider House (tasting notes here), but gave them another go.

Even though I don’t like hops, I thought I might as well try a sip of the Hop’Rageous. It was surprisingly good! There was very very little hop flavor, more of an aftertaste. Apparently they use Citra hops, which are mild, and apparently they didn’t use a huge amount of them. They also incorporated some orange peel. Most hopped ciders go quite overboard on the amount of hops. It had a lovely aroma & flavor of both floral (probably from the hops) and citrus (probably from the orange peel). I found it dry to semi-dry. Nice and refreshing, and very light in flavor overall. I’d actually consider getting a bottle of it, although I imagine I might not like the hops aftertaste when drinking a larger amount. This is a great example of a well-done hopped cider that even someone who doesn’t like hops/beer can probably enjoy!

As a side note, I’m quite proud of myself for not buying any bottles of cider at the Schilling Cider House or Total Wine, which is unheard of for me. I have so much cider at home that I can’t justify buying anything but a special release / rare find.

Schilling Cider House – Washington Cider Week – 2 Towns Tap Night

September 30, 2015August 10, 2017 cidersays 2 Towns, Aspall, Cider Summit, Dupont, E.Z. Orchards, Finnriver, local, Moonlight Meadery, review, Schilling, Washington Cider Week 2 Towns, cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, Washington Cider Week

The last Washington Cider Week event I attended was the 2 Towns Tap Night at the Schilling Cider House in the Fremont neighborhood from Seattle (Thurs Sept 17, 2015). I honestly would have rather gone to the Barrel Aged event they had the night before, but that didn’t work for my schedule. I’m a fan of 2 Towns, and got to meet up with some great cider folks, so I was very happy nonetheless.

You can’t beat their 32 cider tap selection! Plus they have a huge bottle selection, all chilled, and you can see every bottle and look at the label and such. It was only my second time there, but I’ve already gone back for a third visit the following week. Sarah from Cider Log is the manager at the Schilling Cider House now, I finally got to meet Mick from Click Distributing (we’ve chatted on Facebook quite a bit), and I also met some folks from some other distributors as well.

I got there quite awhile before the event started. It was officially 6-9pm (when the 2 Towns guys were there), but they had the 2 Towns selections on tap much earlier. I picked up a tasty Caprese sandwich from across the street. I sat at the cider house bar for a few minutes to figure out what I wanted to start with. Then Mick found me and I went over to the cool kids table with the distributor dudes.

I started with a flight of 4 ciders. I should have just gone for the full 6, as I think it ends up being cheaper, but I was holding out to try some 2 Towns stuff later. Also, although I didn’t yet know it, I would also be trying some bottled cider!

Schilling Barrel #2: A 21% ABV concoction which was barrel aged. I’m a little unclear as to how it was made (I heard once it was fortified with brandy and another time it was distilled cider). However, its not really cider at this ABV, more like apple brandy, apple jack, Pommeau, apple spirits, whatever you want to call it. Definitely booze-forward, but I found it easily drinkable on its own when it was cold (and I usually don’t do straight alcohol). I loved the honey and almost floral notes. Semi-sweet to sweet. Highly recommended! They still had some of this on tap as of Sept 25 by the way.

Moonlight Meadery The Last Apple: A 16% ABV cyser (when apple juice is blended with honey, then fermented). It was then barrel aged in Jim Beam barrels for 6 months. I’ve had both meads and ciders from Moonlight, and now a cyser. On the sweet & syrupy side, but very flavorful. Well hidden ABV. I loved the honey flavor which was bold but not overdone. All around complex and tasty! This was also still on tap as of Sept 25.

Aspall John Barrington: A 8.4% cider from Aspall in the UK. I didn’t know anything about this cider going into it, but put it on my flight card as I’ve been impressed by Aspall so far. The scent was quite dry, but it came across as semi-sweet to me in taste (although Schilling had it listed as dry per their taste test). Almost still (very low carbonation). Very smooth and rich flavor. Acidic and slightly tart. Lovely tropical notes. I liked this one.

Finnriver Barrel Berry Sour: A 6.5% sour blueberry-apple cider which was barrel aged. Although I’m not a fan of sour cider (about the only sour thing I like is candy), I decided to give it a try as it was barrel aged, and I’m a sucker for barrel aged! Definitely sour, and I thought more so than their Country Peach I tried at Cider Summit which was described as a sour (but didn’t have sour in the name). Semi-dry. For me the sour overwhelmed the flavor so much I couldn’t pick up the barrel influence or any other flavors I’m not a fan, but glad I tried it. Apparently lots of folks like sour ciders, beer, etc…I’m just not one of them.

Next, I got to partake in samples of two bottled ciders that some of the guys bought, Poire Domfront from Domaine Pacory and Roman Beauty from E.Z. Orchards. The Schilling Cider House doesn’t charge an extra fee beyond the bottle price to drink any of their bottled ciders on the premises, but I don’t see why you would want to with 32 ciders on tap?

Domaine Pacory Poire Domfront: A 5% ABV French perry made primarily with “plant de blanc” pears. Rich sweet scent. Fizzy / high carbonation. Mick thought it was hilarious the first comment out of my mouth upon tasting it was “that’s fizzy!”. I really do love a highly carbonated cider though, and we don’t get it too often here. Semi-sweet. Very light bodied. I wouldn’t have guessed this was perry at all, as it really tasted similar to French ciders I’ve enjoyed. Easy drinking and very tasty. There was the slightest bit of funk when it warmed up a bit.

E.Z. Orchards Roman Beauty: A 4% ABV cider from Oregon. Made primarily from Roman Beauty apples, bottle conditioned, and cold spontaneous fermentation. Clean & crisp scent. This one was also easy drinking and very tasty. I didn’t mind at all that there was still cider left in the bottle after the guys left, and I continued to sample it.

Next, since it was 2 Towns time, I got a small pour of their Made Marion on Nitro. I had tried or wasn’t interested in their other selections on tap:
Bad Apple, high ABV imperial style cider – awesome
Hop & Stalk, Sitra hops & rhubarb – didn’t care to try as I’m not a fan of either of its namesakes
Prickle Me Pink, pink from cactus fruit – quite good
Outcider, their unfiltered variety – average

2 Towns Made Marion: A 6% ABV marionberry cider. I’m pretty sure I had this one awhile back, but 2 Towns makes a number of berry ciders, so I’m not 100%. This one had lots of foam due to the Nitro tap. Deep berry color and a tart berry scent. Very smooth. Semi-sweet. I also picked up some boysenberry flavor in addition to the marionberry for whatever reason. Mild tartness. I found this a bit predictable, although I haven’t ever been too amazed by a berry cider; often they are quite juice-like.

They came around with samples of some 2 Towns ciders, which was quite nice. Aaron Sarnoff, a co-founder and cider guru at 2 Towns whom I met at Cider Summit, was there with another co-worker. It wasn’t very crowded (probably due to the rain), so Aaron chat with us all at the cool kids table for awhile. I got a sweet 2 Towns pint glass! My husband has been enjoying drinking his beer from it lol. I’m not a huge fan of cider in a pint glass (its a bit too large for starters), but its a great collectible.

On my way out I picked up a bottle of Cider Riot! 1763 (made from cider apples). Earlier in the afternoon I had stopped at Full Throttle Bottles and got Traditions Ciderworks Bourbon Barrel 2012 (my favorite from Cider Summit…I’m very happy Erika from Full Throttle got some for me) and Carlton Cyderworks Slake (whiskey barrel aged). I haven’t tried any ciders from Cider Riot or Carlton Cyderworks, and these seemed like good starting points as I love barrel aged cider! Three bottles of cider added to my collection that I definitely didn’t need. Its very tough to not buy cider that sounds amazing though.

This concludes the Washington Cider Week festivities. However, stay tuned for more trip reports. I have posts in work for another trip I made to the Schilling Cider House, and to mix it up a bit, Aesir Meadery in Everett WA.

where will I be this week? tasting cider of course! (Washington Cider Week & Cider Summit Seattle)

September 9, 2015August 10, 2017 cidersays Cider Summit, event, local, Washington Cider Week Burgundian, Capitol Cider, cider, cider summit, hard cider, Schilling Cider House, seattle, Seattle Cider, washington, Washington Cider Week

For all my Seattle peeps, if you see me at any upcoming event, say hello! I’ll be wearing a pink CIDER SAYS t-shirt. If you also want to meet up before or after an event, let me know.

Here is my schedule so far for the 5th annual Washington Cider Week and Cider Summit Seattle:

Washington Cider Week opening ceremonies at Seattle Cider with 10 cideries on tap and a food truck, Thursday September 10th, 3:00-4:30pm ish (event is 3-9pm)

East Meets West: An Evening with Eden and Alpenfire Ciders at the Burgundian Bar, Thursday September 10th, 5-7pm ish (event is 5-9pm)

Cider Summit Seattle at South Lake Union Discovery Center, Friday September 11, 2-8pm ish (VIP starts at 2pm and regular at 3pm)

Cider Summit Seattle at South Lake Union Discovery Center, Saturday September 12, noon-6pm ish

Meet & Greet, Tasting, & Book Signing with Bill Bradshaw at Capitol Cider, Tuesday September 15, 6-8pm

2 Towns Tap Night at Schilling Cider House, Thursday September 17, 6-8pm ish (event is 6-9pm)

Check out the complete Washington Cider Week event calendar here, as there is a crazy amount of events going on! And, stay tuned for lots of Cider Summit related posts here at Cider Says. I know a lot of folks aren’t so lucky to live in Washington, so I’ll try to make it seem like you’re here with me! Like Cider Says on Facebook for other updates as well.

Do You Know How Many Cider Bars there are in the U.S.?

July 23, 2015November 28, 2015 cidersays misc, news bar, Bushwacker, Capitol Cider, cider, cider bar, hard cider, McMenamin's, Portland Cider House, Schilling Cider House, Scrumpy's Hard Cider Bar, The Northman, Upcider, Urban Orchard, Wassail

Have you ever been to a cider bar? Or did you not know they even exist? Yes, they do–an entire bar devoted to hard cider! Most have an extensive tap selection. Some serve food. Some have a bottle shop for you to have a bottled cider there or one to take home. Some also serve other types of alcoholic beverages. We are lucky enough to have two in the Seattle area, but I was curious how prevalent they are in the U.S. I was able to find 11. Are there any others? Do you have any information to share about any of them?

My definitions for inclusion were cider-focused bar/pub type establishments (although some places also have other beverages) that offer cider from more than one cidery (ie. a tap room for a single cider company was not included, but it was if they also offer ciders from other cideries). Many cideries have great tap rooms that are more like a bar than a tasting room though. Note that “The Northman” is also planned in Chicago IL but hasn’t opened yet.

A “cider bar” is quite a new trend, as all of these opened in the last few years as far as I know (although apparently Ace gets credit for the first modern cider bar, which opened in 1999 but closed in 2010; they have a tap room now though).

Capitol Cider (Seattle WA)
20 cider taps
250+ bottles (list available online)
beer, wine, & cocktails also available
full gluten free kitchen

Schilling Cider House (Seattle WA)
32 cider taps (2 Nitro)
250+ bottles
no food (allowed to bring in outside food)
also carries their own line of ciders

Bushwhacker Cider (Portland OR, Woodlawn location)
14 cider taps
bottles available
full kitchen
also carries their own line of ciders

Bushwhacker Cider (Portland OR, Brooklyn location)
8 cider taps
350+ bottles
limited food menu
also carries their own line of ciders

Portland Cider House (Portland OR)
28 cider taps
no food (allowed to bring in outside food)
also carries their own line of ciders

McMenamin’s Tavern & Pool (part of their Portland OR location)
6 cider taps
full restaurant
also carries their own line of ciders (Edgefield)

Upcider (San Francisco CA)
cider on tap & bottled
limited food menu

Scrumpy’s Hard Cider Bar (Fort Collins CO)
18 cider taps
limited food menu
also carries their own line of ciders

Urban Orchard (Asheville NC)
7 cider taps
limited food menu
beer & wine also available
also carries their own line of ciders

Wassail (New York City NY)
13 cider taps
full restaurant (vegetarian)
wine, beer, & cocktails also available

Finger Lakes Cider House (Interlaken NY)
has cider from five local cideries (Good Life, Black Diamond, Eve’s, Redbyrd, & South Hill)
23 cider taps
limited food menu

It looks like the Schilling CIder House wins for the most number of cider taps, at 32! Check out my review.

Schilling Cider House – Cider Tasting Notes

July 22, 2015August 22, 2015 cidersays 101 Ciderhouse, Elemental, Finnriver, local, Locust, Moonlight Meadery, Portland Cider, Rev Nat's, review, Schilling, Viuda de Angelon Sidra, Wandering Aengus, Whitewood cider, cider house, cider review, cider tasting, Fremont, hard cider, review, Schilling, Schilling Cider House, seattle

This is Part 2 of a trip report on the Schilling Cider House, covering the 18 ciders I tasted (of the 32 on tap). Pretty impressive, right? See Part 1 here, which covered the Cider House itself. I tried to take a photo of each cider, but some of them didn’t turn out, so I’ve only included photos of some of the ciders with interesting hues. Thankfully though, I took notes! I had two flights of six ciders (3oz) each, and six tastes from our bartender.

Schilling’s Ciders

Chaider, 6.5% ABV, Semi-Sweet:
This is one of their most popular ciders, and is available bottled (22oz) in the winter. It smelled of cinnamon and definitely had a Chai tea-like taste. Definitely not my thing, but it was my husband’s favorite taste of the day.

Chaider (Nitro), 6.5% ABV, Semi-Sweet:
This is the same cider as above except on Nitro, which added some additional smoothness. It was quite foamy from the tap from the nitrogenation, and needed a couple minutes to calm down.

Ginger, 6.5% ABV, Semi-Dry (noted Semi-Sweet):
I’m not a ginger fan, but this was handed to me, so I tried it! It had a much milder initial ginger taste than smell, but had more of a ginger aftertaste. I think Ginger fans would really like this one. Its not too overwhelming with Ginger.

Hopped, 6.5% ABV, Semi-Dry:
Hopped ciders aren’t my thing, but my husband wanted this, and thought it was pretty decent. I had one sip and it is definitely hoppy, but way less than Reverend Nat’s Envy / Hopland #5. Otherwise I can’t really comment on it.

Sriracha Lime, 6.7% ABV, Semi-Dry (noted Dry):
This cider seemed intriguing, I like Sriracha & Lime, and there was some chatter online of folks liking it, so why not? It definitely smelled of Sriracha & Lime, but all I picked up in the taste was the Sriracha (no Lime). Definitely spicy! I don’t think I like spicy ciders. I can tolerate spicy food, but the spiciness seemed to overwhelm the cider here. I think this would have been better to do with a sweet citrus/lime cider with only a hint of Sriracha.

(I’ve also previously tried Schilling Oak Aged, Gold, & Grapefruit)

Other Ciders

101 Ciderhouse Cactus Red, 6.5% ABV, Los Angeles CA, Dry:
I tried this on a whim as it sounded unique/odd. I picked up a citrus scent and it had a lovely pink color, similar to grapefruit juice. It was definitely dry, and very very tart! I unfortunately couldn’t take more than two sips of this one.

Elemental Cherry, 6.5% ABV, Woodinville WA, Semi-Dry:
Pretty rosé color. Smelled like cherries. However, I barely picked up any cherry flavor when tasting it. Folks who like drier ciders but want a fruity cider may like this, as many fruit infused ciders tend to be sweeter.

Finnriver Habenero, 6.9% ABV, Chimacum WA, Semi-Sweet:
Another cider handed to me from the bartender, who was trying it for the first time as they just tapped it. It didn’t smell spicy, but it was! The bite hit my sinuses about 10 seconds after drinking it. Again, the spice was overwhelming. I wasn’t a fan, but my husband didn’t mind it.

Finnriver Lavender Black Currant (Nitro), 6.5% ABV, Chimacum WA, Sweet:
Very dark & vibrant hue. Extra smooth taste (from the nitrogenation). I’ve tried their Black Currant flavor, and I honestly couldn’t pick up the added Lavender in this one. However, my husband did. In addition to the black current, I picked up some cherry notes. This was much better than the bottled Black Currant I had of their’s (which was also quite good). I imagine tap + Nitro did it. Excellent!

Finnriver Oak & Apple, 6.5% ABV, Chimacum WA, Semi-Dry:
The bartender said this was very similar to Schilling’s Oak Aged (which was surprisingly absent from the tap list). I’m a huge fan of barrel aged ciders, so I was anxious to try it. This is a milder barrel aged cider, and quite tasty. I think I give the slight edge to Schilling’s Oak Aged though. And, overall, my favorite barrel aged ciders so far are Woodchuck Winter Chill (which also has some vanilla flavor) and Thistly Cross Whisky Cask (very smooth), both of which are significantly sweeter than Schilling’s & Finnriver’s oak aged selections, but I do enjoy Schilling Oak Aged. Yum!

Locust Sweet & Dark Cherry, 6.5% ABV, Woodinville WA, Semi-Sweet:
For a cherry cider, I was expecting more flavor, but it was quite mild, and there was little cherry scent or flavor. This has a sweeter start and more tart finish. This was pretty similar to the Elemental Cherry (which also had a mild cherry flavor), except a bit sweeter.

Moonlight Meadery How do you Like them Little Apples?, 6.0% ABV, Londonderry NH, Sweet:
Hard cider blended with honey & brown sugar, fermented, then barrel aged (draft only release). Honey smell (duh). Quite sweet. Very smooth. Tastes like it would be a higher ABV than it is (but I wouldn’t call the taste boozy). I wouldn’t have guessed it was barrel aged. Awesome!

Portland Cider Passion Fruit, 6.5% ABV, Portland OR, Semi-Sweet:
I was excited to try this one. The passion fruit smell was amazing! However, the passion fruit taste was quite mild, and it had a bit of a tart & bitter finish, which I wasn’t expecting. It is however a refreshing and easy-drinking cider.

Portland Cider Pearfect Perry, 6.5% ABV, Portland OR, Semi-Dry (noted Semi-Sweet):
This was a very mild Perry; I could barely pick up any pear flavor. It was however pretty tasty and smooth.

Reverend Nat’s Newtown Pippin, 6.9% ABV, Portland OR, Semi-Dry:
One of Rev Nat’s regular release ciders. This was a mild & crisp cider which I found to have a fairly bitter finish. Pretty boring for my tastes.

Viuda de Angelon Sidra Brut, 6.5% ABV, Spain, Dry:
A refreshing & smooth Spanish cider. I can’t really put the flavor into words, but it is one of those ciders which has a flavor profile which seems sweeter than it really is. It was Schilling’s most expensive offering by the way, at $11/pint, but only $2 for a 3oz taste. This makes me want to try more Spanish ciders!

Wandering Aengus Wanderlust, 6.5%, Salem OR, Dry (noted Semi-Dry):
Fairly plain, and I found it tart & bitter. Taste profile was in-line with the two Wandering Aengus and two Anthem (also made by them) ciders I’ve tried. Also fairly boring for my tastes.

Whitewood Summer Switchel, 4.6% ABV, Olympia WA, Semi-Sweet:
This is a mild & refreshing cider with a hint of ginger. The bartender said he picks up almost a salty flavor, which after hearing that, I agreed somewhat.

Photos

101 Ciderhouse Cactus Red

Elemental Cherry

Finnriver Lavender Black Currant

Locust Cherry

Moonlight Meadery How do you like them Little Apples

Closing Notes

My favorites from this tasting were the Moonlight Meadery “How do you Like them Little Apples?”, Finnriver Oak & Apple, Finnriver Lavender Black Currant, and Viuda de Angelon Sidra Brut. Quite an interesting combination, right?

I also learned that in addition to hopped, ginger, and overly dry ciders, I definitely don’t like spicy ciders!

I look forward to returning to the Schilling Cider House to try more ciders, as their selections change all the time. Stay tuned for reviews of the five ciders I picked up from their bottle shop (shown in Part 1).

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