Sebastopol

Devoto Orchards 1976 Semi-Dry Cider

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Review of Devoto Orchards 1976 Semi-Dry cider.  It is my first time trying any of their cider.  I picked up this bottle in California over Christmas break.  Here is an article about the cidery.

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Cider:  1976 Semi-Dry cider (2014 harvest)
Cidery:  Devoto Orchards
Cidery Location:  Sebastopol CA
ABV:  6.9%
How Supplied:  750ml clear glass screw-top wine bottle
Style:  American Organic craft cider from heirloom apples

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Availability:  only in Northern California and a few online retailers (see here)

Cider Description:  1976 is a homage to the year Stan & Susan Devoto left Berkeley to move ‘back to the land’ and planted our family’s first orchard in west Sonoma County. Visionaries of their time, they valued biodiversity and cultivated vegetables, flowers, and 55 heirloom apple varieties that we still grow today.  Every year to honor them, we craft a small batch of this special semi-dry cider blended from those original apple varieties they planted almost 40 years ago.

Profiles: Aromas of ripe tropical fruit lead to a creamy texture and lush fruit on the palate finished with soft tannins.
Pairings: green curry, spicy Vietnamese noodle soup, ceviche, green papaya salad, bean salads and stews, anything good and spicy.
Cheese Pairings: Meadow Creek Mountaineer (VA), Consider Bardwell Rupert (VT), Thistle Hill Tarentaise (VT)
Apple Blend: Pink Pearl, Gravenstein, Hubbardston Nonesuch 

Cidery Description:  We’re a farm and cidery in west Sonoma County. To make the best cider, your family better be, well, a tree.

Price:  $12.29
Where Bought:  a natural grocery store outside of Sacramento CA
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  Browsing.  It was my first time seeing their cider.

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First Impression:  Medium straw yellow hue.  Still (no carbonation).  Smells mild, of white grape, pineapple, and honey.

Tasting Notes:  Semi-dry to semi-sweet.  Light to medium bodied.  Low tartness.  Moderate acidity.  Hints of bitterness and tannins.  No sourness or funk.  Notes of white grape, pineapple, peach, and honey.  Quick finish.  Low flavor intensity.  Low complexity.  High sessionability.  No apple flavor.

My Opinion:  I thought this was average.  It was wine-like and food friendly (ie. mild).  I liked the flavor notes, but it wasn’t really cider-like.

Most Similar to:  This cider didn’t really remind me of cider at all…it tasted most similar to watered down sweet white wine (like Moscato), as it was thinner bodied, low in flavor intensity, and had a lot of slightly sharp white grape notes.

Closing Notes:  This cider was a great value for being made in small batches from organically farmed heirloom apple varieties.  They also make at least two other varieties, Cidre Noir and Save the Gravenstein.

Have you tried Devoto Orchards cider?  What did you think?

Tilted Shed Barred Rock

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Review of Tilted Shed’s Barred Rock.  Its my first time trying this one, but I previously had their Lost Orchard.  See here for a writeup from Cidercraft on Tilted Shed.  I ordered three bottles to be shipped, as their ciders aren’t yet available in Washington.

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Cider:  Barred Rock
Cidery:  Tilted Shed
Cidery Location:  Sebastopol  CA
ABV:  9.0%
How Supplied:  750ml bottles
Style:  American artisan cider from heirloom apple varieties, whiskey barrel aged

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Availability:  24 barrels released in November 2015.  Tilted Shed ciders are sold primarily in California, but also in New York, New Jersey, and Portland Oregon (see here).

Cider Description:  Blend of fresh-pressed, late-season Sonoma County organic heirloom apples from the 2014 harvest. Fermented to dryness in the New England style, with organic raisins, molasses, and brown sugar, then aged in Heaven Hill Kentucky rye whiskey barrels for four months. Unfiltered, unpasteurized, minimal sulfites. A rich, spiritous, bold, dry cider with excellent aging potential as it shapeshifts over time. Clear, light golden hue; moderate effervescence. Aroma of vanilla bean and light smoke. Bright acidic backbone. Mouth-filling notes of creme brûlée and caramel apple. This cider should mellow as it ages over the next two years, developing a creamier mouthfeel with lingering vanilla finish. Serve at 60°F in a white wine glass. The warmer, the richer. Pair with rich creamy cheeses and fruit-based desserts, such as apple crisp or baked pears.

Cidery Description:  We started Tilted Shed Ciderworks in 2011 out of an obsessive love for apples and cider. All of our apples are organically grown within 35 miles of our cidery, primarily in west Sonoma County. At our Sebastopol farm, we have planted 100 varieties of traditional cider apples and perry pears—a pomological research station on the edge of the Pacific. As cider evangelists, we are devoted to making ciders of individuality, integrity, artistry, and elegance. It’s thrilling to explore our unique terroir and the transformative powers of fermentation, and experience how our ciders shapeshift over time. We hope you’ll find our ciders to be a beautiful revelation of what the apple can do.

Price:  $16
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  I had read so many good things about their ciders online, and was glad to hear they can ship to Washington.

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First Impression:  Dark straw yellow hue.  Still.  Smells of whiskey, oak, and rich bittersweet apples.

Tasting Notes:  Dry to semi-dry.  Light to medium bodied.  Low tartness.  Moderate acidity.  Low bitterness.  Low tannins.  No sourness or funk.  Notes of whiskey, oak, smoke, honey, citrus, and leather.  Long warming spirituous finish.  Low apple flavor.  Low sessionability.  Low oak flavor.  High whiskey flavor.  Moderate flavor intensity.  Moderate complexity.

My Opinion:  I really enjoyed this.  It won’t be for everyone though, as it has an intense whiskey flavor and 9% ABV.  I actually think I liked it better the day after I opened it, as the flavor smoothed out / acidity decreased some.  I had a bit left on a third day though, but I have to say it peaked on day 2.  If I had any criticism, I’d say I’d want a bit more oak flavor (for example, I love the oak in Sheppy’s Oak Matured), a bit less whiskey flavor, and more cider apple than heirloom apple flavor.

Most Similar to:  Liberty Ciderworks Stonewall, and to a lesser extent, Stem Whiskey Barrel Aged Apricot & Carlton Cyderworks Slake & Finnriver Oak&Apple.  However, this is by far the most intense whiskey flavor I’ve tasted in a cider.  Most cidermakers err on the side of caution and keep the barrel and/or spirit flavor on the mild side.

Closing Notes:  This cider is an amazing value!  I have one bottle left – Smoked.

Have you tried Tilted Shed cider?  What did you think?

Tilted Shed Lost Orchard

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Review of Tilted Shed’s Lost Orchard.  It is my first time trying this cider, and my first time trying any of Tilted Shed’s cider.  See here for a writeup on their cidery.  I ordered three bottles to be shipped, as their ciders aren’t yet available in Washington.

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Cider:  Lost Orchard, 2014 vintage
Cidery:  Tilted Shed
Cidery Location:  Sebastopol  CA
ABV:  8.0%
How Supplied:  750ml bottles
Style:  American artisan cider from Organic cider apple varieties

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Availability:  40 cases released November 2016.  Tilted Shed ciders are sold primarily in California, but also in New York, New Jersey, and Portland Oregon (see here).

Cider Description:  Blend of very rare, feral English, French, and Old American traditional cider apples gleaned from lost cider orchards in Sonoma County. Varieties include Nehou, Muscat de Bernay, Porter’s Perfection, Yarlington Mill, Foxwhelp, Tremlett’s Bitter, and Roxbury Russet. Organically grown, from the 2013 harvest. Fermented to dryness in small batches by variety, then blended, aged, and bottle conditioned using organic cane sugar as dosage. Unfiltered, unpasteurized, minimal sulfites. A bone-dry, earthy, dense, savory, contemplative cider more reminiscent of orchard floor than of apples. Hazy, golden hue. Leesy, earthy aroma. Pours with a fine, lingering mousse that heightens the astringency. Notes of leather, cedar, lemon thyme, damp earth, cooked apple. Elegant tannic structure. Chill well prior to opening. Contains sediment. Pour carefully off the lees. Serve at 55° to 60°F in a white wine glass. Pair with well-aged cheese, pork, Dungeness crab, lamb, roasts, hearty seasonal fare.

Cidery Description:  We started Tilted Shed Ciderworks in 2011 out of an obsessive love for apples and cider. All of our apples are organically grown within 35 miles of our cidery, primarily in west Sonoma County. At our Sebastopol farm, we have planted 100 varieties of traditional cider apples and perry pears—a pomological research station on the edge of the Pacific. As cider evangelists, we are devoted to making ciders of individuality, integrity, artistry, and elegance. It’s thrilling to explore our unique terroir and the transformative powers of fermentation, and experience how our ciders shapeshift over time. We hope you’ll find our ciders to be a beautiful revelation of what the apple can do.

Price:  $20
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  I had read so many good things about their ciders online, and was glad to hear they can ship to Washington.

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First Impression:  Light pumpkin amber hue.  Nearly still (very low carbonation).  Smells of rich earthy cider apples, funk, and honey.

Tasting Notes:  Dry to semi-dry.  Light to medium bodied.  Low tartness.  Moderate acidity.  Low bitterness.  Moderate funk.  Hints of sourness.  Low to moderate tannins.  Notes of baked apples, earth, honey, grapefruit, orange, hay, yeast, and leather.  Long funky slightly sour finish.  Moderate apple flavor.  High complexity.  Low to moderate sessionability.  Moderate flavor intensity.

My Opinion:  I really enjoyed it.  However, this funky earthy complex cider won’t be for everyone.  My husband for example wasn’t a fan as he doesn’t like funk (but he likes sourness and I don’t).

Most Similar to:  Lost Orchard tends towards a farmhouse style or a wild fermented cider, although it is more funky than sour.  Very few ciders are made entirely from cider apple varieties, but the most similar I’ve tried is probably something from Farnum Hill, or Dragon’s Head Wild Fermented or Alpenfire Pirate’s Plank.

Closing Notes:  This is an incredible value for a cider made entirely from cider apple varieties which has been bottle conditioned for so long.  Stay tuned for reviews of their Barred Rock and Smoked ciders.

Have you tried Tilted Shed Lost Orchard?  What did you think?