Understood in Motion 03 (Angry Orchard and Tom Oliver collaboration)

April 13, 2018April 7, 2018 cidersays Angry Orchard, Oliver's, review Angry Orchard, cider, cider review, cider tasting, hard cider, Oliver's Cider & Perry, Ryan Burk, tasting notes, Tom Oliver, Understood in Motion

Review of Understood in Motion 03, Angry Orchard’s third release in the collaboration series, this time with Tom Oliver, of Herefordshire’s Oliver’s Cider & Perry. The first collaboration was with Eden Specialty Ciders (see my review here), and the second was with EZ Orchards (see my review here).

>>This is a review of a sample bottle provided to Cider Says by Angry Orchard. Although I will take care to treat it the same as any other review, there is always the potential for bias as I received it for free. The only consideration I knowingly made was pushing this up in my cider review cue. I love free stuff, especially cider! Want your cider or cider-related product reviewed here? Contact me.<<

Cider: Understood in Motion 03
Cidery: Angry Orchard and Oliver’s Cider & Perry
Cidery Location: Walden New York U.S.A & Herefordshire England
ABV: 7.2%
How Supplied: 750ml corked & caged bottle
Style: American & English craft cider from Dabinett, Northern Spy, & Foxwhelp apples, wild yeast fermented, oak aged, dry, still

Availability: Angry Orchard’s facility in Walden NY, released March 2018

Cider Description: Understood in Motion 03 started over two years ago, as two different natural ciders fermented with wild yeast. The Dabinett apple was the principle apple variety used in this collaboration, an 18^th century English bittersweet apple that is favored for its reliability to yield fruit annually, and is now grown in the United States. The result, a still, tannic, dry, wild and funky cider that pairs well with a hearty meal enjoyed with friends.

Angry Orchard’s Ryan Burk and Oliver’s Cider & Perry’s Tom Oliver worked together on this cider over the last two years. This article has more information.

Price: n/a (retails for $25)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: I read about it online.

First Impression: Hazy orange amber hue. Very low carbonation. Smells of cider apples, sourness, and funk.

Tasting Notes: Dry to semi-dry. Light bodied. Low tartness, sourness, funk, and bitterness. Moderate acidity and tannins. Notes of bittersweet apples, pomace, orange, leather, grapefruit, and oak. Long tannic sour finish. Moderate apple flavor and flavor intensity. Low sessionability. Moderate to high complexity.

My Opinion: I liked it. However, I would have much preferred it without the sourness; I don’t mind funk, but for some reason I’m not a fan of sourness. I liked it better closer to room temperature, but even then it still had the sourness on the finish. The bittersweet apple flavor and aging was great though.

Most Similar to: English cider (rich bittersweet apples, tannic, funky), with a hint of Spanish sidra (sour, citrus)

Closing Notes: I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to try these special releases not available locally – I’m spoiled with these samples!

Have you tried any of the Angry Orchard special releases? What did you think?

Understood in Motion 02 (Angry Orchard & EZ Orchards Collaboration)

September 4, 2017September 1, 2017 cidersays Angry Orchard, EZ Orchards, review Angry Orchard, cider, cider review, cider tasting, collaboration, EZ Orchards, hard cider, tasting notes, Understood in Motion

Review of Understood in Motion 02, Angry Orchard’s second release in the collaboration series, this time with EZ Orchards. The first was with Eden Specialty Ciders and released nearly a year ago (see my review of Understood in Motion 01 here).

Cider: Understood in Motion 02
Cidery: Angry Orchard & EZ Orchards
Cidery Location: Walden NY & Salem OR
ABV: 7.2%
How Supplied: 750ml corked & caged bottles
Style: American craft cider from bittersweet & heirloom apple varieties, wild yeast fermented, partially Cognac barrel aged, dry & still

Availability: Angry Orchard’s facility in Walden NY and at select locations in Oregon, released August 2017

Cider Description: The east meets west coast with Understood in Motion 02, a collaboration between Angry Orchard Hard Cider and E.Z. Orchards Cidre. The cider is a homage to style, tradition, and a shared respect for the integrity of the fruit. Apples used are Bittersweet Muscadet de Lense and Marie Menard from Oregon, and heirloom, acid-forward Gold Rush and Northern Spy from New York. The fruit was naturally fermented in a process that requires very little intervention but lots of careful attention.

Angry Orchard’s Ryan Burk and EZ Orchards’ Kevin Zielinski worked together on this cider over the last year. This article has more information.

Price: n/a (retails for $25)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: I read about it online.

First Impression: Still (no carbonation). Light pumpkin yellow hue. Smells mild, of citrus and must.

Tasting Notes: Semi-dry to dry. Light to medium bodied. Low tartness. Moderate acidity. Low tannins. Hints of bitterness, sourness, and funk. Notes of lemon, grapefruit, straw, cork, honey, must, and wood. Moderate length warming finish, which is when a slight Congac flavor shines through. Low apple flavor. Moderate to high complexity. Low to moderate sessionability. Low to moderate flavor intensity. Low barrel influence. Low to moderate spirit influence.

My Opinion: I liked it, but didn’t love it. I was hoping for more bittersweet apple flavor. Although this definitely wasn’t a fully heirloom apple cider (as the acidity was muted), the bittersweets didn’t get to shine through, as it was lacking their richness. The flavor notes I got from this were really interesting and unique.

Suggestions: I liked this cider best in between fridge and room temperature, as the complexity increased as it warmed up. I think it would taste good with something creamy, like cheese or a cream-based soup.

Most Similar to: A mild farmhouse-style cider, such as releases from Wrangletown, Dragon’s Head Wild Fermented, and Angry Orchard Walden Hollow.

Closing Notes: I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to try these special releases not available locally – I’m spoiled with these samples!

Have you tried any of the Angry Orchard special releases? What did you think?

Angry Orchard & Eden Specialty Ciders Collaboration – Understood in Motion: 01

December 7, 2016December 7, 2016 cidersays Eden, review Angry Orchard, barrel aged, cider, cider review, cider tasting, Eden, hard cider, tasting notes, Understood in Motion

Review of the first collaboration between Angry Orchard & Eden Specialty Ciders, Understood in Motion: 01. It is the first in a series of planned releases, made by head cidermaker Ryan Burk of Angry Orchard and co-owner & cidermaker Eleanor Leger of Eden Specialty Ciders. It is named for the motion of apple harvest and the cider making process.

The apples were grown and pressed in Vermont at Eden’s cidery, then the juice was shipped to Angry Orchard’s Innovation cidery in New York for fermentation and six months of aging (some in tanks and some in Calvados barrels). After that, Ryan and Eleanor met to blend the cider with some three year old Eden ice cider.

Here is an article with more information on the cider, and here is an article about Angry Orchard’s Innovation Cider House releases in 2016.

Cider: Understood in Motion: 01
Cidery: Angry Orchard & Eden Specialty Ciders
Cidery Location: Walden NY & Newport VT
ABV: 8.0%
How Supplied: 750ml corked & caged champagne bottles
Style: American craft cider from Vermont heirloom apple varieties, a mix of tank & Calvados barrel aging, and mixed with ice cider

Availability: Limited release, only at Angry Orchard’s Walden New York Innovation Cider House, since November 18

Cider Description: This cider was born of friendship among two Northeast cider makers, as well as a shared commitment to raising awareness of the American cider industry. With Understood in Motion 01, we worked with our friends at Eden Specialty Ciders (VT) to combine techniques and favorite ingredients to develop something completely new, while paying homage to the American cider making tradition.

This cider is made from a carefully selected blend of heirloom apples from Vermont, including Ananas Reinette and D’Arcy, resulting in a still, semi-dry cider with balanced acidity and low tannin, aged in Calvados barrels for 6 months.

It recently won Gold in the Cider/Mead/ Perry at the FoBAB Competition.

Price: n/a (retails for $25)
Where Bought: n/a
Where Drank: home
How Found: I read about it online.

First Impression: Light pumpkin amber hue. Still (no carbonation). Smells rich, of brown sugar, honey, and baked apples.

Tasting Notes: On the sweeter side of semi-dry. Medium bodied. Moderate tartness and acidity. Low tannins. No bitterness, sourness, or funk. Notes of baked apple, brown sugar, honey, lemon, and grapefruit. Moderate length finish. Moderate to high apple flavor. Moderate sessionability. Moderate flavor intensity. Moderate complexity. Low oak influence.

My Opinion: I really enjoyed it. I was expecting more tannins and less citrus, but it worked. It tasted like a high acidity citrusy cider mixed with some rich ice cider. I actually enjoyed it even more the second day. Because it is still, it didn’t have carbonation to go flat. The acidity also seemed to calm down a bit, bringing out more richness.

Most Similar to: This reminded me of Eden’s Semi-Dry cider (which also mixes ice cider into dry cider), as well as Slyboro Old Sin.

Closing Notes: I feel privileged to have got a bottle of this limited release cider! Special thanks to Diana Mask at Angry Orchard for hooking me up. These two cideries would have been my last guess for a collaboration match up, but I can see how it benefits them both. Angry Orchard is trying to improve their image from just a mass market sweet simple cider maker. Eden is a small artisan cidery startup without the budget for marketing campaigns or nationwide cider releases. I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.

Have you tried Angry Orchard & Eden Specialty Ciders Collaboration – Understood in Motion: 01? What did you think?

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