Hard Cider

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oh.. woodchuck limited release spring hard cider = awesome!!!!!!!!

Apple cider + maple + brown sugar

Makes me want to eat pork ribs
 
mmmmhhhhhmmmmm... rrrriiiiibbbbsssss :hungry:

I'll have to see if I can find that one Jon. I can't believe you namby pambies have got me talked into buying cider... the insanity.:eek2:
 
I'm reviving this thread since I recently got into ciders and I'm enjoying the journey. Plus ciders have increased in variety lately in my perspective, so I've been trying everything I can get my hands on.

Current favorites are:

Finnriver
Angry Orchird Cider House Collection
J.K. Skrumpy
Woodchucks limited additions seem to be pretty tasty.
A weak 2% cider that makes me feel like a child with a babies still developing liver by the name of Etienne Dupont Cidre Bouché Brut de Normandie

Nothing yells patriot like I nice glass of cider my friends.
 
alright... i'm going to pick up some interesting ones for the next time we hang out... UFC and cider
 
Awesome, sounds like a plan. I'm game anytime you aren't too busy at the shop. I'm going to bring you a menu from Hambones when I'm in the area.
 
I would homebrew the cider. Most of the homebrew cider will taste just like the commercial stuff you see like Hornsby or any of the other brands. Pretty much most cider is crap, it's just apple juice fermented. It's refreshing and crisp but it's not that great.

Try a good french cider, they are mostly not pasteurized or filtered and taste very tart and dry. They use fresh pressed apples and blend them with different varieties to have the right amount of sweetness and acidity. There is a night an day difference between good natural cider and the crap you find at supermarkets. Most of these newer ciders are just trying to cash in on the craft beer craze with more attention to marketing than craft.

Etienne Dupont is probably the nicest most pure example of cider you can get from high end bottle shops or restaurants. Give it a try.

For homebrew cider just be sure to use good quality juice. If you buy gallon jugs of premium organic pressed stuff a 5 gallon batch will cost you about 60$ to make with yeast. Regular champagne yeast works good. If you are feeling experimental try using a Saison Ale yeast but make sure you can have it ferment at a warmer temp.
 
Ace joker
Oaken Barrel Apple Buzz (apple beer but not what you think, very different, not cider but not apple flavored beer like ephemiris from Uni-Brou) comes out once a year (last time gone in a week) I usually buy two cases.
Gales Hard Cider, definitely throw a rat in the vat English Style hard cider
 
Ace is pretty processed stuff. They just use the Sebastapol California apple heritage as marketing. Nothing great about the product. It's just as good as homebrew cider. There is absolutely no point to aging a cider in bourbon barrels. The entire premise of drinking fermented cider is to taste apples. Spirits barrels ruin cider. It's just a stupid trend amongst the so called craft beer community to charge more for something.

A pure cider is nothing more than fresh pressed apples with varying acidity and sugar content. A cultured yeast is added for shelf life and stability that's it...Less is more with good cider. But most cider in the US is produced for commercial interests and not all interested in quality of fruit.
 
sachem allison said:
try angry orchard,a great cider
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I'm sitting here enjoying an Angry Orchard right now, good stuff. I think I still prefer Strongbow, but it's been years so it may be a case of memory tasting better then the actual cider:scratchhead:

Be well,
Mikey
 
Herefordshire is famous for Cider, , round here we've always drank it ;)
This is my local place and the best in Herefordshire, people come a long way to visit Broome farm and learn about cider, Mike does a great tasting session in the cellar. You can order a box online if you wana try some. The cider festival is in september, i normally help out so I get in for free.
http://www.rosscider.com
 
MowgFace said:
Magnars and Bulmers
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I keep passing up Magnars for some reason. I've never seen Bulmers in any store.

That's what I'm talking about sachem. Those two Angry Orchids are good. They are under the Cider House Collection.They have a 3rd under that collection called Muse that I just picked up. Can't wait to try it.

Ace blows, and not in a way that would allow me to get a good nights rest. The standard Ace, Woodchuck, and Angry Orchird single bottles tend to be borderline wine coolers unfortunately. You got to get their seasonal and limited additions to get anything decent. I'm going to take Jon's advice and pick up the Spring Season since it's available.
 
Umberto said:
Ace is pretty processed stuff. They just use the Sebastapol California apple heritage as marketing. Nothing great about the product. It's just as good as homebrew cider. There is absolutely no point to aging a cider in bourbon barrels. The entire premise of drinking fermented cider is to taste apples. Spirits barrels ruin cider. It's just a stupid trend amongst the so called craft beer community to charge more for something.

A pure cider is nothing more than fresh pressed apples with varying acidity and sugar content. A cultured yeast is added for shelf life and stability that's it...Less is more with good cider. But most cider in the US is produced for commercial interests and not all interested in quality of fruit.
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So what brands would you recommend here in the States?
 
Totally disagree about ageing in barrels, you need to try a good rum/whiskey barrel cider, its just another technique that can work with the flavour. Its not really about ageing it very long, just taking on a little flavour from the barrel.
 
WillC said:
Herefordshire is famous for Cider, , round here we've always drank it ;)
This is my local place and the best in Herefordshire, people come a long way to visit Broome farm and learn about cider, Mike does a great tasting session in the cellar. You can order a box online if you wana try some. The cider festival is in september, i normally help out so I get in for free.
http://www.rosscider.com
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Damn you and your snobish high class elitist European ways. You posted that website knowing very well they don't deliver outside the UK. I despise you in every way imaginable that one person can despise a total stranger they never met that dangled a nice juicy carrot in front of their nose that is in reality a child's toy.

To make amends, you must bring this cider with you the next time you come to the states for all of us in California to try. Obviously the other 49 states do not matter in the least.:biggrin:
 
Lol, I only just noticed they don't mention international delivery, I just sent them an email suggesting they set something up for the bottled stuff. See what they say.
A random connection to the farm, bit nearer for you Canada, Kate is a regular at broome farm and comes over to make help and learn how to make cider, this is her company, I bet its good stuff!
http://www.leftfieldcider.com
 
Just spoke to Mike and he said they have difficulty sending stuff to the States on a commercial basis. However he said that they have a yearly order with Shelton Brothers, and will be sending more this year. So you can put in a request with them,
Broome farm stuff is marketed under Ross cider and perry company.
http://www.sheltonbrothers.com/cider-and-perry-update/
 
I like Ace Joker because it was the driest I have tasted US Made. So if you can recommend a dry cider that's good I'm all ears!
 
WillC said:
Lol, I only just noticed they don't mention international delivery, I just sent them an email suggesting they set something up for the bottled stuff. See what they say.
A random connection to the farm, bit nearer for you Canada, Kate is a regular at broome farm and comes over to make help and learn how to make cider, this is her company, I bet its good stuff!
http://www.leftfieldcider.com
Click to expand...

I see. All is forgiven then.
 
bear1889 said:
I like Ace Joker because it was the driest I have tasted US Made. So if you can recommend a dry cider that's good I'm all ears!
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I have not tried Ace Joker yet. I don't like dry cider myself, but I will give it a swig and compare it to the Strawman by AO which is pretty dry.

Strongbow is a good universal cider for parties. I seen people who prefer beer and do not like the sweetness of ciders give an approving nod to Strongbow. It wouldn't be my first choice though.

I don't won't to sign off on what sachem said earlier, but unfortunately much of what he said is true. I've read articles where companies have admitted that the orchards in their area are not enough for mass production, so they outsource their apple juice to other places that are already anchored in the market. The apples they grow are used to make cider for local consumption or processed for limited editions. There is probably great cider in Washington state that you will never try unless you go visit those specific orchards in Washington.
 
Surprised there is so much love for Strongbow here, I'd class it as the lowest common denominator of cider. Living in Somerset means I am perhaps a little spoiled though.

A friend of mine lives next door to a Welsh producer, Gwynt y Ddraig* - their Farmhouse cider is pretty good.

Translated: "Dragon's breath"
 
Cider is cider. If you want to drink a barrel aged apple product man up and buy some aged Calvados. Domaine Dupont makes real cider, all that Magnars, Ace, Angry Orchard stuff is produced in highly processed ways. Dupont uses the finest estate apples and blends them with utmost care, not pasteurized nor filtered, dry, tart sweet and complex no bs or marketing just good product with a history for doing stuff right...

Sorry to come off as snobbish. But I'm quite snobbish when it comes to companies who would rather push product than craft. Anybody can make labels these days and call themselves an craft producer. But they seem to forget that being a craft beverage marker requires terroir.
 
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