Cider Summit Chicago Part 2

Now here it is, Part 2 of the Cider Summit Review. This time we feature Hawke's favorite ciders. Now, as Bailey had noted the apple crop this year has been poor due to the weather. As such ciders this year have been mostly on the bitter side. However, there are still some standouts that should be mentioned.

Hawke's Top 4:

#1. Mad Bark - Cider Boys of Wisconsin

http://www.ciderboys.com/

It is not surprising that this cider is #1. Cider boys has been making some excellent ciders and this is no exception. The cider combines the apple flavor with that of cinnamon for a unique taste. 

Color: 

Dark yellow, very clear with no particulate. Few few bubbles present. 5/5

Smell:

The cider has a sweet smell, a hint of apples and a dash of cinnamon. Almost smells like cinnamon toast crunch. 5/5

Taste: 

Sweet, cinnamon sugar flavor. It's not overwhelmingly, but is quite smooth. 5/5

Aftertaste:

Very mild yet quick aftertaste. Had a slight cinnamon flavor. 5/5

Overall: 

This is a good occasional cider to have. The flavor is fairly unique. The cider is readily available at some of the better stocked stores and the price is $8-10 a six pack. This cider gets a 20/20

#2 Smackintosh - Tandem Ciders of Michigan

We found this cider to be one of the more unique ciders. While on the surface it seems quite ordinary, it is full of surprises. 

http://www.tandemciders.com/

Color:

This is a pale yellow color, with a few bubbles. 4/5

Smell:

This cider smells surprisingly sweet, and full of apples. Bailey gives this cider the best smell award. 5/5

Taste: 

A very strong mackintosh apple flavor. Very crisp. 5/5

Aftertaste:

This cider has a slightly sweet finish to it, It did not linger.

Overall: 

This cider is very good, It surprised both Hawke and Bailey that the mackintosh flavor was so strong, Especially in the smell. Overall: 19/20

Blood Orange - Two Rivers Cider of California
A different cider that promises a citrus taste.
http://www.tworiverscider.com/

Color:

This cider was very red, almost blood red. It remained very clear, with few bubbles. 5/5

Smell:
This cider has a sweet smell too it, but it was not overwhelming. It also featured some citrus smells. 4/5

Taste: 
A subtle flavor of citrus, with a slightly bitter taste 4/5

Aftertaste:
A decent aftertaste that had an orange flavor. It was surprisingly full flavored, but with a decent linger time. 5/5

Overall: 
This cider is another unique cider that has its namesake present in the taste, but it does not overwhelm the senses. Overall: 18/20

Sweet Knockers from Apple Knockers of Illinois

This is a more traditional cider. We were interested to try it as there are not many ciders from Illinois. 

http://www.appleknockerhardcider.com/

Color:

A very bright clear cider, with many bubbles. 4/5

Smell:

A very sweet smelling cider, with some, but not a lot, of apple smell. 3/5

Taste:

A very sharp taste that is very sweet. Full of apple flavor. 4/5

Aftertaste:

A very light after taste, but still had some pleasant apple flavor to it. 4/5

Overall:

A solid traditional cider that offers a strong apple taste. It may still be a little sweet for some people. 

Overall: 15/20

This year was a good year for ciders. There were many unique varieties and flavors. Hopefully next year will bring out even more good ciders!

Cider Summit Chicago 2014

Greetings readers! We hope the weather hasn't broken your spirit yet. We are (hopefully) almost out of the woods and on our way to spring. Also, if you were in the Chicago area, we sincerely hope you attended the Chicago Cider Summit 2014! If not, have no fear, we are going to bring you our top ciders from the festival. Overall, this was a year of bitter ciders! We talked to several of the growers in the midwest and east coast areas and were informed it was a dry growing season the previous year. Unfortunately that means a more tart and bitter crop. The cider itself was not a lower quality by any means, but it will appeal to people who enjoy bitter flavors more than sweet ones. If you are looking for ciders on the sweeter side, you should probably consider companies that are based out west.


Bailey's Top 5:

#1 McIntosh Cellars Iced Cider (Limited Production)
http://www.mcintoshorchards.com/winery.html
Keeping with tradition, Bailey picked the sweetest cider she could find for her favorite. This is more of a dessert cider and is better for sipping. It has a thicker consistency than regular cider.

Color:
Rich amber color, very clear with no carbonation. Gorgeous! 5/5 apples

Smell: 
Very powerful sweet apple smell. Really packs a punch, almost has a syrupy smell to it. 5/5 apples

Taste:
Robust apple flavors, VERY sweet, thick consistency, flavor really stays with you. 5/5 apples

Aftertaste:
The powerful apple flavor carries into the aftertaste with a little bit of sour apple. A really great finish. 5/5 apples.

Overall:
Not an everyday cider, but perfect for sipping on a chilly night. This one is definitely for people with a palette for sweetness. Bailey gives it a 20/20 apples, or a green apple.

#2 Sonoma Cider "Hatchet"
This cider is organic, which was a huge positive for Bailey.
http://sonomacider.com/ciders/

Color: 

A pale yellow cider that is very clear. This does have slight carbonation. 5/5 apples

Smell: 

A pleasant sweet smell with apple and floral notes. Very aromatic. 5/5 apples.

Taste: 

A light acidic sweet apple flavor. Almost has a floral honey taste to it that is mellow, very interesting and refreshing. 5/5 apples

Aftertaste:

Mild aftertaste of the floral honey flavor. Does last for awhile. 4/5 apples

Overall:

Bailey really enjoyed the flavor of this cider, it is something different from the norm. She thinks this would be a great summer cider. 19/20 apples, or a green apple.

#3 California Cider Company - Ace Apple Honey

Apple and Honey in the name? Bailey is so there! She also heard several people that were walking around the festival talking about this one. You should definitely check this one out!

http://www.acecider.com/

Color: 

A light golden color and very clear. This cider does have some carbonation. 5/5 apples

Smell:

This cider has a very lightly sweet smell. Not much boldness to it, very pleasant though. 3/5 apples

Taste:

The smell definitely tricks you into thinking this cider will have a mild flavor, Wrong! This cider has a very bold apple flavor which is slightly sweet. This is a very smooth and crisp cider. Fantastic! 5/5 apples

Aftertaste:

Sweet and sour aftertaste that is quickly fleeting. 3/5 apples

Overall:

This is a great cider with bold flavor. Bailey would have liked if there were more of an aftertaste, but great nonetheless. She gives it a 16/20 apples, or a yellow apple.

#4 Virtue Cider - The Mitten

Bailey has discovered that she really likes an "woodsy" flavor in her cider. This one has notes of vanilla, oak, and caramel.

http://virtuecider.com/our-ciders/

Color:

A light golden color, very clear. No carbonation in this one. 5/5 apples

Smell:

A bold smell of earthy wood aroma mixed with a slight bourbon smell. The apples take a back seat to the other powerful notes. 4/5 apples

Taste:

This cider has a lot of flavors to offer. There is a slight sour apple flavor at the beginning. Others include; mild spice, bold bourbon, and oak/woodsy flavor. There is a great smoothness to this cider. 5/5 apples

Aftertaste:

This cider offers a slightly sour apple mixed with bourbon aftertaste. 4/5 apples

Overall:

This is a great cider for fall. The flavors are great for whiskey lovers. Bailey gives this a 18/20 apples, or a green apple.

#5 Urban Farm Fermentory - Hopped Cidah

This cider comes from a unique company in Maine. They not only make hard cider, but also ferment Kombucha! They locally source as many ingredients as they can to give you an authentic taste from Maine. You can check out their products here: 

http://www.urbanfarmfermentory.com/products/

Color:

This cider presents with a strong yellow hue. It is moderately cloudy with just a few bubbles. Bailey gives it a 5/5 apples.

Smell:

It has a light sweet apple aroma with a bit of alcohol smell mixed in. The smell is not very powerful, but it is pleasant. Bailey rates it as a 3/5 apples.

Taste:

The taste is full of sour apple with a clear note of hops at the end. Overall it's a very mellow and somewhat smooth taste. Even though she is not a huge fan of beer, the hops are light enough that it's just the right amount of flavor. She gives it a 4/5 apples.

Aftertaste:

The aftertaste was a little bitter apple flavor that vanished rather quickly. Bailey gives it a 2/5 apples.

Overall:

This cider is a good middle of the road cider. It would be great for someone who likes beer and it looking to transition to cider. It has a nice mellow flavor that isn't too powerful one way or the other. Overall, Bailey gave it a 14/20 apples, or a yellow apple.

Thanks so much for reading! Hopefully you will be able to find some of these ciders to try in your local markets soon. And by all means, if you have the opportunity to attend one of the cider summits please do! It's a wonderful experience to talk to all of the producers and really find out what goes into their products.

Stay warm friends, spring is almost here!

Thatcher's Green Goblin

After a holiday hiatus we're back!

A new cider that has appeared in the local stores in Chicago is Green Goblin. Upon spotting this cider, Bailey was instantly intrigued by its label art. Upon reading the label, she declared that 'this was the next one to sample.' This is an oak aged English cider made with Somerset apples and matured in 100 year old oak vats. It has an ABV of 6%. It promises full flavor and a bittersweet dry finish.

Color: Upon pouring, Bailey was immediately taken by the color from the cider. She enjoys the dark amber color, which is very clear with few bubbles. She comments that this one of her favorite cider colors. Hawke felt that this is a rich gold color. Very unexpected for english cider, as many of the english ciders we've seen have been pale. Bailey: 5/5 Hawke: 5/5

Smell: Bailey detected a slightly sour smell mixed with a sweet apple/woodsy finish. She decided that this was a good scent, but it was not the best smell she has sampled. Hawke felt, upon smelling, that this was a very sweetly sour smell, that was almost overwhelming. He did not detect any apple flavor in the scent unfortunately. Bailey:4/5 Hawke: 3/5

Taste: Bailey enjoyed this flavor upon sampling it. She described it as a pleasant sour with slightly bitter tones. The oak barrels give it a bold flavor. She decided that this is a good cider for beer lovers in her opinion as it is not very sweet. Upon tasting this cider, Hawke detected a sour flavor that was strong but not overwhelming. This flavor started off strong, then became relatively mild after. He also did not really feel any apple flavor, which surprised him. Bailey: 5/5 Hawke: 4/5

Aftertaste: Bailey detected the woodsy flavor dissipating quickly, to a mix of sour and sweet apple flavor. She was quite pleased with the aftertaste. The aftertaste was a good sweet flavor according to Hawke. It has minor notes of apple with a hint of woodsy flavor. The after taste was slightly dry, but not overwhelmingly dry as some ciders have been, as well the aftertaste did not linger as much as it could have. Bailey:4/5 Hawke: 4/5

Price: 3-5 Bailey likes the price of the cider. It is a very fair price in her opinion. Especially considering that a 12oz bottle of Woodchuck or Angry Orchard is ~6 at a bar. Hawke agrees with this, as the price is very good. It surprised both of them that the cider was good for the price, as many times low cost ciders tend to have strange or strong flavors that come with them.  The quality to price is quite good. Bailey: 5/5 Hawke: 5/5

Overall: Bailey enjoyed this cider. The flavor, color and price made this cider very atractive to her. She plans to get more of this cider next time it is available. Bailey gave this cider a 23/25 or a green apple.

Hawke also liked this cider, but not as much as Bailey. It would definitely be a cider that he does not turn down.  Hawke gave this cider a  21/25 or a green apple.