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Commercial Hard Ciders

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fatbloke said:
Over here, when magners started up - with no "tradition" of irish cider (certainly not that I can find - despite what the marketing fascists say in the adverts), they pushed the price of apples over the moon, because they just wanted enough so they could say that it was made with english/irish apples.
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That's exactly what happened in the US as well. They went nuts marketting it at the 'irish pub' crowd and for a good three or four years it was an amazing success, but people have finally started to wise up that it's factory garbage.

It still saddens me though that it's the only Cider I can get in a tavern that has any chance of being sold on draft. Magners out of a bottle is vile vile vile stuff.

fatbloke said:
Plus "white lightning" is also anonymous as to it's origins, but do you really care if you just aim to get as drunk as possible, as cheaply as possible ?????
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I blame my bad childhood friends for turning me into these things. Although it's impossible to get any of those cheap ciders in the US. The market for them simply doesn't exist here and is filled by the cheap beers and bum juices.

fatbloke said:
Of course, I did say it's all relative, because 1 person might prefer the taste of factory crap, to a traditionally made cider. Another might prefer something sparkling/carbonated to a still cider. Or filtered and clear, to cloudy traditional farm scrumpy! :p:cool:
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I only wish he could sell that in the US. I have to drive quite far to even score cider here that isn't crap.
 
I've just tried some Woodchuck Draft Cider, Granny Smith flavored. I've got to say, although it is still much more tasty than beer in my opinion, I still prefer the Hornsby's, I don't taste too much apple in this.
 
I recently got to trying Hornsby's amber red, and I have to say it was not to my liking at all. It was, in fact, hard for me to finish. I also tried Woodchuck's green apple, and it tasted more like an apple flavored beer than a cider, but it was still drinkable, much moreso than beer in my opinion.
 
I tried a "fermented perry cider" from Ace Cider Co. It was not very good, tasted like they had spiked it heavily with pear flavored syrup. My wife said it tasted like pear-flavored piss. Mmm!
 
I've tried several ciders, but can only remember three of the names. Woodchuck was fairly good, a little on the sweet side. I have also had Hornsby's Draft Cider which I really didn't care for. The last I didn't find out about until I escaped from Kansas to Washington. Spire Mountain, for me had a good taste and had a drier taste to it compared to the Woodchuck. I had two bottles of Woodchuck left and had a little taste comparison. Good thing I found the Spire since the only store that carried Woodchuck stopped because of supplier issues. On a side note, half a bottle of decent cider mixed in a good quality bbq sauce adds a nice hint of apple if you run out of applewood to smoke with.
 
I have recently tried the Woodchuck 'Limited Release' Oaked draft cider. I am not such a fan. It tastes very similar to their 'Limited Release' fall cider, which also happens to taste like liquid pine tree, just to a much greater degree.

All of the other woodchuck varieties I've tried are good though.
 
My preferred cider is J.K.'s Scrumpy organic hard cider. Hard to find and not cheap, but both sweet and tart. With 8% alcohol, 22oz bottles, and a smooth taste, it'll get you good and buzzed before you know it.

The only downside (besides the difficulty finding it, and the $6-7 a bottle) is that it has so much acid that I often get heartburn if I down a whole bottle in one sitting. :(
 
Yeah JK Scrumpy's is the best cider ever. There's a specialty beer and wine store across from where I take guitar lessons that has it for $4.99 a bottle. I've also had all the woodchuck stuff which is all pretty decent, original sin, hardcore, hornsby's, strongbow and a couple others. All of them are pretty similar in my opinion besides the Scrumpy's.
 
My husband and I just recently found Cider Jack here in Missouri. We're not fans of Woodchuck, Strongbow, Ace, and other commercial ciders because they taste too sweet (and some like Woodchuck taste too much like cheap booze IMO). Wyder's pear is about the only one I like (and Strongbow Dry, but it's not available in the US apparently). Just wanted to pass that one on as well, as I thought it was really tasty.

I'd like to get more into artisan cider but find it hard to spend $25 on a 750 bottle. I don't spend that much on wine, beer, or mead... probably not going to spend that on cider either. Thus the reason we're picking up 15 gallons of apple juice & 10 gallons of pear juice from a cider mill in a couple of weeks. :D
 
capoeirista13 said:
I have recently tried the Woodchuck 'Limited Release' Oaked draft cider. I am not such a fan. It tastes very similar to their 'Limited Release' fall cider, which also happens to taste like liquid pine tree, just to a much greater degree.

All of the other woodchuck varieties I've tried are good though.
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The oaked and the fall ciders are pretty good.
 
On the East Coast I've recently seen increased distribution of ciders from two of my favorite small producers - Farnum Hill and West County. I've run across both in Northern MD and saw about 7 different single varietal ciders at a Whole Foods in NYC. Both blow away most commercial/mass produced ciders, but they also run about $12-15 for a 750ml bottle.


http://www.farnumhillciders.com/

http://www.westcountycider.com
 
Displaced Hick said:
The last I didn't find out about until I escaped from Kansas to Washington.
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If you get the chance on a night out, try Methow Valley Brewing's Booth Canyon Cider. I really wasn't impressed with any cider before tasting that. Others are drinkable, but this is beyond comparison. It's off-dry and lightly carb'd, the right amount of apple taste and tartness, oh...the last few times I wound up at The Green Frog, I ordered up at least a pint of this. Everyone I know who has tried it - at least a dozen or so people - has been thoroughly impressed with it.

(o/t, for Displaced Hick: If you like beer and find yourself in Bellingham, try The Frog. Honey Moon Meadery is here in Bellingham, too.)
 
capoeirista13 said:
I have recently tried the Woodchuck 'Limited Release' Oaked draft cider. I am not such a fan. It tastes very similar to their 'Limited Release' fall cider, which also happens to taste like liquid pine tree, just to a much greater degree.

All of the other woodchuck varieties I've tried are good though.
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I agree with this "review" ten fold. I really expected more from a
'Limited Release' Oaked Cider. The flavor was almost singular with little to no oak taste for me. Their other stuff is pretty good however.
 
Well I tried Fox Barrel black currant cider while eating a cheeseburger today. It tasted like a beer at first bite, but then when I was done the burger it tasted like a wine cooler, and kept tasting like a wine cooler.
 
The best 'cider' I ever had was just plain old fresh press with mulling spice and whiskey. In second place is the hard cider I made myself, backsweetened with splenda and primed. All the woodpecker and other stuff is just kind of greasy and weird tasting to me. Even the $8/pint specialty stuff at the local fancy pub, kind of nasty.
 
I recently tried the J.K.'s Scrumpy Hard Cider after reading the comments here. I REALLY liked it. It has a strong apple aroma, and a nicely balanced apple flavor with acidity and sweetness that fits together with a tingling carbonation that makes it quite refreshing. It got me inspired to start some cider of my own.

I'm curious how they manage to keep that sweetness with the carbonation.
 
If I had to guess how they keep it sweet yet carbonated with 'only juice and yeast' according the website:

1: All the pics appear to be Golden Delicious apples. http://organicscrumpy.com/WhatIsOrganicScrumpy.html

2: They ferment it down to a certain gravity and cold crash it.

3: They say it is aged several months (not necessary for a basic fermentation and keg carb). "This is all a very time consuming process, but it is tradition and it’s the right method for us to produce this old world drink for your enjoyment." from the website.
 
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