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WHAT'S BREWING TASTING PANEL: CIDER VS. CIDER II
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presents...
Cider vs. Cider II
It's a fruit frenzy, as JAK'S selects a stunning sextet of varied, interesting BC craft ciders for our Spring session
Photo: Lundy Dale
Apples: the forbidden fruit, the fruit of love and folklore. The original parents of our modern-day apples come from Kazakhstan in central Asia. When we bite into a sweet, crisp Golden Delicious, we are biting into a ball that's very complicated - more than 57,000 genes (we poor humans only have 30,000). The many types of table apple that we enjoy for a snack number over 150 in variety. But there is a small, separate group numbering just over 20 varieties which we call cider apples, used solely for making that special nectar of the gods. For the origins of cider making, folklore takes us back more than 2,000 years to the Celtic fringe of Europe. It was mentioned by the Romans circa 55 BC when they arrived in the British Isles and noted the locals were drinking a fermented drink made from the fruit of crab apple trees. See A Brief, Opinionated, History of Cider in this issue to learn more about cider's long tradition. - Brian K. Smith
What's Brewing welcomes our new Tasting Panel sponsor!
WARREN
LUNDY
PAUL CARNELL ABBY
ADAM
• Warren Boyer of Fraser Mills Fermentation: BJCP Certified home and commercial brewer, and past President of CAMRA Vancouver.
• Lundy Dale: Founder, BC Craft Beer Month, Pink Pints Vancouver, CAMRA Vancouver. Past President, CAMRA BC.
• Paul Pyne of Drink Smarter: Certified Cicerone ® & beer tutor • Carnell Turton of Breward Inlet: if the beer isn’t good he’ll say it • Abby Wiseman of Small Batch Magazine reviews food & drink around Vancouver.
• Adam Chatburn: home and commercial brewer, cellarman, WB columnist and past President of CAMRA Vancouver
What They Reviewed
Products evaluated this round included:
ABV The BX Press Vanilla Plum 6.8% Dominion Cider Winter Cider 6.5% Nomad Cider Sparkling Sagardo 6.5% Salt Spring Wild Cider Pineapple Amaro 6.6% Soma Cidery Oaked Apple Cider 6.1% Windfall Cider Hail Mary 7.0%
Flavour & Palate
For this group as a whole. For individual scores, turn to next page.
Sweetness
Very Dry Very Sweet
Appearance & Enjoyment
Pie chart tip: legend starts from 45 degree mark (3 o’clock) then works clockwise
Fruitiness Not Overly Fruity Very Juicy & Fruity
Tartness
Conclusions
Adjusting for cider
Rating cider rather than beer means deviating from our regular criteria. This time round, instead of, say, Hoppy vs Malty, we’ve keyed in on Dry vs Sweet. And the winner is...
2.8/3 2.2/3 2.4/4 7.0/10 6.6/10
2.0/3 2.3/3
19 16 23 25 22
Sweet with plum and vanilla.
Vanilla was too subtle. Plum and apple worked well together.
Crisp and slightly sweet. Vanilla and plum shine to give a unique finish. Light and refreshing.
Nice fruity flavours pair well with a subtle vanilla.
BXpress does a great job and any trip to Vernon should include a visit to their renovated space. I like this cider. Maybe a little sweeter than necessary but the plum brings a nice stone fruit roundness to it. The vanilla is fairly subtle but it keeps that plum dessert flavour going.
Salt Spring Pineapple Amaro 22.7/30 2.7/3 2.2/3 2.8/4 7.2/10 7.8/10
17 23 21 19 17
Clove and cinnamon upfront, balanced apple flavour hiding beneath it. Spice is a bit overpowering.
Tastes like liquid apple pie. The spices are a tad heavy, citrus is very light and I would like to have had more carbonation
Very much a winter cider with spicy notes of Clove and Cinnamon. Apple tartness is mild and fruity.
Unusual and tasty. Definitely a specialty and good in small doses.
Heavy Spice dominates. My palate had trouble finding the apple, which I generally come to a cider for. However, if you are after spices this is where you should go.
Soma Oaked Apple Cider 2.3/3 2.3/3
20 23 22 27
Balanced with an earthy funk
Unusual combination of flavours. Pineapple is very subtle and the Amaro is very intense. It does cut down what otherwise would be a sweet cider.
Lots of aroma notes; pineapple, wood. Mild bitterness to offset sweetness.
Like a delicious Juicy NEIPA with a more delicate crisp body... my kind of cider.
Salt Spring Wild have been doing a great job. I'm not super knowledgeable about Italian digestifs, so I wasn't sure what to look for. I found it a thoroughly enjoyable pineapple cider which could easily become my summer jam. If you find yourself on Salt Spring Island this summer, do yourself a favour and go visit Mike and Gerda.
22
Balanced. Sweet fruity apple with tartness and astringency to bal ance it out. Finishes slightly tart. I like it.
22 27 25 24
Light and dry, with a mild sweetness. Vanilla and oak notes linger on the tongue.
A cider that is well balanced by a sweet apple and a subtle oak. Very good balance, very enjoyable.
Really rich and delicious. Almost surprised it’s in a can.
Loved this cider! It reminded me of a session version of the excellent Central City Imperial with smooth oak finish, vanilla and honey. I find it a little sweet (in contrast to the "dry as kindling" claims on the can). Even if you're not a big oak fan I highly suggest you try this.
2.2/4 5.8/10 5.8/10
2.3/3 2.0/3 2.5/4 6.2/10 6.8/10
Clove and cinnamon upfront, balanced apple flavour hiding beneath it. Spice is a bit overpowering.
Tastes like liquid apple pie. The spices are a tad heavy, citrus is very light and I would like to have had more carbonation
Very much a winter cider with spicy notes of Clove and Cinnamon. Apple tartness is mild and fruity.
Unusual and tasty. Definitely a specialty and good in small doses.
Heavy Spice dominates. My palate had trouble finding the apple, which I generally come to a cider for. However, if you are after spices this is where you should go.
Soma Oaked Apple Cider 22.5/30 2.8/4 7.5/10 7.5/10
Balanced. Sweet fruity apple with tartness and astringency to balance it out. Finishes slightly tart. I like it.
Light and dry, with a mild sweetness. Vanilla and oak notes linger
A cider that is well balanced by a sweet apple and a subtle oak. Very good balance, very enjoyable.
Really rich and delicious. Almost surprised it’s in a can.
Loved this cider! It reminded me of a session version of the excellent Central City Imperial with smooth oak finish, vanilla and honey. I find it a little sweet (in contrast to the "dry as kindling" claims on the can). Even if you're not a big oak fan I highly suggest you try this.
19 23 20 18 25
Light in body and flavour. Starts balanced and finishes tart and dry.
Tart green apple, dry with low sweetness and tartness.
Light and fairly dry. Nice tartness with mild funky/yeasty finish.
Light on body and not especially apple forward.
I love funky ciders, especially Spanish cidres like Isastegi and Byhur. This homage to that style is one of the best in Canada. Perhaps a little overcarbed but appropriate for the North American palate.
Windfall Hail Mary 22.7/30 2.8/3 2.0/3 2.8/4 7.2/10 7.8/10
24 23 21 19 25
Dry with champagne-like bubbles and a tart berry bite. Clean and delicious.
Bright and crisp with a sharp tartness in the edge. Apple and Melon fruitiness
A dry berry apple blend that looks quite pretty and tastes fairly delicious.
It was fine. Nothing amazing and I didn’t really get the rosé part.
Jeff and Nathaly of Windfall have struck gold with their excellent ciders and community work in East Van. This is one of my favourites, a perfect pink blush with a touch of berry sweetness to back up the light cider. Very crushable! Don't snooze on Windfall.
