As much as I am a die-hard beer lover, I also enjoy many other types of alcoholic drinks. As such, I’ve happily watched the revival of other classic alcoholic styles alongside the microbrewery and American wine boom. Some of these traditions are still relatively obscure, such as mead or rye whiskey, but one that has made substantial headway is hard cider. Many dismiss this as a girly drink, but its growing popularity demands a hard look.
Ciders traditionally were consumed in much larger quantities than they are now, largely due to the ease and low cost of production. Cider is actually much more closely related to wine or mead than to beer, since they already contain simple sugars instead of longer chain carbohydrates. Making alcohol out of grains requires a lengthy mashing process at elevated temperatures so that the enzymes present within the grains can digest the carbohydrates into simple sugars which yeasts can digest. This means that the apples simply need to be pressed so that the juice can be recovered, instead of requiring a full brewery to be set up. Growing apple trees and harvesting enough apples to create cider is also a lot easier than raising and harvesting enough grain to brew beer, at least without power equipment.
These conditions conspired to make cider a popular alternative, especially on the frontier where labor, space and equipment were at a premium. John Chapman, more commonly known as Johnny Appleseed, actually managed a network of apple orchards which provided apples for cider and saplings to other residents of the area. Cider remained popular until prohibition, when the industry was largely destroyed because of the utter worthlessness of cider apples for anything else.
A quick digression on that last point is in order, as apples are a bit odd. When you plant an apple seed, you never really know what you will get, since the apple genome is extremely complex. It is actually quite rare to get an apple that is both pretty looking and good tasting. When an apple with desirable traits is found it is propagated through grafting, which generates a clone of the original tree. This means that all apples of a certain variety where actually grown on genetically identical trees, even if the orchards are on different continents. The vast majority of apple trees grown from seeds produce apples that look funny or taste a bit odd, but when blended together these produce a much more complex cider. Unfortunately, most modern apple orchards cater towards the fresh fruit market, leaving a much poorer variety of apples to make cider out of.
The cider in question this week is actually from the same brewery as last week’s Nut Brown Ale, namely Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider. This is an old independent brewery in England, and their beers are consistently excellent. I’m actually not sure what the proper glassware is for a cider, but I generally see them served in pint glasses, so I’d go for that. The bottle actually suggests a large number of food pairings, which include salads, pork and anything mildly spicy. I found the suggestions for spicy foods to be surprising, but in hindsight I think it actually has a lot of potential.
The cider poured a brilliantly clear straw color, foaming a bit while poured but quickly settling out so that no head was apparent; a slight ring of foam was left around the edge of the glass, but the average ginger ale has more head. The aroma was a nice, tart apple scent, although initially a slight sweetness was evident. The taste was quite light overall, with an overarching tannin tartness similar to red wine or fresh fruit backed up by a sweet backbone. As the cider warmed up, this tartness largely disappeared, leaving an almost cloying sweetness. The cider actually had quite a full body, especially at lower temperatures, which was not offset at all by the low carbonation. Overall, this cider had a fairly weak flavor but was pleasant to drink.
This cider is actually noticeably smoother, although weaker, than bar staples such as Woodchuck and Strongbow. Personally, though, I found it and all the other commercial ciders I’ve tried to remind me of alcoholic apple juice rather than a true cider, such as the stuff I get in Lancaster. I still enjoy them from time to time, and I’m excited by the interest in this field, but it’s not hard to produce a far more complex cider in your basement.
Size: 18.7 oz
Price: $6.50
ABV: 5.0%
Look: 3/5
Smell: 3/5
Taste: 3/5
Mouthfeel: 2.5/5
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