Wedding Special!

Laura's Off- Sider (Cider Infused with Watermelon)

Australian; Del and Laura's Wedding, Mount Richon WA 26.02.2011

This afternoon I went to the wedding of two friends (Del and Laura); Del brews his own beers and the above cider. They served several varieties of his beer and the cider at their wedding reception; the label reads, "Using apples sourced from New Zealand's premium pip fruit orchards and watermelon sourced from South Fremantle IGA, this crisp refreshing cider satisfies the taste of even the discerning cider drinker. Similar to its namesake, this cider is sparkling, sweet, and a little fruity." Awesome :)

Congrats Del and Laura!

Number 16.

WKD Apple Cider

British; 4.5% Alcohol Content.

$2.75, 4 for $10.99 (AUD); CBD IGA Plus Liquor (Perth City, WA)

Do you remember the hard candy called Jolly Ranchers? Maybe they are still in production, who knows; ANYway, I generally enjoyed their flavors, from orange to lemon to watermelon or strawberry, they were all great. All of them except sour apple. Maybe "sour apple" is an acquired taste, but I have always hated anything with said flavor and yet here I sit at the ripe old age of 24 drinking what is effectively a sour apple cider. Not that I should be surprised; WKD produces a line of alco-pops (sweet fizzy drinks with some alcohol in them designed to get 19 year old girls drunk very quickly because, "it, like, tasted so good; I didn't even know it had alcohol in it!?") Interestingly my wife (who is not 19) provides the following assessment, "it tastes like a light Moscado (sweet wine), I quite like it. It is very sweet... and that's why I like it... I couldn't drink more than one, but it's perfect for a small amount." I don't even know if this counts as an apple cider, I really think it's just an alco-pop that has some chemical additive that tastes like apple. On that basis, I condemn this "cider."

Rating 5.1

Fifteen Ciders!

Stassen Belgian Apple Cider

Belgian; 6% Alcohol Content.

$5.00 (AUD); Subi Liquor Store (Subiaco WA)

Even as I shared this cider with my wife, I was unable to really determine how I felt about it. It certainly was not a "bad' cider, but it did have somewhat of a bitter taste which I found disagreeable at times. Perhaps this cider is less processed than others which accounts for the taste (on the back label there is a picture of an apple that reads, "100% Juice," which leads me to believe that this cider uses 100% apple juice... no other ciders I have seen make that claim; is that because it is assumed or no other ciders do it? who knows? maybe apples in Belgium just taste more bitter than ones in Ireland or Australia?). It's definitely worth another taste (or a first taste if you have never had it) and would quite possibly be a completely different experience with food, but that could be said for all of my ciders.

Rating 8.0

Cider XIV

Graci Premium Cider; Apple

Australian; 4.7% Alcohol Content.

$3.50 (AUD); Subi Liquor Store (Subiaco, WA)

I am not sure if I have mentioned it yet in this blog, but I am a sucker for well presented/ packaged goods; whether it's bags of chips, bars of chocolates, or bottles of cider, if something looks really nice/classy/fun, I am more inclined to purchase it. However, that mentality can often lead to disappointment and overspending; thankfully in the case of Graci Premium Cider it was just the former. This cider has a really good apple taste as soon as it hits your lips, but it is as if the manufacturers were somehow unable to sustain the flavor through the entire ingesting process because the taste just disappears; not entirely, but once you swallow, your mouth almost feels like you didn't really drink anything, let alone, anything that tasted particularly good. I also tried the Graci Premium Cider; Grape and had the same experience, good taste to begin which faded away into blase'. That's a good expression, "faded away into blase';" Feel free to use it.

Rating 7.3

Lucky Cider 13

Sail & Anchor Castaway Cider

Australian; 5% Alcohol Content.

$3.29 (AUD); BWS (Subiaco, WA)

Castaway Cider is brewed in Fremantle WA (just like Pipsqueak from Little Creatures), yet for some reason, it does not have the same cult status/ appreciation of its high pitched friend. This is truly a shame because Castaway Cider is really good! Much better than Pipsqueak certainly; ok, I will admit that the Sail & Anchor Pub in Fremantle is not nearly as exciting (or trendy/funky/en vogue) as Little Creatures, but this cider is great. It has everything that I am looking for, great apple taste (not too strong or too sickly sweet), good carbonation, no aftertaste, catchy bottle slogan ("miles away from the everyday," ok, that sucks, but I had to work it in here somehow). This cider is a winner and I would recommend it to anyone, any day.

Rating 9.1

Twelve

Kepplers Premium Apple Cider

Irish; 6% Alcohol Content.

$4.90 (AUD); Dan Murphy's (West Perth, WA)

Perhaps I too hastily judged Irish cider makers; John Kepplers Premium Apple Cider is definitely one of my early favorites. Drinking this brew took me back to my very first cider experience in the cold winter of 2008. That first cider, also in an aluminum can, was a life preserver that saved me from drowning in a sea of beer...proverbially of course. Maybe it really is that my first cider was from a can, but I think that the vessel complements the sharpness of the cider. The slightly metallic tinge that usually steers people away from drinking beer in cans if they have another option actually works well with a hard apple cider. Kepplers has a great apple taste and a pleasant finish, well carbonated, and just an all around great cider.

Rating 9.1

Cider Eleven!

Henry Westons Vintage Special Reserve Cider.

English; 8.2% Alcohol Content.

$6.99 (AUD); Liquor Barons (Applecross, WA)

Well, maybe the most interesting thing about this cider is the strikingly high level of alcohol it contains; and if the alcohol in a beverage is all you are looking for, then the taste probably doesn't matter too much anyway . Sadly, for me, this special reserve cider is a bit on the scrumpy side. It tastes almost exactly like lightly carbonated apple juice when it firsts hits your tongue, but then as you swallow, a bitter aftertaste overpowers your mouth. Not my favorite cider.

Rating 6.6

X.

Bulmers Original Cider.

Australian; 4.7% Alcohol Content.

$3.50 (AUD); Liquor Barons (Applecross, WA)

Bulmers is a solid middle of the range cider. It's not too much of anything, not too complex, not too carbonated, not too acidic; it's another one of those ciders that you might recommend to someone who has never had a hard cider before. That's actually all I have to say... I wouldn't turn it down if someone bought me one at a bar, but I don't think I would go out of my way to purchase this cider.

Rating 7.8