Cider 38!

Coldstream Apple Cider

Australian; 5% Alcohol Content.

$3.50 (AUD); Dany Murphy's (West Perth, WA)

Coldstream is reminiscent of the Strongbows and Magners of the world; tasty, crisp, good, solid ciders, but nothing too mindblowing about it (unless of course you have only been drinking beer and then you came across Coldstream). I like it and if I saw it again I would buy it or recommend it to a friend, but like I said, nothing remarkable.

Rating 8.5

Number Thirty Seven

Apparella Dolce Cider

Australian; 4% Alcohol Content.

$2.99 (AUD); Liquorland (Victoria Park, WA)

This cider has a few surprises up its sleeve. Because it's a "dolce" or sweet cider and the fact that it is made by the Cruiser company (as in alcopop vodka crusiers), one might expect an overpoweringly sugary fruity drink, but Apparella is pleasantly refreshing. The taste is bursting with apples ('100% Crisp Australian Apples' to be exact); it almost tastes like a mildly alcoholic carbonated apple juice... it even makes you more thirsty once you finish drinking it! An all around good pick.

Rating 8.3

36.

Frosty Jacks Cider

English; 7.5% Alcohol Content.

$10.25 (AUD); Botanica Liquor Barn (Innaloo, WA)

Frosty Jacks Cider (FJC) is the second and hopefully last two litre plastic bottle of cider that I will ever come across. Once again, this is a case of quantity over quality; FJC tastes like lightly carbonated water with a hefty dose of alcohol mixed with some sort of heavy diluted apple juice from concentrate. Poor taste, but useful if you want to intoxicate yourself on a watery, scrumpy cider.

Rating 5.6

Thirty Five Ciders Down; 65 to go...

Snowies Blonde Cider

Australian; 4.5% Alcohol Content.

$2.99 (AUD); Dan Murphy's (West Perth, WA)

Snowies stands out a bit because it actually lists the kinds of apples used in its production (Pink Lady, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith); I'm not really sure what difference the type of apple used makes to the taste, but definitely something to keep in mind for the future. As for the brew itself; it's pretty good. The cider has a sweet taste, but isn't overly sugary, it is a bit watery and lacking in the strong, biting carbonation that I really enjoy. A nice Sunday afternoon summer cider, but nothing remarkable.

Rating 8.4

Cider 34!

Napoleone & Co Apple Cider

Australian; 5.9% Alcohol Content.

$3.95 (AUD); The Re-Store (Leederville, WA)

This is one of the best ciders that I have tasted in quite a few weeks! It has a truly quality apple taste, not manufactured at all, and the carbonation is just right; it's only failing is a slightly bitter/ scrumpy aftertaste. It's not too sweet, it's just nice; Cate says, "it's nice balance between all of the great qualities in a cider." I highly recommend this one, if you ever see it (it's pretty rare in Perth, I have only seen it once), buy it!

Rating 9

Cider 33

Kelly Brothers Sparkling Cider

Australian; 7% Alcohol Content.

$4.20 (AUD); Cellarbrations (Ardross, WA)

Kelly Brothers is, without a doubt, the most bizarre cider I have ever consumed. Now, I love a nice crisp cider with plenty of carbonation, but I honestly thought there was a defect in the manufacturing of the bottle. When I tilted the bottle back to drink, I could not taste a thing, my mouth instantly overflowed with carbonation. I took my next sip and the same thing happened; it happened throughout the whole bottle! I honestly cannot tell you how this cider tastes. It was as if someone had shaken a bottle of champagne and then asked you to identify the flavors as you attempted to keep the liquid/ foam in your mouth. Just a weird experience; truly the champagne of ciders, but not in the way that they would like.

Rating 6.5 (I guess?)

Hard Apple Ciders 31 and 32

Hunter's Gold; Hunter's Extra Dry

South African; 4.5% and 5.5% Alcohol Content Respectively.

$2.99 (AUD) Each; Thirsty Camel (Maddington, WA)

Hunter's Gold: I tried this one first, and I was not blown away, but also not disgusted. Hunter's Gold (HG) has a pretty solid taste, but is a bit on the sweet side; in fact, it almost has that synthetic/ processed/ sour-apple-skittle taste when it first hits your mouth and a bit of an unpleasant aftertaste. With all that said, it's not a bad cider, but probably not one I would go out of my way to buy. And by go out of my way, I mean reach that little bit higher or lower in the fridge.

Rating 7.3

Hunter's Extra Dry: Hunter's Extra Dry (HED) is in fact extra dry, although I am not quite sure of the difference between "dry" and "extra dry." At any rate, HED is an improvement on HG; as I have stated many time, I enjoy drier ciders, so if given a choice, I will always go dry because of the added crispness. Sadly, HED has the same flaw(s) as HG and that knocks it down a bit.

Rating 7.5