Cider maker Tariq Ahmed stumbled on this “mutant” Ontario-grown hop variety from Clear Valley Hops and he hasn’t looked back, creating this feral cider that is the wild beast of the cider world at the moment. Wow, what a nose of bright apple, funky hop notes, yeast, brioche, lanolin, fresh-cut hay and underlying Mandarin orange and lychee aromas. It has delicious baked apple flavours, slight effervescence, dry hops and a pinch of astringency on the finish.
Made from frozen juice and slowly fermented. It shows a beautiful deep amber colour and has a nose of caramel apple, honeycomb and creamy vanilla. It is luxurious on the palate with a thick and rich profile with baked apple flavours, cream, spice with sweet honey notes through the finish.
This barrel-fermented cider was made with Niagara Montmorency cherries and aged for 18 months in oak barrels that were previously used for Pinot Noir. It shows a lively pale rose colour with rich aromas of apple, subtle cherry, citrus and a nice spice note. There’s a delicate spritz on the palate with an explosion of crisp apple, soft layers of cherry and spice with a clean invigorating finish.
For a large-batch cider company, this Vermont maker sticks to its all-juice foundation, crafting a sweet, fruit-forward cider that offers a bit more complexity than its widely available competitors. Made by blending plenty of McIntosh with Northern Spy, Courtland, Ida Reds and other dessert apples, this deep gold, bubbly cider boasts a candy-apple sweetness balanced by racy acidity and a clean, semi-sweet finish. Sweet enough to serve with chocolate cake or caramel cheesecake.
This is a small-batch, limited-edition cider with 6 months of bottle conditioning that’s wild-fermented and aged in older oak barrels. The nose is simply out of this world with sweet cinnamon spice, baked apple; slightly smoky with cloves, caramel and pear preserves. It has subtle effervescence and a rounded texture on the palate with barrel oak spices, wood tannins, creamy apple notes and complexity through the finish.
This imaginative drink delivers an aromatic combination of perfumed ripe apples and distinct green herbal hoppy aromas. It is light, crisply refreshing and very dry on the palate with pleasant tingling effervescence and lingering green hoppy notes on the finish. Makes a great pairing with steamed mussels.
This is a small-batch, limited-edition cider with 6 months of bottle conditioning that’s wild-fermented and aged in older oak barrels. The nose is simply out of this world with sweet cinnamon spice, baked apple; slightly smoky with cloves, caramel and pear preserves. It has subtle effervescence and a rounded texture on the palate with barrel oak spices, wood tannins, creamy apple notes and complexity through the finish.