I am the first to admit that I am not a big beer drinker. I am a wine girl, remember?
However, every now and again I feel like I need to try something out and give it a go. The older we get the more our taste buds grow, and things we may not have liked a few years ago may become our new favorite thing.
Well, last summer, at the LA County Fair, I tried out my first Hard Cider (Angry Orchard) to be exact, and I soon learned how much I enjoyed the taste.
What is a Hard Cider?
Cider is a fermented drink made from any fruit juice: apples, peaches, pears or other fruit. Cider alcohol content can range from 1.2 to 8.5 or more in traditional English Ciders. Often referred to as “apple wine” in some regions. ~Wikipedia
And it’s only becoming more and more popular within the US. People have rediscovered this well loved beverage, and more and more people are getting creative with their ciders. Varieties range from different varietal to Apples to Pears to Cherries and more.
This past weekend I got the opportunity to try out a few other ciders, and now it’s my new obsession:
The first cider I tried that evening came from Anthem Ciders. The first batch of Anthem Cider was kegged March 10, 2010 on the belief that we at Wandering Aengus Ciderworks can make a great draft cider without comprise. Their fruit grown out of Oregon and Washington.
And let me tell you, I am a big big fan of their Pear Cider.
The next cider I tried out that evening came from local cider growers within Sonoma County. Devoto Orchards.
The family started off as apple farmers and soon turned their business into Hard Cider within the grounds of Sebastopol. Their ciders being more dry than sweet in nature, but refreshingly good.
And the last cider I tried out over the weekend included Crispin Hard Ciders:
Crispin Cider has 7 varieties: Original, Light and Brut; classic European styled crisp clean ciders, Browns Lane; an imported classic English dry cider, and our line of Artisanal Reserves; Honey Crisp, The Saint and Lansdowne.
I was fortunate to try out their Original and Honey Crisp varietals. They really do offer a fresh, clean, crisp taste. Not too dry and not too sweet when it comes to hard ciders.
Needless to say, I’ve become a big fan of hard ciders after tasting a few varietals this past weekend.
And if you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, mark you calendars for April 26th where Cider Summit Berkeley will be taking place:
