J.K.'s Scrumpy Orchard Gate Gold

Third time is the charm. That's the saying, at least. We're hoping you're still with us this week, or even if you're new to reading our little page here, we want to say Thanks! Hopefully our third review is just as good for you as it was for us. Enough with the jokes, I suppose.

Week three brings us a cider we were a little hesitant to try because of the name. Boy, were we dumb for thinking that. Never judge a book by its cover is another saying. We should have adapted it a bit for ciders. Never judge a cider by its name. J.K.'s Scrumpy really impressed us both this week.

Now, the full name for it is J.K.'s Scrumpy Orchard Gate Gold Farmhouse Organic Hard Cider. They are based out of Michigan according to the bottle. Also on the bottle is their description. It reads, "Orchard Gate Gold is fermented naturally in small artisanal batches from a proprietary blend of organic apples grown here at our Koan Family Orchards in Michigan.  We have produced hard ciders here since the 1860s. This is the same traditional recipe that helped save our farm during the great depression. There will be slight variations from batch to batch, just as nature makes no two apples alike! Enjoy our authentic hand bottled American Farmhouse "Scrumpy" Cider with family, friends & food."
Take a look, the bottle is pretty neat, too.

As stated earlier, this one really surprised us. Liz gets to go first this week: With a taste very reminiscent of home made apple sauce, it has a nice warm, full feeling afterwards. There's a slight almost bread-y flavor that kicks in right after you swallow, but it doesn't overstay it's welcome. There's also a bit of sediment to this one.
Apparently apple sauce is right up Liz's alley, giving this one 4 apples!

Rob is last, but definitely not least by saying: This one is not very sweet. While some hard ciders taste similar to apple juice, this one closely resembles actual warm apple cider.... if your warm apple cider has some sediment and a kick, that is. It goes down smooth, but the closer you get to finishing it gives you a bit of a strange texture.
At the end of the day, Rob gives this one 4 apples!

Well, folks, that's a wrap! And next week maybe we won't be so lame with the jokes. Maybe.

Until then, Happy Tasting!
-Rob & Liz

Ciderboys Magic Apple

It's Cider Day! Oh, wait, it's Wednesday! And today's post is dedicated to the Magic Apple from Ciderboys Cider Co out of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. We're keeping it close to home, here, what with being from Wisconsin and all.

We found this one at a little wine shop near our apartment and thought it sounded tasty, so we gave it a try. We also have now found out that there are more Ciderboys flavors out there, which we will definitely be trying. For now, though, we're going to stick with this one, since we actually got to drink it.

The Magic Apple was described on the label as an apple strawberry hard cider and it comes in at 5% alcohol by volume.  Liz though the apple and strawberry together as one on the label was cute, too

Speaking of Liz, it's her turn to go first. Liz said: Magic Apple has a good flavor and body, with fairly heavy strawberry notes, but it is very sweet. It would be hard to drink more than one. The after taste is very similar to the aftertaste from yogurt, where it almost just doesn't go away.
For these reasons, Liz gives Magic Apple 3 apples.

As for Rob: It tastes more like strawberry than apple, with just a hint of cider. You can taste the sugar minutes later, almost like if Mike's Hard Lemonade made hard cider.
Rob gives Magic Apple only 3 enchanted apples.

Side note: did you know that Mike's does make a hard cider? We didn't know until after we first tried Magic Apple and wrote down our thoughts.  Don't worry, Mike's Ciders will be making an appearance here sooner or later.

We are both excited to try out the other Ciderboys ciders to see how they stack up against Magic Apple. Have you tried Magic Apple? If not, it may be sweet, but it's definitely worth a try.

Until next week, Happy Tasting!
-Rob & Liz

Woodchuck Crisp

Happy Wednesday! Rob and Liz are being a little nostalgic and we are deciding to use Wednesdays as our post days. Back in college, we met, and worked, at the college radio station. Wednesday nights were the nights we both ran a Punk and Ska show. Hopefully you enjoy our Wednesday nights now as much as we hope to!

If you can't tell from the title of this post, this week's review will be all about Woodchuck's Crisp Cider. Woodchuck is a readily available brand, and they do all sorts of seasonal ciders. Instead of starting with a seasonal, we wanted to go with one of their normally available flavors. Take a peek at how gorgeous it looks!

What does the Woodchuck Crisp label say about itself? It says, and we quote, "As cool and invigorating as a brisk morning in Vermont's Green Mountains, Woodchuck Crisp Cider is a refreshing hard cider that's delicate in body and brimming with delicious apple flavor. Artfully perfected by our cider master, this session cider is sure to keep you refreshed, lively and, like all our unique, tasty Woodchuck Ciders... Independent to the Core."

That's all great and flow-y. Makes us feel like we almost don't need to do this... Not!

Since I (Liz) am commanding the keyboard, I'm making Rob's review go first. I also want to mention that our wonderful apple rating images were made by our friend, Tony, so please don't steal them. Maybe if we're lucky, he will leave the sunshine state and will grace us with his presence and write a guest review or two with us. After enjoying the beverages with us in person first, of course.

Rob says: Crisp has me stumped; I feel like I am tasting more than one type of apple at a time. The medley of flavor is not too sweet and is short lived as it is replaced by a small hint of iron before the taste completely disappears.
He gives Crisp a shiny 3 apples!

As for me, I say: This is a slightly sweet and slightly tart cider. It's almost like I've cut open and licked a green apple, and I get that dry feeling on the tip of my tongue after the flavor subsides. I could see myself drinking a couple of these, but I'm afraid I'd get almost a gut-rot feeling if I had too many.
For that reason, I give a solid 3.5 apples (even if you can't call a half an apple "solid").

Let us know what you think about Crisp! And as a friendly-we-want-you-to-like-us-forever reminder: we aren't food or drink connoisseurs. Take our reviews with a grain of salt - or a slice of apple. Whatever.

Happy Tasting!
-Rob & Liz

Hard Pressed Happiness

Welcome to our first attempt at a blog, the DeCiders - A Hard Cider Blog!

Liz here, writing our pioneering post. Rob and I are from the great state of Wisconsin, born and raised right outside of Milwaukee, home to some pretty great beer breweries. Although there are some delicious beers out there to try, Rob and I find ourselves completely absorbed in the world of ciders.

For the past few months Rob and I have been joking about how cool it would be to start a blog on the amazing, tart, sweet, and fantastic world of ciders. Hard ciders. (Don't get me wrong, I love a nice warm [virgin] apple cider on a fall day with caramel and cinnamon sticks, but put a hard cider on the table in front of me? I can't say no.) Well, in May of this year we went out to visit a friend of ours in Columbus, Ohio. Our friend Sam took us to the North Market and it's there, at a little nook in the wall liquor spot, that we found a hand full of ciders we hadn't come across in our normal grocery store liquor department. Then and there, Rob and I decided we were going to do this. And here it is!

We have a pretty simple system and it goes like this:
1. Find a new cider? Buy it.
2. Open said new cider.
3. Taste it!
4. Write down our thoughts.
5. Give it an apple rating - 1 to 5 apples. 1 being rotten, 5 being a crisp, cool, delicious treat on a hot summer's day.

It really is that simple. We are not wine, beer, cheese, or any other food-type connoisseur. We don't do the whole sniff-and-swish tasting method. We are not being paid for this, and we aren't associated with any of the brewing companies that will be listed. We are straight up drinkers. I want to know what it feels like on my tongue, whether or not it's sweet, tangy, heavy, dry, or downright swampy. We drink straight from the bottle. Call us lazy or blame it on our Milwaukee-raised habits, but once it's opened just give me the can or bottle, and I'll drink it.

If you have any questions, let us know in the comments. And because I feel like I need to say this: please drink responsibly.

Happy Tasting!
-Liz