Fox Barrel Cider Apricot Pear

Cider Lovers, we have a question for you. What does the fox say? Below we can tell you what Fox Barrel says about their cider, but does anyone really know? 

Yeah, don't hate us for that one. It was a given. Speaking of not hating us, thank you to everyone who reads this!! We are thankful for you guys reading our page. Thank you for letting us bother you every week with our silly cider antics. 

Back to the fox! Fox Barrel says the following about their Apricot Pear Cider: 

Apricot infused fermented pear cider from pure pear juice. Naturally fermented using 100% pear juice, not from pear juice concentrate or pear-flavored hard apple cider. Filtered cold for extra purity and infused with natural apricot juice. With no added malt, spirit, grape or apple alcohols colorants, sugar, sorbate or benzoate preservatives. Naturally elegant and refreshingly adult with a delicate sweetness and a faint tartness. A velvety mouth-feel, ans light musky complexity, complimented by a fresh-fruit sunny bouquet. 

Since I'm so thankful for him being in my life, let's have Rob go first this week!

Now, I'm no expert on apples, but I know even less about pears. So far I've been making this (apple) cider thing work out, so let's give this pear cider a shot. It tastes a lot like other apple ciders with just a little more iron in it. It's also a little more tart than it is sweet, but it still goes down smooth. I would say it lacks the fizz of most ciders but all around, I enjoyed this weeks offering. 3 pears out of 5! Due to the tough economy, we can't afford to change our rating system, so apples it is...

As for myself, I shouldn't judge, but I did. Before I even tried this one I had decided I wouldn't like it because of the other Fox Barrel cider we tried a while back. BOY, was I wrong! This Apricot Pear cider blows the other one out of the water. It's balanced with sweet and tart and warm. It does have a bite of iron, but it isn't extremely overpowering. I would absolutely buy Apricot Pear again. This would definitely go great with the apple pie I know my mom is probably making for tomorrow. 3.5 out of 5 for Fox Barrel on this one.

Thanks again for reading. Don't forget to be the fun one at your family's Thanksgiving this year by bringing cider (to share)! And remember to drink responsibly. 

Happy Tasting!

-Rob & Liz 

Woodchuck 802

Good evening Cider lovers! Liz and Rob here for another review you've been waiting all week for. I don't know about you, but this weather is really putting me in the mood to grab a six pack of cider and relax in front of the fireplace all night. Now all I need is free time and a fireplace... Oh well, this week we are reviewing another brew from the popular brand Woodchuck; 802.

Woodchuck is brewed in Middlebury, VT and comes in at 5% alcohol by volume. Here's what Woodchuck had to say about their own brew before we get into our thoughts:
Crisp like a fresh apple and finishes clean, 802 gets its tawny brown color from the caramelized sugar added to each small batch in centuries old cider making tradition. 802 captures its name from the Vermont area code and hits the spot with a nice meal or just perfectly on its own. Independent to the core.

I know she's been dying to review this one, so Liz is up first:
I might be biased going into this one. I seriously have always enjoyed Woodchuck ciders, especially since they were such a staple on the weekends at the bars in college. 802 is probably my favorite of theirs, with Crisp being an incredibly close second. 802 is a tricky little devil because its flavor is so warm and heavy, it is more of what you would expect from a heavier type of alcohol, like a beer - not some sally light beer, either. 802 is sweet, and has a very smooth apple flavor. The heavy warm notes are very reminiscent of a piece of caramel. It makes you feel as if it's one of those hand-crafted, home made things your Grandma would serve at a family gathering. For how much I love this as a Woodchuck cider, it's still only rolling in at 3.5 apples on the grand scale.

Now it's my turn:

802 has an orange label as you can see from the picture above. However, I think this one should have had a red label, it tastes a lot like a red delicious apple with a hint of caramel. Missed opportunity, but I guess caramel is orange… Either way, 802 is not too sweet and the tartness isn't strong enough to make a funny face after you first few sips. This is another cider I could see being enjoyed over ice. The iron taste is there like it is in Woodchuck Crisp, but you don't really notice it until after you swallow so I don't think it takes away from the experience at all. So far, this is my favorite Woodchuck. Up half an apple from our previous Woodchuck, 802 is awarded three and a half apples.

For those of you who are wondering, no, we are not agreeing on purpose. It's been 7 weeks (not including the bye) that we have given the same score and it's all coincidence. We taste from the same bottle and write our reviews separately, without sharing thoughts. In fact, if I say anything during this process Liz usually yells at me... Tune in next week to see if we can make 8 in a row, or if we find a more polarizing cider.

Happy Tasting!
-Liz & Rob

Island Orchard Apple Cherry Cider

Welcome back everybody, it's time for another cider adventure! This episode of the DeCiders is all local. First of all, a big congratulations to our friends from college; Steve and Ellen were married this past weekend in Kenosha and hosted a wonderful celebration. We had a blast and caught up with some people we hadn't seen in awhile (turns out some of them read this thing). Keeping it local and in the spirit of unions, our review this week is contains both.

Island Orchard Apple Cherry Cider comes to us from Door County, Wisconsin. If you've ever been there, you know it's a beautiful place and is full of all things Cherry and Wine. This week's cider is a union of Apple and Cherry which had us fairly hopeful. Island Orchard packs a punch at 6.5% alcohol by volume and is brewed in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin.

Island Orchard Cider has quite a lot to say about their own brew, so we'll let them go first:
Fermented apple cider made with traditional apple cultivars & montmorency cherries. A balanced Rosé. Crisp and dry with a strong cherry finish. Island Orchard Apple Cherry Cider starts with an apple base to give it body. The tannins from the cherry give it a pucker and clean vividness. We produce a Normandy Style Cider but with some new world traditions as well. Washington Island provides our Orchard with the perfect rocky limestone soil and climate for growing our French, British & American cultivars.

I found this cider, so Liz will have to wait while I go first:
As I was shopping for new ciders at the grocery store, I saw this bottle and I had to have it. When it comes to artificial flavors in candy and what not, the only flavor I like more than apple is cherry. Coming into this review I was prepared to give out a perfect score for an apple cherry cider. Turns out, it's not meant to be. Island Orchard Apple Cherry Cider has a pink tint to it (for the ladies) and comes in a large resealable bottle in case you can't finish it all at once. As for the taste, it's hard to tell where the apple ends, and the cherry begins. The two flavors seem to cancel each other out. The tartness seems to outweigh the sweetness in this one and the overall flavor seems reminiscent of wine. It's fairly dry but has a sparkling quality to it after a big gulp. This cider is an experience all its own, but not enough to make a lasting impression. For me, this cider falls right in the middle.

And now time for Liz's review:

This Apple Cherry Cider tastes more like a juice than a cider to me. It's pretty sweet and goes down easy, except for that dry and tart kick at the end that made me almost do the I-just-licked-a-lemon face. I really had high hopes for this one, but it is falling short. I do like it and I could see myself drinking this instead of buying a bottle of wine, I just don't think I'd buy this to bring to Thanksgiving to share with the family.

Turns out we agree once again! It's like we were made for each other... Don't give Liz any ideas please. Tune in next week for another chapter in the DeCiders adventure. Until then, please drink responsibly and as always, pinky out!

Happy Tasting!

- Liz & Rob

WM. Magners

We're back! And better than ever, hopefully... But it's hard to improve on perfection, am I right? Sorry for the bye week last week, but we hope you had a fun Halloween weekend! What did you have to drink on your night out? I do believe our post this week will make up for missing out last week.

Almost two weeks ago on October 26, Rob and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. No, we're not married, but it's still been three great years, and hopefully many more to come! To celebrate we decided to go to our favorite restaurant: Brocach Irish Pub.

Rob and I first heard about Brocach from a friend. We were hooked! It's right on N. Water Street in Milwaukee, so it's basically in our back yard, and reminds us so much of being over in the UK with the actual pub feel, hardy food, and great drinks.

We decided that we wanted to review another cider from across the pond while we enjoyed our anniversary meal. Magners Irish Cider is definitely a standard cider if you ask Rob or I. We've been enjoying Magners since right around the same time we started with Strongbow. We will revisit Strongbow a little bit later in the post with a twist on one of our favorite ciders.

Now, I don't want to lie. We were so excited about being out, we didn't take the time to jot down our thoughts. That's why we weren't ready to post last week, since we hadn't gone to the store to pick up some Magners to enjoy at home on the couch to write down what we think. Then I had to go and hurt myself to the point I needed the assistance of some prescription meds. Alas, no alcohol with those puppies. Enough sidetracking - back to the story!

When we first got to the restaurant we both quickly ordered a Magners. They serve it ice cold in the bottle with a cute little glass to pour it into. Magners comes from Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland, and clocks in at 4.5% alcohol by volume. It comes in the standard dark bottle, but with a hint of gold foil!

 While enjoying our Magners, we ordered a delicious appetizer of beer cheese dip and pretzel bread with carrots and celery. This stuff is seriously amazing, and went so well with our cider of choice for the evening.

And then came the main course. Rob ordered the Brocach burger that came with their house fries, and I got bangers and mash. For those of us in the US, that translates to sausage and mashed potatoes.

Rob and I both reluctantly took pictures to show you that we're real people. REAL PEOPLE! And we were too shy to ask the group of 20 people who were apparently there for a party to take our pictures for us. Lame, I know. 

Now, before we get to dessert, we should probably do that thing we made this blog for... Review the cider!

Rob gets to go first! He says:
The last time I gave out a score of four and a half apples, it was for a cider that blew my mind. Now I'm not prefacing my review saying that because Magners doesn't blow my mind, it's just an all together different experience. It is a very mellow drink and isn't too sweet or tart while leaving you feeling warm after each sip. The iron taste is minimal and this goes down very smooth. I recommend this cider to everyone and have enjoyed this beverage on many occasions. Much like Strongbow from a couple of weeks ago, Magners is becoming increasingly more popular and is available at an increasing amount of bars and restaurants.

As for me, Magners will always have a very special place in my heart. It's warm and a little heavy, with a slight dry kick right at the end. It's that happy balance of sweet and warm apple flavors you would hope to find in a cider. It's not too strong or overpowering, and isn't tart like a lot of the other ciders we've been trying. I am happy to just sit back at the bar and drink this with some good friends. Cheers to Magners rolling in at 4.5 apples!

Alright, back to our latest cider adventure. We were just about to get to dessert! Now, most people would order some sort of cake or maybe a coffee drink. Us? We went for another cider, but with a little bit of a twist. Here's the back story: Years ago when Rob and I both worked at the UW-Platteville radio station, 91FM WSUP, it was a week or so before Homecoming and the radio station was going to participate as a group in the Skit Night activity. Rob and a bunch of the guys met up at a bar in town and were ordering drinks. One of the guys ordered a Strongbow with a shot of Goldschläger. You read that right. Take delicious Strongbow and add a cinnamony, gold flake alcohol. It is fantastic. We're not sure if it has an official name, but because the guys were thinking so diligently about Homecoming, they dubbed it a "Thinktank."  So, that was our dessert! Next time you're out, try it. You won't be disappointed. Also, if you look closely, you'll see those shiny gold flakes.

With that, our evening had come to a close. It was a great night out to celebrate how happy we both are in our mutual weirdness. Hopefully you find your cider-mate soon if you haven't already. If you have, don't forget to take the time to make each other feel special!  Thanks for sharing in our mushy-gushy post this week. Until next time, remember to drink responsibly, and as always... 

Happy Tasting!

-Rob & Liz