Bulmers (Magners Original Irish) Cider

On tap at Shakespears in San Diego on Brittish Bike night. Lots of apple, spice, and sugar. Very sweet.

Pour is light ruby clear. Aroma is of sour apple, light cinnamon, and light yeast. Flavor is a little bit more sweet than sour with a boquet of floral and peachy flavors. Not too bad at all. I’m not too knowledgeable about ciders yet but I enjoyed this one.

I’ve had domestic and English ciders, but not Irish so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. My previous Irish experiences were more along the vein of stouts and red ales of which I thoroughly enjoyed. A cider though, I was a bit leery. I don’t know why. Apparently Ireland has been craft brewing ciders for centuries, and the delicious perfection that is Magners is living proof of it.
Magners Irish Cider pours with a nice light peach-colored tinge. Bright and bubbly like a good cider, not much head, but that is typical of a cider. Apples and peaches burst sweetly in the nose, reminding me of a crisp summer day out in the fields, maybe on a picnic. Sweet to the first touch, the sweet apples and peaches I got in the nose are present in the mouthfeel and palate of Magners. A light bite lingers after the initial quaff, but more like fresh fruit crispness than a sour punch. As I near the finish on my Magners, the apples and peaches meld together into one luscious, succulent, crisply tart cider.

There is a problem concerning rating ciders on ratebeer - do I compare them to other ciders, or to beers? Anyway, this has a clear dark gold pour. Nice bottle with gold foil on the neck. Fresh sweet-sour apple aroma. The taste is a little unusual due to the strong presence of peat. A fresh apple flavor comes through that is lightly sour and pretty sweet, but not too much so. This Irish import is undoubtedly one of the better ciders widely available in the USA.

Bottle 600ml. Apples, apples, apples. dry tasting. Sticky finish. Reasonable taste. Surprisingly little fizz.