3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Nose is musty and very earthy. Dry oak and mild funk. Light backing acidity and fairly dry. A bit of tannin dryness. Flower water.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Pours a rich golden color with a finger of fizz... Aromas are rustic apple, earthy straw, barnyard funk and a trace of warm spice. The palate has a round medium body with ripe clean sour apple, straw, earthy funk and a dose of horse blanket that draws out the finish with nice yeast complexity. Great soft apple backdrop with a touch of sweetness to keep it from getting overly tannic.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Draft pour on tap at Cider Summit 2013 (Navy Pier, Chicago, IL). Pours a rich deep golden hue, striking deep golden glow throughout. A touch thicker with gentle loose bubbles. Aromas are farmhouse and bandaids, gentle apple, richly dry, straw and bretty. Firm funkiness, dryness. Initial is a bit sweeter, more of a medium bodied feel with apples, gentle honey, kisses of straw and rich dryness. Red apple, gentle funk, cobwebs, and bandaids. Gentle straw, apple, kiss of honey. Thinned out a bit, preaching that wild yeast essence. Straw, funk, gentle bretty elements. Wild by definition. Interesting, dry, bandaidy at times. Meh.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle. Pours a clear gold with a white head that dissipates completely. Aroma has notes of sweet green apple with a strong oak, funky cheese and tannin backing. Flavor has sweet green apple up front with a bit of funky cheese with an oaky backing and tannins/smoked oak.
3.1 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle.
Head is initially small, fizzy, white, fully diminishing.
Body is medium yellow.
Aroma is moderately yeasty (horseblanket, barnyard), with notes of band aid, apples w/skins, brown sugar, autumn leaves, cinnamon.
Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter.
Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter.
Medium body, watery texture, fizzy carbonation, moderately to heavily astringent.
I almost didn’t buy this due to the cheap-hooch-looking label, but it’s actually a relatively rustic example. Too much so, actually...the band-aid phenol is especially strong, and nearly clobbers the other aromatics. I’m all for Bretty kind of character in cider, it’s actually essential IMHO, but still...there is a point where the funk becomes a distraction, and that’s the case here. The other thing I don’t care too much for is the strong astringency...the tannins are rough and cotton-mouthy. Pretty good flavor balance, though. Overall a neat cider but much too rough around the edges.
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