What are your favorite commercial ciders?

[jsguitar]

I'm drinking a Woodchuck Amber apple cider right now and like it, but I've only tried a handful of ciders as I mostly drink beer. I picked up some local apple cider so that I can make a hard cider and I'm trying to soak in as much info as I can so I can decide what to shoot for in my first attempt.

From my extremely limited cider experience, this Woodchuck seems to have a pretty nice balance of sweetness and acidity. (Actually, now I think it's a little sweet)

What are your favorite commercial examples, and if you've tried to emulate it, what advice do you have in achieving something that tastes similar?

Eta: An after thought; I guess, like wine, it would be totally dependent on the fruit used so emulating a commercial example would be near impossible? Oh well, still curious what people like to drink. Thanks!

 

[wwschu]

I am sort of in the same boat: tasting around and looking for a sample of what I want to shoot for. I just tried the Crispin Honey Crisp, and was very I pressed. Since I also keep bees, I have honey to experiment with, so this seemed like a natural. The honey flavor came through without being too sweet. I guess the secret here is the right yeast. Anybody have any suggestions on that?

 

[MarkKF]

It's simple. Doc's in Warwick NY. Simply the best.

 

[jsguitar]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

I've read the epic and awesome sticky on cider/yeast experiments and kind of have an idea of what I'm going to do for my first cider. Local pasteurized cider/Nottingham yeast/cold crash/keg.

I probably will get pretty far into this though and want to try as many ciders as I can, so the more suggestions the better.

I don't know that I can get either of the above suggestions here, but I'll check. I may have to try to arrange some cider trades if there's any in my area that may be of interest to anyone and vice versa.

 

[blakelyc]

I just tried a cider from Harpoon that was really, really, really good. Doc's is also good. I tried all of Farnum Hill's offerings, and aside from very nice bottling they weren't very tasty. Very much on the dry side, which I normally like, but with this strange astringency.

I have my first cider going now. I used a local cider, UV pasteurized. I hit it with campden, then pectic enzyme, dissolved in a pound of piloncillo because it sounded like fun. Used the Wyeast cider yeast, which I see now that no one likes. So this is probably going to be a huge disaster But it is fermenting away, and having something fermenting is better than having nothing fermenting.

 

[JtotheA]

I have tried sooo many varieties of the commercial stuff and realized that I can replicate what I like and not spend my hard-earned money to buy 6 bottles of some watered down commercially made cider. After brewing my own cider, I have to be desperate to buy that stuff from the store. Don't get me wrong, I can still appreciate it but alot of it tastes "fake" to me...whether it's dry or sweet. I like to start with 5 gallons of fermenting cider (with minimal additions, including sugar), and then split them up either in half or 5 different ways just trying different things. That's how we learn what we like...and keep doing what we like.

 

[jsguitar]

I just tried a cider from Harpoon that was really, really, really good. Doc's is also good. I tried all of Farnum Hill's offerings, and aside from very nice bottling they weren't very tasty. Very much on the dry side, which I normally like, but with this strange astringency.

I have my first cider going now. I used a local cider, UV pasteurized. I hit it with campden, then pectic enzyme, dissolved in a pound of piloncillo because it sounded like fun. Used the Wyeast cider yeast, which I see now that no one likes. So this is probably going to be a huge disaster But it is fermenting away, and having something fermenting is better than having nothing fermenting.

Thanks for the suggestions and good luck on the cider!

 

[bwirthlin]

I really like Spire Mountain Dark & Dry it's more sweet than dry but still really good. I also really like Ace cider, and Julian hard cider. They're both more on the dry side, really crisp with a light sweetness.

 

[kaconga]

Angry orchard crisp. Definitely my favorite I have tried so far. I want to get an apple press so I can work on coming closer to my ideals. Most commercial juice is lacking in character for me.

 

[HAREEBROWNBEEST]

Also tried a Crispin this weekend, sorta let me down, weak on the apple flavor, weak on the alcohol content (5%) come to think of it, I didn't even get a buzz off it :/ I honestly like me own ciders way better, I often look and try ciders in the store but usually grab an IPA.

 

[jsguitar]

......usually grab an IPA.

Well, as a long time beer guy, that's pretty much what I always do too.

If you have any tips, I'm all ears. I'm a total noob at this cider thing so any suggestions are great. Thanks for the input.

 

[HAREEBROWNBEEST]

Well, as a long time beer guy, that's pretty much what I always do too.

If you have any tips, I'm all ears. I'm a total noob at this cider thing so any suggestions are great. Thanks for the input.

I just like doing ciders vs beer because it's very easy to experiment with, beer extract kits come with everything and simple directions. Ciders are easily accessible,(the ingredients) and pretty cheap. I do have a wish list going of beer extract kits that I plan on doing soon. I get my stuff from Northern Brewer, their kits are superb.

 

[jsguitar]

I just like doing ciders vs beer because it's very easy to experiment with, beer extract kits come with everything and simple directions. Ciders are easily accessible,(the ingredients) and pretty cheap. I do have a wish list going of beer extract kits that I plan on doing soon. I get my stuff from Northern Brewer, their kits are superb.

Edit: Nevermind, I think I get what you're saying. I think it's my bedtime! Thanks for your input.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

My fav commercial ciders:

Farnum hill's Summer cider, but their Kingston Black sounds great, just can't get it here in MT.
http://www.povertylaneorchards.com/farnum-hill-ciders/

Wandering Aengus makes some awesome cider too, the Bloom is very aromatic & the Wanderlust is pretty good too; I'm still trying to get hold of their single varietals.
http://www.wanderingaengus.com/wordpress/?page_id=12

Fox Barrel makes some tasty pear ciders, though I'm not sure if they make a true peary (perry) from peary pears (true cider pears).
http://foxbarrel.com/cider/

These are just a couple that stand out in my memory, but there are plenty of ciderhouses in the New England states & in Washington state that have been making some awesome ciders for years or even decades. The English & French have been making cider & peary for 800 years, you would think that some of it would've found it's way over here by now; I ain't talking that mass produced crap in a can either.
Regards, GF.

 

[jsguitar]

Thanks GF!

 

[Apple_Jacker]

JK Scrumpy's organic cider is the best cider I've had yet. It is made in Michigan. I also enjoy the more commercial ones too, such as:

Angry orchard, all 3 varieties are good
Crispin
Magners
Strongbow
Hornsby's
Ace
Fox Barrel Pear Cider

 

[JDeMoss]

I really enjoy "Isastegi sagardo naturala natural cider" from Spain.

 

[smooth]

This summer on a motorcycle tour around PA we tried "Jack's Hard Cider".
I really liked it, not too sweet, no fake apple taste, not loaded with spices, it didn't have any grape or wine taste, just a clean hard apple cider.
I rate it 5 out of 5 stars!
Too bad you can't get it in New York.

The Woodchuck "Amber cider" maybe it was "Fall cider" I can't remember now, it was pretty good.
Slightly sweet, spiced, complex yet very refreshing.

 

[UncaMarc]

JK Scrumpy by far the best craft cider out there. 100% certified organic. Ingredients: Apples, yeast. I've tried over 25 ciders now and nothing compares.