Author Archives: Phoebe

Grizzly Ciderworks – The Ridge

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Grizzly Ciderworks' "The Ridge" in a glass

Grizzly Ciderworks’ “The Ridge” in a glass

Due to some, hmm, shall we say misunderstandings regarding the recent Washington state privatization of alcohol sales and the classification of cider under state laws, this is the first cider my local liquor store has been able to offer on tap at their growler refill station in many months.

Grizzly Ciderworks’ The Ridge is a solid dry cider that doesn’t mess around. It gets in your mouth full of firm woody bitterness, accompanied by a healthy complement of green tartness and acidity, and then moves on with a finish that barely lasts.

I do recommend you keep this one cool as you’re drinking it, as there’s a certain amount of earthy funkiness that starts to emerge in the taste as it warms up — unless you enjoy that sort of thing, of course.

Fresh from the growler, it smells strongly of yeast, but that fades into a light aroma of apples gone just off, like they’ve dropped from the tree and spent some time on the ground but are still fine to use.

The Ridge is a cloudy light amber color, medium fizz, 6.7% ABV. I got my hands on it at the growler station at my local liquor store and from what I can gather it’s only offered on tap in various locations, not bottled. Find some for yourself here!

Square Mile – The Original

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Square Mile "The Original" Bottle

Square Mile “The Original” Bottle

I first tried Square Mile’s two ciders — The Original and Spur & Vine — at last year’s Cider Summit Seattle in South Lake Union (which I highly recommend; it’s a great chance to spend some time in the sun and try out an array of different ciders).

At the time I thought quite highly of both, and Spur & Vine holds the distinction of being the only hopped cider I relish rather than tolerate, but having picked up a six-pack of The Original at the grocery store I find myself not as impressed this time around.

In the months since the Cider Summit, either my taste for cider has evolved or they’ve adjusted their formulation to move toward a more commercial production style. Square Mile’s website says their apples are Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious and Jonagolds, which does quite fit the taste profile, but the ingredients list includes pear juice concentrate and apple juice concentrate as well as “hard apple cider,” and the extra concentrate gives The Original a boost of that sort of generic apple taste straight from the juice aisle of the grocery store.

The closest point of comparison I can think of for this cider is Angry Orchard’s standard Crisp Apple flavor, though to its credit The Original isn’t nearly so overpoweringly sweet and has a greater tartness, bite, and complexity.

The Original is low fizz, a clear golden color, and smells slightly yeasty when you open the bottle, though the aroma fades quickly and leaves nothing much behind in the way of aroma. ABV is 6.7%, and despite (or in addition to?) what Square Mile’s website indicates, it’s available in 12oz bottles rather than 22oz, as well as in a number of Pacific Northwest restaurants and bars — locate some for yourself!

Lake Chelan – Chelan Gold

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Lake Chelan "Chelan Gold" Bottle

Lake Chelan “Chelan Gold” Bottle

Imagine dragons apples. Imagine a whole bushel of apples — Fuji, Gala, Jonathon, Golden Delicious, Rome, Granny Smith, and Red Delicious, according to Lake Chelan’s website — perfectly ripe, all chilling in a bucket of icy water. Now imagine all of that apple-ness in your mouth. Not the pulped and juiced extracts of those apples poured into a glass, but the apples themselves. All of them. In your mouth.

Are you imagining that? Ok, good. You’ve now got a pretty solid idea of what this cider tastes like. It’s sweet, but not excessively so, with just a little bitterness to balance it out, and tart and acidic in moderation as well. Medium bodied, with a finish that doesn’t linger long.

I’m glad I gave this cider a chance. Every time I went to my local liquor store to stock up, I’d see Chelan Gold on the end of one shelf of the cold section, and for some reason I’ve always gotten the impression that their stock of it doesn’t move much — perhaps in part because it seems to be on sale on a regular basis. The uninspiring logo design and pale clear color aren’t doing it any favors, either, but having tried it out, I can definitely see myself returning to it from time to time in the future.

Chelan Gold is one of the stillest ciders I’ve ever had, a nearly colorless clear straw yellow, with a slight aroma of both fresh apples and apple pie. It’s available in 1L bottles and has an ABV of 7.0% but I’d never guess it; if someone told me it was nonalcoholic I would probably believe them.