Hard Ciders: Beyond the Supermarket

Hard cider it seems is more popular now then it has ever been since America’s early days.

That’s evident in the number of offerings I found on display during a recent expedition to several shops. These ciders, to be sure, are not what you’ll find in the supermarket dairy case. 

Made from fermented apple juice, hard cider was the drink of the wealthy 18th Century English and was consumed daily in early America until German lager beers came along. Typically cider has about 5-6 percent, a level between that of beer and wine.

There are dozens of American hard-cider producers, including Hornsby, run by the E&J Gallo wine folks, and another, Hardcore Cider, run by the makers of Samuel Adams beer. Peconic Bay Vineyard in Cutchogue makes hard cider on Long Island (available at Stew Leonard's).

Hard apple cider comes in many styles. Bubbly or flat. Oak-aged or not. It can be bone-dry, like the rustic English beverage called scrumpy, or it can sweet, depending on the apples used and if any sugar or acid has been added.

Most U.S. ciders are made from eating apples. Across the Atlantic cider makers use specially grown apples.  Ace, a California producer, uses local Gravenstein apples. Another, Wandering Aengus Ciderworks in Salem, Ore., uses crab apples.

Some are dry and complex like wine. Others remind me of apple soda, but with a slight kick. I think they’re aimed, like wine coolers and fruity malt beverages, at who really don’t like to drink alcoholic beverages.

At local shops and bars you’ll find such popular brands as Magner's, Woodchuck, Original Sin, Hardcore, Ace and more.  Woodpecker, an English brand now made in along with Woodchuck, is widely available.  The same company imports Strongbow from England.

Here's how they taste:

• Ace: Pale, tangy, sparkly and wine-like.
• Doc’s Hard Apple Cider: Sweet, but uncloying. A touch of acid.
• Hardcore: Off-dry. Only a hint of apple flavor.
• Hornsby's Crisp: Lots of carbonation. Baked apple. Dryish finish.  Sugar, color added.
• Hornsby’s Amber Draft. Sweet, but not cloying. Apply Betty. Natural flavor added.
• JK Scrumpy’s Farmhouse: Deep sweet, baked-apple flavor.
• Magner's Original Irish Cider: Red tinge. Bubbly. Sweet apple water.
• Original Sin: The pinot grigio of ciders. Pale, bland.
• Peconic Bay True Believer:  Bubbly. Honeyish. Sweet baked apples with cinnamon. Dry finish.
• Strongbow: Crisp, bit tinny in the finish. Made from juice concentrate with sugar, water.
• Wandering Aengus 2009 Wickson: Single variety. Dry as brut Champagne. Riesling flavors.
• Wandering Aengus 2009 Oak-Aged: Oak nose, tart. Baked apples.
• Wandering Aengus Wanderlust: Dry with bold apple flavors. A favorite.
• Woodchuck Amber: Apple soda with a moderately long finish. Carmel color added.
• Woodchuck Dark: Crisp apple notes.  Some tartness and dryness. Added flavor, caramel color.
• Woodchuck Summer: Medicinal blueberryish flavor.  Bubbly. Natural flavors added.
• Woodpecker: Lots of added carbonation, natural flavor. Touch of sweetness. Slight apple note.