Niagara College – Cider 101 Ancestral Method Russet Apple

Cider Profile:

Name: Niagara College – Cider 101 Ancestral Method Russet Apple
Sampled June 2022

Cider Crate Tasting Notes:

Smell: Strong aroma. Funky, mature apple. Slightly smoky and tart.
Initial Taste: Medium bite. A sharp, natural apple acidity. Smoky notes. Mixture of apple characteristics, including mature and young apple notes. Farmhouse funk quickly appears.
After Taste: Apples become brighter. More fermentation notes appear. Ends on some bitterness, astringency and some mild funk reappears.
On ice: Reduced carbonation. Becomes slightly cleaner and brighter.

Additional Notes:  Made by the students at the Niagara College Teaching Winery, this is most likely a single varietal in their Cider 101 series – the Ancestral Method Russet Apple (no additional information available on label or on website). We’ve found many russet apple ciders to have unique smoky notes to it and indeed this does at the front. With a farmhouse funk that shows up at different points in the cider, it certainly has some grit to it. The apples at first are more mature, but also young apple characteristics show up too, with the apple base ultimately becoming brighter and smoother in the finish. A sharper acidity and some zingy tannins,  it’s a decently crisp and gripping offering overall. 

Rated on a scale of 1-5
Sweet – 2
Sour – 2.5
Crisp – 4.5
Dry – 4
Fruity – 4

Next recommendations:
More Sweet – Clafeld – Russet Cider
More Sour – The Old Third – Golden Russet
More Dry – FieldBird – 2018 Golden Russet
More Crisp – 

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