Revel Cider – Theater of the Mind [Abe Erb – Waterloo]

Sampled December 2017

Abe Erb is a brewpub that first popped up in Waterloo, then following with a second location Kitchener, and since has been doing amazing from their humble beginnings with their original productions and guest taps.  One of the guest taps available in December 2017 was Revel’s Theater of the Mind – a blackberry and elderberry cider.

The cider is a maraschino cherry red / rose colour with some foam. With some small streaming bubbles and strong, dry, tart blackberry and cherry smell, Theatre of the Mind is quite intriguing right from the start.

With a minimal bite and a dry start, the cider quickly is filled by raw fermentation flavours. It is extra earthy and musty, with some hints of tannin, but little apple taste overall. Lots of tartness and astringency are present, amongst the strong flavour of elderberry – and to a lesser degree, blackberry. Fruit flavour shows up more as you dive further the glass – which is pretty intense on the pallet.

Its a drier than a standard Revel, but not too a point where it’s tough to drink.  It finishes with a semi-long lingering distinctively Revel aftertaste. One a night would be all you could drink.