1818 Cider – Hop Garden

Cider Profile:

Name: 1818 Cider – Hop Garden
Sampled August 2024

Cider Crate Tasting Notes:

Smell: Strong aroma. Bitterness. Pine/forest notes. Spicy ginger. Minimal apple.
Initial Taste: Light bite from carbonation, some tingling. Quickly forest-focused resin hops notes, but not too aggressive. Mild grapefruit zest/peel. Ginger elevates hops and adds mild earthiness to it. Apple notes are extra dry, bright, but not a focus, and are neutral tasting.
After Taste:  Apple notes are minimal here. Ginger lingers in the throat, as the spiciness dies out in the mouth. Long lasting resin bitterness from hops.
On ice: Thinner body. Hops and ginger dramatically reduced.

Additional Notes:  1818’s Hop Garden Cider is an adjunct-heavy cider made with hops and ginger. You get a lot of the hops upfront – bitterness, resin and some citrus-like elements. The hops notes are there, from start to finish. The ginger is a bit spicier, and it stays longer in the throat, after it leaves the mouth. Apples are extra dry, a bit funky, but take a backseat to the adjuncts – they come across as neutral in all ways, except being on the dry side of the scale.

Rated on a scale of 1-5
Sweet – 1.5
Sour – 4
Crisp – 2
Dry – 4.5
Fruity – 4

Next recommendations:
More Sweet – Archibalds – Hops & Honey Crisp Cider
More Sour – 
More Dry – County Cider – Legacy Hopped
More Crisp – Ardiel – Big John Hopped

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