Welcome again to everybody getting back from their time at CiderCon. I hope you had a incredible journey. I liked following everybody’s posts about it. I hope re-entry into common life is mild and nice for you all. That is usually a tough season, so I give you needs for chilly regular temperatures for orchards and heat hearths crammed with love inside. At present, I’m sharing notes on a particular cider that was a birthday reward final 12 months from my darling tall one. He discovered for me a cider that he thought seemed particularly promising Troddenvale’s Countryside Farm (100% Harrison) from the Grower Sequence.
Troddenale at Oakley Farm is predicated in Heat Springs, Virginia close to the George Washington Nationwide Forest. This cider is without doubt one of the earliest releases, a batch from 2018. Right here’s how the oldsters at Trodenvale describe their strategies of cidermaking. I believe it is an awesome introduction to the identification of this cidery extra typically.
Stripping away the fashionable methods and dogmatic notions of the business beverage trade, we attempt to make pure expressions of distinct fruit and showcase the place they’re grown. Specializing in what the fruit can provide us requires persistence and restricted intervention.
Working with true cider varietals limits the necessity of flavor-enhancing adjuncts and corrections. Relying purely on native microbial populations offers real complexity and particular person character. Fermenting in impartial oak creates depth and microflora continuity. Bottling unfiltered offers texture, leaving nothing behind. Limiting the addition of preservatives ensures these ciders are clear, alive, and evolving.
Go to Troddenvale on-line to be taught concerning the present lineup of ciders: https://www.troddenvale.com/
Right here’s what information I may glean concerning the Countryside Farm from the cider’s again label.
The grower sequence focuses on expression of single orchard websites.
Glowing Cider. 100% Harrison.
Grown by Countryside Farm and Nurseries of Crimora, Virginia.
Concentrated wealthy aromatics. Sturdy phenolic construction. Drink with meals. Full native yeast fermentation in impartial oak. Sur lie aged. Undisgorged.
No fining/filtration.
No pasteurization.
No chapitalization.
No acidification.
No added sulfites.
Batch 2018
35 Circumstances produced
Alc. 8.5% by quantity
From the nice springs area of Virginia, glowing ciders of origin pushed by transparency. Produced and bottled by Troddenvale, Heat Springs, Virginia.
Look: deep coloration, few seen bubbles, hazy, no sediment within the first 2 glasses
The cider is hazy with deep marigold coloration, few seen bubbles, no sediment within the first 2 glasses.
Aromas: Woody, twiggy, lime, mineral, and floral
There are great complexities to those aromas. The Countryside Farm smells powerfully woody in a manner that anticipates each tannins and acid. I believe the cider will likely be vibrant and dry, however we’ll see what flavors lie in retailer. It smells English however not too powerfully funky. There’s additionally a lovely interaction of lime, mineral and floral notes.
Sweetness/dryness: Dry
The Countryside Farm tastes dry however not bone dry. The cider has quite a bit occurring that feels completely separate from the dry/candy spectrum.
Flavors and ingesting expertise: petillant, tannic, wooden, full mouthfeel, angular
This cider, upon first sip, was declared an prompt winner. It’s petillant with angular fruitiness, excessive tannins, and white wooden notes. It doesn’t style historically barrelly, but additionally undoubtedly gained one thing from its fermentation in impartial oak. I admire how full the mouthfeel is. The Countryside Farm is boozy at 8.5oz however with no undue warmth.
It’s nicely balanced, particularly contemplating that its a single varietal. I don’t count on to get the proper counterbalance of acidity, tannin, bubbles, phenolics and every part from only one apple. The minimal intervention method that Troddenvale dedicated to was completely rewarding on this case. I’m past impressed!
Total, the cider is severe, however instantly rewarding. I like that it’s nonetheless utterly scrumptious a full 5 years after fermentation (it’s a 2018 batch)! We simply served it with a hearty but easy United Kingdom impressed dinner of jacketed potatoes with beans, shredded cheddar and vegetarian sausage. It was excellent!
