Cider TO, Cider Go

To organizes Irish apple cider testing! Cause, why not? I appear to have spent all that lifetime and never tested a (hard) cider. What a miss! So I got a few bottles and a few friends to share them with. And I wrote you a review, from a cider virgin point of view (don't expect me to explain tannins and apple sorts). :)

We started with a Maddens mellow cider, 4.5% alc.vol. It is mellow as it reads, transparent with a nice golden colour, not too fizzy, slightly sweet, with a faint smell of rotten apples. Decent cider, we decided.

Longueville House Cider, 5% alc.vol. Speaking of rich taste. Yes, this one is quite rich, but not sure I liked it. It's a bit cloudy, with almost no carbonation, and the taste is quite tart, if not bitter. But the smell, the smell is what killed us all (disclaimer: none of us is a cider pro). It can best be described as a moldy rotting apple. By far the least liked of all we tested.

Dan Kelly's cider, my personal favourite. Light and transparent, smells like caramel, but has a sweet-yet-sour, not overly-sweet taste. So soft on the palate, and you have the feeling you're drinking apple juice. Only an apple juice with 4.5% alc.vol. Can highly recommend.

Doyle Summer Fruit Irish Cider, 4 % alc.vol. This one is pinkish-transparent, and leaves you with the impression you are drinking bubble gum. Or a dessert wine. It was overly sweet for me, but M. really liked it.

Orpens Apple Cider, 5.3% alc.vol. I would call this a typical cider, I guess. Yellowish-transparent, slightly sour, light, with a faint smell of rotten apple. Nothing particularly outstanding, we didn't think it had character, but it was decent.

Craigies Irish Cider, 5.8% alc.vol. This one was V's personal best, but we attribute that to the fact V really likes beer. This one did have more beer-like personality, although it didn't look anything like beer - cloudy, not to say murky, with strong rotten smell and tart to bitter taste. Quite dry, too.

And then, since we are in Austria, look what we found the next day! Hola Premium Alpine Apple Cider, 5.5 % alc. vol. An Austrian Irish cider (well, according to the bottle, a cider made according to the Irish brewing traditions, but with Austrian commitment to quality and local Southtyrolean apples). The verdict: very carbonated and slightly sweet with a bit of sour, it was very refreshing on a hot day. I liked it. Still, the taste was nothing like the Irish ones. I blame the apples.

And hey, if you follow my steps, feel free to add a few more reviews. Just don't try this week's project while testing ciders. Speaking of which, here it is, still on the dollhouse project topic, how to make miniature hinges for your dollhouse furniture: