CANADIAN SHIELD BERRIES ~ KW CIDER

6.2% from Waterloo, Ontario

Canadian Shield is a cider made from the berries available growing on the Canadian Shield including: Blueberries, Cranberries, Currants, Raspberries and Strawberries. Sampled on draught this cider poured a clear beautiful rose colour with tawny hues. The nose contained a plethora of berry notes with the strawberries and raspberries at the forefront. The lovely refreshing flavour is both tart and sweet with a huge hit of berry goodness. There is a nice complexity as the tartness of some berries balance with the sweet juiciness of others. The finish is slightly tart, but there are no lingering aftertastes. A beautiful summer drink.

PROSTHETIC CONSCIENCE ~ REVEL

Occasionally I venture onto the cider taps at my local. This one came recommended. Prosthetic Conscience is a pretty perry (pear cider) with hibiscus. It has been fermented with ten strains of Brett and the hibiscus flowers were cold infused. Sampled on draught the perry was a stunning colour. It was cloudy and very opaque bright golden-peach colour with hints of pink. On the nose this was MASSIVELY funky - All I got was barnyard funk, the fruit was buried far beneath. The taste too was also massively funky. Lots of tart brett funkiness at the front, giving was to sweet pear at the end. I liked it while I was consuming it, but would not want anymore than a tulip glass full.

6.4% from Hamilton, Ontario

Photo Courtesy of Revel Facebook

BIZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE ~ WEST AVENUE CIDER

West Avenue has no shortage of interesting and innovative ciders, along with some very good traditional ones. Bizarre Love Triangle was created using molasses, wintery spices and muscovado sugar and aged for a year in bourbon barrels. Sampled on draught the cider poured a slightly opaque rich golden amber. The flapper and the nose had complexity. The nose contained spices (cinnamon, cloves, etc) as well an a rich fruitiness along with the apples. The spice and the sweetness is cut by the tartness of the apples. A lovely woody nuttiness is evident from barrel aging. The cider is not heavily carbonated and has a lovely boozy warmth. A lovely winter bevvie!

7.2% from Flamborough, Ontario

Photo Courtesy of West Avenue Instagram

STRAWBERRY CIDER ~ KW CRAFT CIDER

Sampled on draught this cider poured a crystal clear delicate pale apricot colour, with no head – a very pretty cider! The nose contained bright tart green apples and jammy strawberries. The taste was exactly what was expected from the nose: tartness from the apples and sweet strawberry goodness. Though the base of the cider is dry apple cider, it is sweet. The sweetness is not enough to be cloying, and maintains a refreshing quality. Simple tasty and refreshing, especially is our unseasonably hot September.

6.7% from Waterloo, Ontario

SPIRIT OF INDIA ~ REVEL CIDER

Revel Cider has produced some stellar and creative ciders this year. This is another winner. Spirit of India is a cider aged on gin botanicals with tamarind fruit, no added sugar and wild yeast. Sampled on draught the cider pours a slightly opaque straw yellow, with the slightest tinge of green with a small ring of bubbles. The smell of fresh baked spiced apple crisp is most prominent on the nose but the gin botanicals (juniper) are also evident. The cider begins with tamarind and juniper first. The tamarind offers a rich tangy sweetness, followed by subtle fruit. The cider then finishes tart with notes of the gin botanicals and spicy wild yeast. The carbonation was moderate and the body was medium. This is a lovely combination of flavour. Revel Rocks!
6.9% from Hamilton, Ontario
Photo Courtesy of Revel Cider

BATCH: 1904 ~ BRICKWORKS CIDERHOUSE

Batch 1904 is a cider modelled after the British dry tart ciders. Brickworks Ciderhouse uses only Ontario heritage apples (Ida Red and Macintosh) from Georgian Bay and Niagara in their single ingredient cider. It is named after the date of the great Toronto fire, which wipe out much of downtown. Sampled from a tin the cider pours a clear bright straw yellow with a small cap and moderate carbonation. The nose was fragrant and full of fresh orchard apples, a hint of wild yeast and perhaps some floral notes. The taste is a pleasant balance between tartness and a gentle fruity sweetness. It has a crisp acidity, an almost dry finish and a lightish body. A solid and straightforward cider.

5% from Toronto, Ontario

CATALYST 

MK II ~ WEST AVENUE CIDER

Catalyst cider is a dry-hopped (with Santium), barrel fermented with Ontario Montmorency Cherries. Sampled on draught the cider pours bright amber – pink. The nose has lots of tart green apple smell along with a kriek like notes from the cherries. The taste has some complexity to it. The cider starts quite tart, slightly sour with a touch of funk followed by a definite hop presence and cherry at the tail end and in the aftertaste. There is a lovely balance between the elements of this cider: hoppiness - sweet and tart. The cider is Semi dry with lively carbonation. Another cider win!

6.5% from Flamborough, Ontario

Photo courtesty of West Avenue Instagram

WINDFALL ~ REVEL CIDER

Another brilliant offering form Revel Cider! Windfall is a apple cider made with Ontario Blackberry, wildflower honey and maple syrup and juniper berries. Sampled on draught, the cider poured a bright reddish pink hue – it looked almost like a rosé. A beautiful melange of flavours in this – the blue berry presence is not overpowering but does lend a beautiful flavour and colour to the cider. The juniper berries were very subtle. The finish is smooth and has a subtle honey sweetness to cut the tartness. Definitely order this – if you see it on draught!

6.4% from Hamilton, Ontario

Photo courtesy or Revel Cider

CATALYST ~ WEST AVENUE CIDER

Yet another amazing Ontario Cider.  The cider community has really taken off this year and had produced some outstanding and creative ciders.  This little dangerous drink is no exception.  Catalyst is a barrel-fermented, dry hopped farmhouse cider with strawberry and elderflower.  Sampled on draught the cider pours a light golden colour with a pink blush.  The aroma contains fresh apples, berries, floral notes and mild hops.  The cider begins with sweet strawberries and subtle florals.  The sweet berry tastes like summer, and not artificial at all.  The cider, mid sip, loses its sweetness and becomes crisp and finishes with very mild hop bitterness.  I would not categorize the cider as sweet or as dry, but somewhere in between.  I could drink this all night, refreshing and tasty.

6.5% from Flamborough, Ontario

CARDINAL ~ REVEL CIDER

This year seems to have a bumper crop of great ciders this one is no exception! Cardinal is a wild fermented cider using Cortland apples, with hibiscus and citra hops. The cider contains no added sugar – just the sweetness of the apples is all that’s needed. Sampled on draught the cider is the most beautiful rich reddish-coral blush. The nose has floral notes along with tart apples, hay, a bit of funk and hops. The cider has a full mouthfeel, with lots of fruit, sweet hibiscus, and flavours of berries and white wine. There is a lovely sour lambic tartness and subtle hops. Very refreshing, and flavourful!

6.9% from Hamilton, Ontario

SHINY APPLE PEACH CIDER ~ SMALL TALK CIDERY & VINEYARDS

I am not usually a cider person, but there have been lots of new offerings and cideries to try this year. Sampled on draught Shiny Apple Peach cider poured a very clear pale peachy colour. There were lots of green apples on the nose (made from 100% Ontario grown apples), with a touch of peach. The cider is more sweet than tart. The tartness of the apples, however, and the sweetness of the peaches meld to make a refreshing and smooth summer drink summer drink. The mouthfeel is a little syrupy due to the nature of peach nectar and the carbonation is on the soft side.

5% from Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

LUCY IN SKY ~ REVEL CIDER

I am not usually a cider person, but this one is superb. Lucy in the Sky is a citra and Perle hopped sour apple cider, made with a wild fermented Cortland base. Fermentation happened outside in the spring when the temperatures began to climb. A bit of brett was also added too giving it a bit of complexity. Sampled on draught the cider poured a pale yellow with hints of green. Both sourness and citra hops hit you on your first sip, this mellowed as I continued to sip. The nose contained citra hops, fresh green sour apples and lots of farmyard funk and earth. The taste is quite sharp and sour at first with lots of green apple, funk and notes of green grapes and grapefruit. Mid glass I began to get some gose –like salty notes. A recommended summer sipper - Look for it!

6.9% from Hamilton, Ontario

Photo: Revel Instagram

SALTED PINEAPPLE PERRY ~ POMMIES

This seems to be a one off, made for Ontario Craft Cider week---too bad! Sampled on draught this perry poured a hazy pale lemony yellow. Lots of pineapple with a more subtle pear on the nose. The first sip is loaded with robust sweet tangy pineapple then a complement of subtle saltiness is present., giving it an almost nutty flavour. The cider itself is quite sweet and the finish is off dry. The sweet and salty are nicely balanced and the flavour seems to fill your mouth. I am not so much a cider person, but these gose and cider cross pollinations are to die for I hope to see more of this style appear.

6.2% from Caledon, Ontario

DRY APPLE CIDER ~ POMMIES 

Pommies Dry Apple cider is made fro 100% Canadian heritage apples. Sampled from a tin, the cider poured an effervescent very pale yellow (with a hint of green) with lots of streaming carbonation. The light nose contains crisp green apples with a touch of tartness. The cider is on the sweet side of dry and is rather straightforward. Clean apple flavour dominates, but buried can be found very subtle hints of pear and grapes. The carbonation was average and the body was medium. This is a very accessible summer quencher.
5% from Caledon Ontario

LAVENDER PEAR CIDER ~ SPIRIT TREE

Sampled on draught this semi-sweet cider poured a slightly hazy light golden yellow colour, with moderate streaming carbonation. The nose cont

ained lots of pear with subtle floral notes. The lavender was quite light in aroma. The taste is lovely and rich. There is lots of caramelized pear in the flavour, along with earthy lavender and spice. The lavender is evident but is not cloying or overdone. The cider finishes with a slight astringency. As the pint progressed the carbonation fell off and was on the light side. The mouth feel was slightly syrupy. There is lots of complexity in the finish as the taste lingers and stimulates taste buds in different areas of the palette. This would be lovely with a cheese plate. The cider seems to be a one-off; I hope they make this again! I really enjoyed this cider!

6% from Caledon, Ontario