There's always one sad cider on the bar menu, what seems like a consolation for the non-beer drinker, like here, have some juice. You've probably seen it on tap at a bar, most likely a mass produced, from-concentrate, lip-smacking sweet cider. These ciders might be backed by some of the biggest beer-makers in the country, but these companies aren’t necessarily the bad guys. “We need the big guys in our market right now, because they have the advertising dollars,” explained Mattie Beason, owner of Black Twig Cider House in Durham, North Carolina. "Any way we can get people drinking cider is a good way, as long as they come away from that experience wanting more."
It's all about exposure, and that's where the big cider makers can lend a hand. At first, hard cider isn't far from the stuff that your mom bought in half gallon jugs at the roadside farmers stand, alongside a batch of sugar-coated doughnuts. But then someone shatters that childhood association with the funky, fruity, dry ciders that are making their ways into bars and restaurants, and the world of cider opens up before them.
It’s a drink that has all the complexity of wine with the thirst-quenching drinkability of beer. Cider doesn't have the foothold that craft beer is getting in the country just yet, but American cider makers have more than hit their stride. Here are 10 incredible ciders, both new and established, that will take you to school and shake the foundations of what you thought cider was.
Burlington, VT
This cider, a blend of Vermont apples fermented on blueberries, drinks like a rosé, slightly acidic and effervescent with tame berry flavor (achieved by using the whole blueberry, instead of just the juice), unlike that aggressively berry-flavored gum you chewed in sixth grade. Cider can be whatever it wants to be when it grows up. Even rosé.
Fenneville, MI
You like a little bit of funk or barnyard-y smell to your cider? This one brings it. If you have an Aunt Chloé that lives on a farm in Provence, this is what you bring to share with the roast chicken and greens from her backyard garden.
Barnard, VT
Traveling hundreds of miles and searching through liquor store in Vermont to find a bottle or two of Fable Farm cider is worth it. Ciders from this sustainable farm—like the Greensboro Apple Pet Nat—are made in very limited quantities and fermented in oak barrels, giving the natural ciders a softer carbonation and apple flavor surrounded by a musty barnyard funk. They leave you feeling like you’ve stepped out of your crowded apartment and into a breezy lazy Vermont countryside.
Warren, ME
Oyster River’s barrel-aged Hoboken Station comes in at 9% ABV (a bit higher than most ciders). Made from French and English bittersweet apples, this Maine cider isn't just booze. The apple blend gives you a beautiful mix of fruity and tart apple flavor with subtle hints of bready yeast. Strength, flavor, and finesse, the Allen Iverson of ciders.
Denver, CO
What are beer hops doing in cider? Well, they’re hops, not beer hops, and they can be used to flavor more than just beer. Denver’s Stem Cider steeps hops in their crisp cider to add a citrusy flavor and smell. This is the one to offer your IPA-loving beer nerd friend.
Lebanon, MA
Some ciders deserve to be compared to Champagne, and some do not. Farnum Hills Extra-Dry does. Brilliant dryness and light body: Check. Pairs well with oysters or fried chicken: Check. Should be purchased to celebrate a special occasion because it’s a special liquid: Check. Makes you appreciate grapes and/or apples to an extent you didn’t know possible: A million checks.
Asheville, NC
There comes a time when you need an everyday cider, a cider that teaches Martinelli's drinkers what cider can be if it decides to really put in the hours at work, instead of reading Game of Thrones fan fiction all day. An approachable cider to be drained repeatedly while never getting boring.
Seattle, WA
This is warm apple cider. I’m not talking temperature; I'm talking about how it makes you feel on the inside. A period of aging in whiskey barrels hits you with bourbon, vanilla, and toffee, giving you the same flavors you'd associate with a hot toddy or cappuccino.
Ithaca, NY
Not all cider is sparkling. Some is well, like cider you had on a field trip to the farmstand. The juice kind. The only thing more beautiful and cared for than the letterpress printed labels is South Hill’s still, dry, wine-like cider itself (a righteous pairing with seafood and poultry). And the fact that you can buy Packbasket online, that’s pretty great too.
Dugspur, VA
Somehow, sweetness is considered a bad thing in today’s dry-leaning cider world, but subtle sweetness and fruit are just as satisfying as the crispness of a dry cider. Here the Stayman Winesap apple has notes of cherry and ripe apple, dropping you somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains, without actually having to hike there.