Admittedly I cheated a bit with this one; I’ve had hard ciders before so I knew what I was getting myself into with this one. 🙂
I know many serious beer drinkers dismiss hard cider as a sissy drink and not really in the beer category…and that could be why I’ve been able to drink it as easily as I have! In my search for a good cider, I’ve had a few varieties – Crispin, Angry Orchard, Hornsby’s, and now Woodchuck. While each are similar in their fresh apple flavor, they are all different, which I thought was interesting.
My first beverage for the GBC13, Woodchuck Hard Cider Granny Smith.
First, let’s learn a check out what their website has to say about this variety:
Made from only Granny Smith apples, this one’s a lot more tart and quite a bit tangier than your average Woodchuck. If you’re a green apple sort of person, this could be your Woodchuck.
One nice thing to note – most, if not all hard ciders are gluten-free; this brand is no exception.
I drank this one straight from the bottle; the others I will make more of a presentation out of 🙂 The taste was more tart than I really care for, and had more of a malt beverage taste, which is OK but didn’t seem quite right with this particular flavor of apple. The Granny Smith does come out quite well in this – gives you a similar pucker to when you eat an apple of that variety. It isn’t my favorite of the hard ciders that I’ve had, but I wanted to be fair in my assessment.
On a scale of 1 to 5, I’ve give it a 3.
(As an aside, my favorite brand of hard cider to date is Crispin “Classic Blue Line” Natural Cider – it is by far the crispest, cleanest tasting cider I’ve tried; it is great with high-end pizza too! It is a little expensive, but worth it! Hornsby’s is my 2nd choice – it isn’t as expensive as the Crispin, but still has a good flavor. Angry Orchard is a Samuel Adams offering, and is tasty, but nothing spectacular. Then I’d list the Woodchuck. Again, my personal opinion only!)
Disclaimer: I’m reviewing these of my own will, and all beverages were purchased with my own money. I was not contacted by any of the companies mentioned, nor am I being compensated in any way for these reviews.