Doc’s Draft Cranberry Spice Hard Apple Cider

Tonight’s selection is a holiday-themed cider that Val picked out. After I poured it for her and she hated it, I ended up with the glass to myself. Luckily for me, I found it to be quite tasty.

ABV: 6%

Style: Cider

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Our post and beam Tasting Room provides visitors a unique environment to explore our many offerings of wines, brandies and liqueurs. Renovated from an old apple packing house and overlooking a goose pond and the orchards, its bucolic setting is perfect for enjoying some great wine, food and music. When the weather is nice, our barn doors open up to two patios for dining, relaxing, and sipping wine. During the cooler months we fire up our wood burning stoves and bring the music indoors.”

Random: The older I get, the more I don’t liked canned cranberry sauce. I prefer fresh with a bit of cranberry zest.

This cider poured with a half a finger of white head that dissipated instantly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a clear, pink color with light carbonation. The nose had red apples, cranberries, clove and allspice. It really reminded me of a spiced apple cider, except cold. The taste started with strong tartness from the cranberries, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon came through next with the clove. At the end of the sip, I got sweetness from red apples and honey. It had a thin body with high carbonation, which made it go down very easily. The finish was lengthy with the tartness from the cranberries. A bomber was $4.99 ($.23 per ounce), which is quite reasonable for a good cider. I really enjoyed this one and the tartness made it incredibly drinkable. If you like cranberries, do yourself a favor and pick this up.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Doc’s Draft Original Hard Apple Cider

This was what Val ordered at the beer hall. This was their only cider choice and they didn’t have much in terms of fruity beer. I was surprised that I’ve never had anything from Doc’s before. They’re widely available in this area, especially in bombers. It’s one of the first ciders I remember seeing when I started frequenting Cranbury Buy Rite. Let’s see how it was.

ABV: 5%

Style: Cider

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “This cider is semi-dry and wonderfully effervescent with a remarkably fresh apple nose. Its crisp, fruit forward taste and a clean, refreshing finish, have won our cider countless awards and praise.”

Random: I’m trying a new approach to blogging where I schedule posts every day instead of having days or weeks where I post nothing and then post a bunch of things in one day. We’ll see how long I stick with this.

This cider poured with a one finger, white head that dissipated slowly. It left some lacing on the glass. The body was a greenish-yellow color with light carbonation visible. The nose had notes of fresh, red apples and not much else. The taste started with some tartness and then went into red apple notes. There was a tinge of lemon as well. The body was thin with high carbonation. It had a long finish with tart apple notes. This was a simple cider that wasn’t bad, by any means, but didn’t impress me. I would have it again, but I’d prefer something a bit more exciting.

Untappd Rating: 3.0/5.0