- My Rating: [B-], I gave it a (3.4 of 5) on Ratebeer.com
TL:DR – “well-integrated mild ginger-fir into the solid apple cider base, cloying after a glass”
Forest Ginger – Elijah K. Swan’s Infused Botanical Hard Cider – Finnriver Cidery, 6.5% ABV, 500 ml., (Chimacum, Washington, USA)
on the front-right label:
“Made from a blend of fermented Washington organic and heirloom apples, infused with fresh ginger and the green tips of local fir trees, and organic sugar.”
- Style: (flavoured – ginger, fir tips) Apple Cider
- Taste: fruity tangy tart apple light ginger subtle fir slight cloying tart sugars
- Where I got it : Imperial Bottle Shop / Portland
- How much: $9 USD – 12 fl.oz., November 2014
- Do I love this enough to drink it again: no
- Recommended: yes
- What made an impression: cohesive apple-ginger-fir flavour
Visual: (cellared for 3.5 years). Pours almost clear light orange-yellow with no head, micro bubbles along the perimeter, a few micro bubbles surfacing here and there – not much.
Nose: ginger-fir-dense apple blend, very aromatic. (lvl-10)-pungency.
Attack: soft crisp, medium tart
Mid-palate: fir tips exhale, clean light ginger w/o heat, fruity tart red-green apple hybrid juicy, (lvl-3-sweetness), background tangy acidity
Finish: fruity apple juice exhale, mild residual cloying tartness
Summary: A big dense apple fruity profile with a cohesive addition of ginger and fir that help elevate the cider to the next level. The fruitiness and tartness become cloying after a glass but that is easily remedied by a few salty bites. Great with a meal.