Cider Review #6: Browns (Dunkertons)

The second single varietal cider I've reviewed by Dunkertons of Herefordshire...

Style: Medium-dry / Western Counties / SV.
Appearance: Pale lemon / straw.
Nose: Rich, ripe apple aroma, floral perfumed.
Taste: Uniquely juicy, somewhat tropical, with a citric tartness, lightly done, and mid-to-low tannins that mainly appear in the finish. To me it gives a little more sweetness (a boiled-sweets sort of sweetness - but not artificial) than dryness, but saying that its particularly well balanced and very moreish!
Mouthfeel: Firm. 
Carbonation: Mid range.
ABV: 7.5%
What's in it?: Browns' apples and sulphites. 

Browns' cider apple is classed as a sharp, possessing a very high malic acid content and a low (approaching dessert apple) tannin level. For this cider, Dunkertons seem to have transformed the sharpness into a pleasurably tart tang and combined it with a lemon sherbert fruitiness. Despite being an SV, the cider feels so well balanced and integrated its as if it was made from a range of cider apples chosen with great consideration. This is a testament to both the Browns apple and Dunkertons' class as a cider maker. I've tried three of their ciders so far and all have been impressive. Oh and I love their labels too!

REVIEW #123: Dr. Rudi (Arbor Ales)

Style: SV hopped proper (i.e. strong!) IPA.

Appearance: A hazy (oops, my fault!) honey orange colour with sturdy white head.

Nose: Sticking with the honey theme, that's definitely coming across in the nose too, floral and delicate... Nothing in-your-face but definitely hop accented. 

Taste: Hops stick right out in the foreground with a malty base fleshing out the body. Dry, resinous and a little vinous (mostly due to a hefty body and low carb) throughout. Dr Rudi gives flavours of mint and eucalyptus, pine, liquorice, even jasmine; more floral than fruity/citrusy. There's a lovely bittersweet balance to it. The finish is not without alcohol, but its mainly the dry resin that dominates, leaving a slight mouth numbing sensation.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full.

Carbonation: The fizz is persistent but gentle.

Having not tried any Arbor Ales' ales prior to last week I now find myself reviewing another one, with another to review later in the week. Its like the buses! Dr. Rudi is part of a series of single hopped strong IPAs, a spin-off of Arbor's single hop pale ale series. Dr. Rudi the hop is from New Zealand and like many antipodean varieties is BIG in alpha acid (bitterness) and aroma. It seems to work extremely well as a single variety, giving all the aroma an IPA could possibly need. Arbor's suggestion on the bottle that certain hops (inc. Dr Rudi) suit higher gravity beers is interesting. I guess New World powerhouse cultivars would overwhelm beers lacking the strength and malt backbone to balance them.

Cider Review #1: Breakwells Seedling (Dunkertons)

My first cider review! And its a single varietal to boot, from the medium-sized but well respected cider mill, Dunkertons of Herefordshire.

Style: Medium-dry / Western Counties / single varietal.

Appearance: An appealing golden colour with a little haze.

Nose: Good strong, sweet and earthy fresh apple aroma

Taste: A semi-sharp acidity is present throughout in addition to a lovely full, fresh apple taste and a faint sweetness. Dry tannin dominates the finish, stretching it out indefinitely. In fact its certainly more intense than both Dunkertons Premium Organic cider and Co-ops Tillington Hills cider (which showcase no small amount of tannin themselves). The sensation this amount of tannin gives is not too far off (but not exactly equalling, either!) sucking on a sloe berry or more pertinently a crab apple, making tongue and gums stick to one another. 

Mouthfeel: Quite full and a little oily.

Carbonation: A characteristic that tends to be on the low side in cider (in the dozen or so I've tried so far that is) compared to (too) many ales - a good thing in my opinion! In Breakwells the fizz is persistent but not over the top, helping the cider achieve a welcome freshness and drinkability, arguably needed at 7.5% ABV.

Breakwells Seedling is an early maturing apple cultivar first discovered in Monmouthshire about a century ago. It's a bittersharp cider apple meaning it has high levels of both tannin and malic acid, respectively. Both of these characteristics come across in a big way in the taste and that's what makes this such a good cider. The sweetness to begin with however is enough to prevent the drink becoming lopsided. Dunkertons themselves are a fully organic, family-run Herefordshire cider maker that started up in 1980. They also produce two other single varietals, from Browns and Court Royal apples.