What is Cider?

Traditionally, Cider is nothing more than fermented apple juice.  Made with bitter apples cultivated exclusively for the purpose of fermenting the juice, it has been produced since Roman times.  It is often still, not carbonated, dry and complex.  Alcohol levels rage from 5% to 9% alcohol by volume.

Modern cider consists primarily of fermented apple juice.  However most modern cider producers also blend other fruits, spices, and herbs into their ciders to produce a wider variety of flavors.  Most modern cider produced in the USA starts with apple juice derived from culinary or dessert apples as traditional cider varieties are not widely grown.  Modern cider can range from very dry, like a Brut champagne, to sweet like a dessert wine.  Virtually all modern cider is effervescent.  Alcohol levels rage from 4% to 8% alcohol by volume, with most under 7% due to taxation rates in the USA.

Ciders* from Oregon

KINDA DRY

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Traditional English cider is dry, lightly carbonated, has very subtle apple flavors, and a lingering fresh finish. It is in the spirit of this traditional cider that we blend our Kinda Dry. We use fresh pressed juice from a blend of NW grown culinary apples such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Gala, Golden and Red Delicious, carefully ferment them with a yeast that preserves their subtle characteristics, give the cider time to develop to its full potential, then bottle or keg at just the right time. Just off dry, light, clean, refreshing, with a pleasant finish, Kinda Dry is the cider to always have on hand.

PEARFECT PERRY

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Made from nothing but a blend of Bartlett and D’Anjou pear juice.  This light perry is medium sweet and bursting with pear notes.  Like all our ciders it is balanced and refreshing.  Available on draft and in 22oz bottles, ask for it at your favorite growler station or pub.

SORTA SWEET

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If we had to describe this cider in a word it would be YUM! Blended with similar varieties of apples as our Kinda Dry, Sorta Sweet will hit you with apple flavor right from the start. Balancing the higher levels of residual sugars with just the right amount of tartness gives Sorta Sweet a fresh flavor that tastes like biting into your favorite apple. A nice long finish follows that makes sipping a pint something not to be rushed. We ferment it with the same care and give it the same attention to detail as our other ciders. Also lightly carbonated, pair a glass of Sorta Sweet with your favorite curry or any spicy dish and you cannot go wrong.

HOP’RAGEOUS

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Take a balanced dry cider, infuse it with the fragrant Citra variety of hops, then double down on the citrus notes of those hops by throwing in some bitter orange peel, and the result is an outrageously refreshing hopped cider that can only be described as Hop’rageous!  With equal notes of bitter hop and tangy citrus, this unexpected combination pairs well with anything coming off the grill.  Available in draft and 22oz bottles.
* Produced by Portland Cider Co., for the global markets.