220. Woodchuck Hopsation Hop Forward Cider

"We start with our original small batch hard cider and infuse cascade hops to impart their sensational pine and citrus aromas.  The smooth apple character of our signature hard cider balances perfectly against the bitterness of the hops.  Some may just call it a hopsational cider."

After having several stretches of beer or liquor drinks, I had the hankering for a cider and grabbed the first one I could find and put it into the fridge.  Lo and behold, Woodchuck's Hopsation is what I ended up grabbing.  The beer was poured into a pilsner glass.  It has a pale, straw color with green highlights depending on the lighting.  Pretty interesting, actually.  Interesting aroma of sour apple, lemon, lime, and a touch of pine.  It certainly left me wondering what I might be in for.

The first thing I notice is the sweetness, as in, the lack thereof when compared to other Woodchuck ciders.  Less cloying, more refreshing.  Also, I can taste some of the hop influence, but it's very subtle.  I've had the green apple cider before and I can say that I like the complexity of this beer more than the green apple variant.  Some grassy notes also extend on the palate.  Light bodied, but medium carbonation.  

I know when I first got into hard ciders, my primary experience was with Woodchuck.  My taste has changed with the times and I'm sure I wouldn't rate those ciders nearly as favorably as I had in the past.  That said, I feel like this is one of the better offerings I've had from Woodchuck and is different from many of the others I've had, aside from the barrel aged variants.  If you find this one, give it a try.

Grade: B+

Price Paid: $1.79 (12 oz bottle)

170. Woodchuck Farmhouse Select Original 91

It had been one of those days where I've had a lot of beer lately and wanted to change it up a bit, enjoy a lovely little cider instead.  We had been in the new house for a few weeks and it felt like home, so it was a bit of a celebration, only that I was the only one celebrating.  Oh well, those are the breaks.  

The bottle was corked and caged, adding this expectation that this was going to be something special, different from the other ciders from Woodchuck.  I'm a little worried that it'll still be too sweet, like all Woodchuck products tend to be, and my palate has changed from the sweet preference to the dry.  I poured the contents into a stemmed wine glass.  It certainly looked like wine, pouring out a light white wine color, reminding me of a riesling.  No head, no retention, a little bit of carbonation from a visual standpoint.  Aromas were of golden apples, not as puckery as a granny smith, but definitely not sweet.  It left me hopeful that this wouldn't be a sugar bomb.

This is not a sugar bomb.  The taste is still a little sweet, but not Woodchuck sweet.  This is a good thing.  It's a simplistic cider, not a lot of extra things thrown in to give it a different flavor.  Just apple.  The alcohol content is a little higher in this one, and it shows in a more modest alcohol taste in the finish.  I kind of wish that the carbonation was stronger in this one.  I think it'd be great if it was bubbly like champagne.  It's an adequate cider and not a bad one at that.  The problem is that it is priced as something special and I would be fine with an Ace Cider and feel like I'm getting something similar.  There's nothing I pick up that makes it really stand out among the other competitors.  If I could go back in time, I'd give all the Woodchuck ciders a lower grade.  Just goes to show that tastes change (and maybe improve) through time.  If you're looking for something more complex, pass on this one.  If you're looking for a standard cider, there's certain brands that will stack up well with this one, and you can save your money.  

Grade: C+

Price Paid: $9.59 (750 mL bottle)

80. Woodchuck Private Reserve Pumpkin Hard Cider

It's been a while since I last enjoyed a hard cider, so I decided to crack open this bad boy the other day.  Woodchuck's pumpkin series gets the private reserve line, which basically means that they don't make a whole lot of it.  I really liked the Ace Pumpkin, so I was interested to see how it would compare.

The cider was poured into a pilsner glass.  Fizzy, bubbly.  No head or retention to speak of...after all, it's a cider, not a beer.  Looks slick.  Color was a burnt sunset orange, had a really good look to it.  Apple is still the dominant aroma, so dominant that it was difficult to pick out the pumpkin (granted, considering that I'm into February and now getting around to drinking this, it wouldn't surprise me if the subtle pumpkin flavor was long gone).

I could detect some trace hints of pumpkin in the ace, along with some other spices.  Apple pie spices..pumpkin pie spices..it isn't too much different from Woodchuck's fall seasonal cider.  Incredibly sweet like the fall cider too..not like Ace's offering.  If you gave me a blind taste test, I'd have a hard time picking one from the other.  I attribute some of that, however, to my relatively "young" palate.  Body was slick, as expected.  Mid to high carbonated, provided plenty of pop in the mouth.  Had a slight alcohol taste at the end.  Overall, I like Ace's pumpkin better than Woodchuck's.  I think I might be getting more acclimated to drier beers and the sweetness can be a little off-putting.  Still, if you have someone in the family that doesn't like beer, Woodchuck's is probably the best gateway to hard ciders, at the very least.

Grade: C

Price Paid: $1.99 (12 oz bottle)

54. Magic Hat Humdinger Series: Burn Pile

Our 3rd quarter brew for the Music City Bowl game was Magic Hat's Humdinger Series: Burnpile.  I didn't even know that Magic Hat (http://www.magichat.net) indulged in limited release beers of the > 12 oz variety.  Shows what I know (which is very little).  The bottle came with a cage and cork (ooo, fancy), and I had never dealt with either in a beer before.  My buddy had to show me how to open it up.  Now I know, and knowing is half the battle..GIJOE!  

The beer had a near black pour.  Lighter traces at the edges.  It had a thin tan head with little retention, although there was a layer of skim that was left in the glass.  I've never had a smoked anything before, so I was curious to see if the smoke aroma was subtle or overpowering.  On first whiff, the smokiness is very evident.  I could also make out some coffee and chocolate smells, but just barely.  I could have been imagining things.  The first aroma is smoke and everything comes second.

Onto the taste!  The smokiness of the porter continues to show itself in the taste.  There's a sweetness there that's a little unexpected.  If there's any bitterness on the tail end, it's barely there.  I found this to be remarkably well balanced from a taste perspective.  It is light bodied and I could barely taste the alcohol.  If you were trying to measure this against other porters, I could see how this one falls short.  But on its own, I found this to be a very good beer.  I'd definitely have again.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $5.99 (750 mL bottle)

46. Woodchuck Private Reserve Barrel Select Hard Cider

"Woodchuck Private Reserve Barrel Select is our ultra-limited cider crafted in small batches for a rare taste of sweet, crisp apple cider combined with smoky, dry bourbon flavors.  Aged in genuine white oak Kentucky bourbon barrels, this copper-hued gem pairs excellently with cheese, pork roast and chocolate cake.  Served best at 50 degrees, Barrel Select is truly an exclusive joy to relish."

I had picked up two of these bad boys and hadn't had any cider for a while, so I thought I would crack one open.  With some venison stew on tap for dinner, I thought this would be a solid compliment for it.  The private reserve series is supposed to host their rarer brews.

There was little to no head.  No retention, no lacing.  No big deal, since after all, it's a hard cider and not a beer.  It looks like carbonated apple juice.  So if you know what apple juice looks like, there's your color.  The aroma was very pleasant.  Full of sweetness, filled with aromas of apples (duh), maple syrup, and bourbon.  

Now on to the taste.  I know woodchuck tends to be the sweeter of the ciders, but I forgot how sweet it can be.  This one is sweet.  Too sweet.  Maybe I've been drinking too much Crispin, I don't know.  Nevertheless, the apple, wood, and bourbon was evident in the cider.  Made for an interesting combination, but I'd have to think that the wood and bourbon would have shone through a bit more if the apple sweetness wasn't so overpowering.  I like the beer, and I'll drink the other barrel select that I have, but I hope the next iteration won't be so sweet.

Edit 1/2/14: I had the other barrel select cider and found the bourbon taste to be tremendous and potent.  The beer is still sweet, but the bourbon, vanilla, and oak flavors were much more pronounced and it made for a much better experience.  I guess my recommendation would be to let this beer sit for a while and let the bourbon flavors soak in.

Grade: C B

Price Paid: $1.99 (12 oz bottle)

9. Woodchuck Fall Seasonal Hard Cider

So I finally got down to adding the last of the varieties that came with my Woodchuck 12 bottle variety pack. (http://www.woodchuck.com).  The fall seasonal is a good one, albeit a little different.  My first thought was apple pie.  You can smell and taste the cinnamon and nutmeg.  There are probably some other subtle flavors in there as well, but the first two are the most pronounced.  Again, the hard cider is on the sweet side.  If that's not your type of thing, the Fall seasonal definitely isn't for you.  

Grade: C+

Price paid: 1.17 (13.99 for 12 pack)

6. Woodchuck 802 Dark & Dry Hard Cider

Ah yes, the 3rd variety out of that Woodchuck (http://www.woodchuck.com) 12 pack is the 802 Dark & Dry.  For those of you wondering, 802 is the area code in Vermont where the cider is made.  I could say that it looks like apple juice, but that wouldn't help you.  The cider is darker than its amber variant..it has a bronze color to it (for those of you wondering, I'm terrible with colors..or at least trying to describe different shades).  From the company's description, the amber is made with caramelized sugar (the amber with white sugar), which gives that bronze color.

Also true to its name, the 802 has a dry taste to it.  The caramelized sugar gives obvious caramel notes to the cider.  Little head retention for all of the Woodchuck varieties, but no complaints there.  It's not a bad variety, but I like the granny smith and amber variants better.  Just my personal opinion.

Grade: B
Price paid: 1.17 ($13.99 for 12 pack)

5. Woodchuck Granny Smith Hard Cider

Woodchuck Granny Smith cider (http://www.woodchuck.com) was one of the varieties offered in the 12 back that I purchased a long time ago.  In my previous post, I mentioned that the amber variety was my favorite.  The granny smith variety is currently my second favorite.  

The granny smith variety is a much lighter color, almost champagne colored.  It tastes a little more dry, a lot less sweet.  Like a granny smith apple, it has a tart little bite to it.  If I'm not in the mood for something sweet, this would do the trick.  With an ABV of 5%, it'll take a lot of these to get a buzz going.

Grade: B

Price paid: $1.17 (13.99 for 12 pack)

4. Woodchuck Amber Hard Cider

Yes, I'm still going through my list of ciders.  Don't worry, I'll eventually start getting into the varied stuff.  For now, you'll just have to tough it out!  I had tried some Woodchuck (http://www.woodchuck.com) a long time ago when a friend offered me one.  Found it pretty good.  Waited a while to try some more, opting for a 12 bottle variety pack.  (Want to take a guess what #5, 6, and 7 will be..?)

The Woodchuck Amber is their flagship product.  Looks like apple juice, doesn't taste dry.  On the sweet side, but not as sweet as a glass of apple juice.  Slightly carbonated, with an aftertaste that can be good to some and irritating to others.  Of all the Woodchuck varieties I've had, I still find the amber to be the best, as well it should be.

Woodchuck was recently purchased by an Irish company for a pretty sum.  Hopefully the formula doesn't change along with the ownership.

Grade: B+

Price paid: $1.17 (13.99 for 12 pack)