Oude Cider
(has 2 batches)

Bottle at home, picked up from the brewery during RTV's 50th bash, 24/03/24. Almost clear light golden to orange with a white cap that settles at the edge and as a swirl/spotting. Nose is bitter sweet apple, herb, hedgerow, light orchard wood, straw. Taste comprises sharp apple, dried pears, tannins, orchard wood, hedgerow, vinous tones. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, big drying close. Solid cider ... good balance ... largely tarte apple and not sweet which is my preference.

Boerenerf's 'basic' cider, though perhaps less basic if one considers the addition of two apple-related but clearly distinct fruit species, namely pear and quince. The word 'oude' was seemingly borrowed from the lambic world - where it refers to the traditional production methods, especially in the context of geuze, so I guess in this case it should be interpreted as spontaneously fermented without the addition of extra sugars. From a 37.5 cl bottle with cork and crown cap. Medium thick, egg-white, moussey, tiny-bubbled foam forms during pouring, opening up in the middle but retaining very well around the edge of the glass; hazy yellow blonde colour with a vague olive-greenish tinge and minute strings of sparkling everywhere, but hard to see with the naked eye through the haze. Rustic aroma of old wrinkled apples but not the very sweet ones, Conference pear peel, cooked quince perhaps, a pear orchard in spring, damp straw, freshly ploughed land in early spring (undoubtedly bacterial), stale urine but in a good way if you get my drift - Brettanomyces perhaps, wet clay, petrichor, light background woodiness. Crisp, obviously very fruity onset, medium sweet apples with ripe Conference pear, quite soft and sweetish but nowhere too sweet; the quince again seems 'cooked', lacking its classic raw astringency, but edginess is added both by malic acid from the fruit and spritzy, minerally effervescence enthusiastically bubbling through a soft mushy apple pulp middle, sweetish with a gently sour core, in which tannic effects from fruit and wood pop up elegantly - yet neither the carbonation nor the tannins draw the attention away from the fruit, which gets all the credits here, accompanied retronasally by this bacterial and wild-yeasty funky elements, varying between damp hay, wet earth and forest mushrooms. Pleasant accents of wood, lemon zest and apple blossoms pop up here and there. I am not well-versed in judging cider, but this one seems utterly balanced between sweet and sour, with a gently drying finish, an above average level of complexity and lovely earthy and funky accents to keep it entertaining. A lovely, pure, 'fresh' apple flavour lingers after swallowing, focusing on the fact that this is indeed very much cider - as well as perry and whatever fermented quince juice is called these days. This is Boerenerf 'pur sang'': producing fully natural, artisan products of completely different heritage yet all sharing a common ground somehow, an approach best illustrated by their crossovers of beer, cider, mead and even wine (see e.g. Symbiose). In order to fully understand the blends containing cider, tasting this 'pure' one is a must. Very tasty indeed.

Bottle sample at a tasting at Yoav's place. Cloudy yellow. Funk, oak,m cider, a bit phenolic, smokiness, some sulphur, sourish, a bit herbal, a bit of bitterness, a bit of alcohol.

Wij hadden vroeger wen appelboom in de tuin, van de appels die daar van kwamen zat meer smaak dan uit dit brouwsel, wat dun, slap, waterig. Daarentegen met deze warme temperatuur makkelijk weg te werken, zelfs per liter. Oh ja #notpropperglassware 🤪

Bottle. Oogst 2022, directly from Boerenerf. Color: Hazy yellow-ish golden, thin white head. Aroma: A lpt of rural, horse stable funk, some apple. Taste: Apple, apple skin, again a lpt of horse stable and leathery funk. Tannins, wood notes. Dry to very dry mouthfeel. Just bellw medium body, below average carbonation. Moderate sweet, light fruity bitterness. Nice one

Clear pale yellow colour with a surprisingly long lasting head for a cider. Aroma and flavour of ripe apples warmed by the sun. Low sweetness, low acidity, moderately dry. Straightforward but well balanced.

White head, fast gone over pale yellow-golden liquid. End of bottle serious yeastdeposit. Dry nose with some cardboard, faraway apple, wood, and then... lambic! Would you doubt! Dry, lambic-y flavour; special fruit and quinces, but with the sugars taken out. Some fine carbonation, very slick, slight dry-out effect. Quite nice... quince lambic?

Magus, õunane, nats hapukas, veits peerune. Ok siider.