Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle from their cider club. Goblet @home. Drank more than half this before I remembered to rate it. Clear, medium golden, bubbly. Looks like Heineken. Starchy, bitter, dry grass, dried apples, onion, aerosol. Taste is tart apple skins, lots of floral, juicy acidity, noticeable & lingering white grapefruit sort of pith, slight oxidation, minerally aspirin finish. Good acidity throughout, on point abv, rounded & ample carbonation. It doesn't have many highs or lows, but plays the middle really well.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle from their bottle club. Goblet @home. Clear, MGD gold, the tiniest bit opaque. Flash in the pan head. Smell is faint funk, flour, veg, pepper, CLR harshess, something wet & floral. Bittersweet, low tart, iron/blood, high acid, yeast, light lemon & booze on the finish. Thin, sud-y, very well carbed, mostly but not absolutely dry, a little hot. Twas just okay.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Geneva Jersey (2020) from South Hill Cider 3 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7
Bottle from their cider club. Mojito glass @home. Clear, chill hazed, fizzed out head, still active. Very faint earthy, chalk, very mild browned apple, French cidre scent. Maybe a hair brighter than that. Bittersweet; earthy. Dry funk, unripe cantaloupe, old apples, low tart but something's there, salt, popsicle sticks, super chalky. No sulfites added, but I feel something. Low tart/acidity ciders are not always my go to. Solid carbonation, very dusty, obviously close to zero in residual sugar. Okay to good. I just like them sharper.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle from their cider club. Hazy, orange, frothy. Banana, cherry pit, brown apple nose. Yeasty, banana, juicy, grape, apple pith, papaya, yeasty finish. Medium acid, low but developed tartness. Lingering bittersweet, hard water, French notions. Chewy, tannic, natural macerated/browned, indifferent abv. Pretty good, would appreciate more acidity.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Keeved (2020) from South Hill Cider 3 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle from their cider club. NB goblet @home. Not quite clear, honey gold pour. Juicy, fresh apple, slightly malted & twangy nose. Semi-sweet, rich, bitter skin, lemon tea, veg, cream, yeasty finish. Prickly carbonation, honeyed, juicy, kinda easy, suspect abv. Okay. Have had better keeved, but it's such a rarity these days.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle from their cider club. A month or so on the fridge door to settle(it never really did). Lo-ball glass @home. Hazy, dull, ruby & peach pour. Quick fizzle out head. Constant bubble stream. Soft, minerally, rounded, earthy, mature, dark plum/cherry nose. A sweet Negroni is a good comparison(thank you bottle description). Earthy, super floral, sweet spice, fruit punch, tight & lingering bitter finish that drags you in for another sip. Very inoffensive & approachable(not wild) for a pet-nat. Earthy/yeasty aspect builds as it warms up & dissolves the notion of negroni. Carbonation is a little low, expected sediment, chewy, flavors could be bolder around 9%, but drinkability is solid as is. Good.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Pomme Sur Lie (2018) from South Hill Cider 3 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
750ml bottle from their cider club. 0.0RS, yesssss. Stemless wine glass @home. Opaque, orange-brown, like simple Lipton tea. Farmhouse fresh nose. Really earthy, greasy, sharp, vinous. Tart, drying, building acid, sharp, grape, lots of lemon, a little oily, soft oxidation. Dry, sulfite-y, not thin, kinda boozy. Okay, rough, on-par for South Hill.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Pours slightly hazed light gold into a shaker. White head with little retention recedes to nothing. Tart apple and dirty apple skin aromas. Soft and dry with earthy, dusty apple skin and pith upfront turning to a lasting tart apple finish. Strange journey this one.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Prelude #12 (2020) from South Hill Cider 3 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Revisited 6/9/24. Long sleep on the basement shelves, a couple days in the fridge. Mojito glass. Half hazy, dull gold, nice froth. Aromatic floral, sharp citrus rind, warm pineapple nose. Bittersweet leaning sweet, pineapple, lemon, nice tannins, mellow spice, moderate acidity, still yeasty, boozy, drying finish. Much better. 3.9 5/17/22, 3.4 original score. Bottle from South Hill direct. Free shipping on 6 bitches. Lo-ball glass @home. Lathery head, hazy but not too cloudy pale gold. Yeasty, airy, soft musk, weak pineapple, milk. More aromatic as it settles & warms. Pith & yeast upfront, soft melon, somewhat acidic, lightly salinic, moderately sharp. Drying, like quince mixed with French bittersweets. Earthy, thick skin finish. Frothy, hidden acidity, not at all tart, strong & pretty dry. Okay. Needs more cowbell.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle from their seasonal cider club. Three weeks settling on the cold porch(surprised it didn't freeze). Lowball glass @home. Sparkly, oily, medium gold with just barely a hint of jellied haze. It's seriously got that new sneaker smell. Mineral-y, bitter pear, mouthwash, earth. Honey, lemon, bitter greens, starchy cereal-like sweetness that lingers. Somewhat tart upfront, becoming creamy & acidic like lemon curd. Soft, earthy finale. Strong, zapping carbonation. Not thin. Boozy. Better cold. Okay. Could be drier(I will almost always say this unless the acid is brutal).