Whaleback Farm Cider

Cidery in Lincolnville, Maine, United States πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ

Established in 2015

Contact
34 Townhouse Road, Lincolnville, ME, 04849, United States
Description
Bringing sugars, acids and tannins into a harmonized whole - punctuated by an ineffable aromatic essence - is the goal of our exhaustive sampling, blending and aging. We begin by tasting hundreds of different apples, both wild and cultivated, each harvest season. Some have enough intensity and character to become good cider on their own while others are better complemented by the peaches, plums, grapes, elderberries and aronia we grow here on the farm. All the fruit is hand picked before being pressed through wooden racks and cotton cloths. These natural materials allow us to cultivate latent wild yeasts on the fruit skins for a unique native fermentation that is the underlying driver of our cidermaking. The juice is cold fermented through the winter for 3-5 months before aging in oak barrels for another 2-8 months, depending on the cider variety. Throughout the process, we avoid pasteurization, sulfites, sorbates or micro-filtering so that we maintain the native yeasts and malo-lactic cultures, ensuring that our cider remains a living beverage that will evolve in the bottle over time.

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7.6/10 β€” Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
On tap at Anoche, pours a cloudy golden with a tiny white head. Aroma has tons of musty dry apple skins, farmhouse funk, and some tannins. Flavour barely reveals the cherries but they’re there, along with musty apple skins, hay, farmhouse funk, and tannins. Nice addition of cherries, adding more complexity to the funk. Excellent.
Tried from Draft at Anoche on 10 Aug 2026 at 00:36

7/10 β€” Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 7 Overall 7
On tap at Anoche, pours a hazy blonde with a small white head. Aroma is bone dry, with lots of apple core, hay, and gentle farmhouse funk. Flavour is much the same, with lots of apple core, gentle hay, and some funk. Not the most complex but this is doubtless well-made. Very solid.
Tried from Draft at Anoche on 10 Aug 2026 at 00:35

7.1/10 β€” Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 6.5 Texture 6 Overall 7
500mL bottled 1/12/2021 (if I'm reading the date code correctly), drunk 8/9/2026.
Rich plum character rounded out with fleshy, lightly tannic apple. Less peach here, but that's fine, as peaches can dominate pretty easily. More of a fresh, young, floral peach character, if anything. Light brett and very mild oak. Delicate and brightly aromatic.
Tart fruit acids and light-to-moderate residual sweetness. Some acetic not detected in the nose, detracts somewhat, though it's far from strong. Some dullness throughout; the flavor is sweet and rich, but doesn't have a crisp brightness or any delicateness. I think only the 2nd cider from Whaleback I've had that was a miss (and it's not even THAT bad).
Tried from Bottle on 09 Aug 2026 at 17:35

8.6/10 β€” Appearance 9 Aroma 8.5 Flavor 8.5 Texture 8 Overall 9
500mL bottle, drunk 7/29/25.
Clear, rose-tinted brass-golden.
Elegant, tasteful cherry with light wax, light skin and juicy, malo-lactic apple with low oak. Not too much acidity, though. Light floral tones and a touch of sugar.
Soft and spritzy with soft oak and juicy cherry. Mild malo-lactic with a really easygoing character. Very approachable but still showing a good tartness. Good sweetness to it and lingering dainty cherry.
Tried from Bottle on 19 Jul 2025 at 12:28

7.5/10 β€” Appearance 7 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
A dark purple cider with a very thin light purple head. In aroma, sweet fruity mix of tart berries, light mineral notes, light Epsom salts, very nice. In mouth, a nice blueberry jam with light acidity, light mineral notes, pleasant.
Tried from Bottle on 18 Jan 2025 at 10:50

7.9/10 β€” Appearance 10 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
750mL bottle #84/252, drunk 11/15/24. Clear, white golden. Well-carbonated. Juicy apple up front with a bit more residual sweetness than expected, but it's a pleasant surprise and only just a bit. Light oak through the middle ending on fruity, rich Brett and more malo-lactic character. Clean, juicy, with good acidity and tartness. In the mouth it's full Brett up front, very fruity and mellow, transitioning to a mellow lactic character through the middle. Pleasant sweetness is a bit higher than average for this style of cider. Low oak and ending very tart, becoming acidic with what tastes like acetic acid, unfortunately. Only persistent on the finish, with most of the sip a round, Brett-and-fruit delight. Soft, chewy, rich body, appropriate attenuation. Bit of a shame about the acetic or whatever that intense, slightly burning sourness is on the end, but the remainder of the experience is top notch.
Tried from Bottle on 16 Nov 2024 at 12:53

8.4/10 β€” Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
Bottle drunk 9/21/24. Clear, bright golden-peach. Juicy apple pulp, light skin, bright acids and gentle sugars with playful Brett and mild lactic acid on the end. Little/no oak apparency. Juicy apple sugars and drier skin tannin with mild bacteria/wild yeast. A lighter, daintier cider. Gentle and champagne-like. Drying tannin on the finish. Refreshing.
Tried from Bottle on 22 Sep 2024 at 01:26

8.1/10 β€” Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
500mL bottle drunk 9/14/24. Clear, bright, beeswax. Small, off-white head. Well-carbonated. Nose is a healthy mix of naturally fermented fruit, both quince and apple sharing space. Gentle lactic notes with low sugar and lots of mineral and zesty acidity. In the mouth it's equally light, bright, tart, mildly lactic and with pleasing, well-attenuated fruits. Juiciness, mineral, even light stone fruit character. No oak character, though maybe these are fermented in neutral oak? Could be, not sure.
Tried from Bottle on 15 Sep 2024 at 03:43

9.4/10 β€” Appearance 10 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 10 Overall 9.5
500mL, undated bottle drunk 11/2/23. Clear-ish, honey-golden-maize. White head of bubbles on edge. Beautiful, gentle, rich Brett. This is exactly like a 9 month Orval. There's a bit of papery skin tannin with very light apple fruitiness in the end. So funky and farmy, clean and lovely. Light oak. Soft, juicy, full of Brett and mild tannin. Don't really get the hops but do get wonderful, deep, rich applesauce-like character. Brett lightens things with heavy band-aid. Drying tannin from barrel and skin in the finish. Well, this is insane.
Tried from Bottle on 02 Nov 2023 at 23:42

6.4/10 β€” Appearance 4 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
50cl bottle pours a clear gold, no head.Β  Nose has apple juice, green apple skins, some chardonnay.Β  Flavor has apple juice and skin, some cheese cloth.Β  Lightly tart finish.Β  7 2 7 3 13
Tried from Bottle on 29 Jul 2020 at 11:00