obguthr (12465) reviewed Book of Nomad: Crystal Temple from Graft Cider 5 years ago
Appearance - 2 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7
Mild cranberry nose. Cloudy red. Apple hibiscus, cranberry. Light body, moderate carbonation, tart.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Can from Covenhoven in BK. BB: 04/29/21 Pint glass @ home. Put this in the freezer for a bit & remembered all too late. Poured as it melted, the residual yeast or something else entirely, came out like candied drops of gelatin. Once settled, it was a very thick, yellow gold, bubbly brew. Smells of acidic apples, wild & fruity fermentation, botanicals & aged hops. Taste is honestly pretty good this time. Bitter apples, Orangina, seltzer, wild yeast, light hop juice. Tastes like a mellower version of their their other hopped cider; less zesty, more fruit forward(the name escapes me). Apples are potent & not ignored. Faint acetone in the background tells me this is somewhat fresh, but soon to be overcome. Very fizzy, very yeasty feel. Abv, who knows. An okay experiment. Again, drink fresh or discard.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 5
Can from Covenhoven. BB: 10/02/20 Tulip @ home. Bubbly, dusty yellow body. Not quite clear. Smells of peach juice, faded cinnamon dust, lactose sweetness & too much vanilla. Taste is peachy/apple pie, somewhat tart. Very fresh, un-fermented juice. Soft, soapy cinnamon & still too much vanilla. Moderate carbonation. Thin & a bit dusty in texture; juicy. This is okay. Post ferment flavors dominate though.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 5.5
Can from Covenhoven. Bad Seed baby goblet @ home. Murky, brown, iced-tea color; few bubbles. Smells faintly of chocolate, coffee & coco lotion. Taste is strange, but not insufferable. Acidic apples, coffee, burnt coconut. Light vinegar setting in. All Graft cans seem to have zero shelf life. Good carbonation, slick/oily mouthfeel. The booze on the mountain of varieties can't all be 6.9% with post fermentation can they? One of those oddball combinations that works for Graft 1 out of every 10 cans. One & done though.
jgb9348 (11828) reviewed Book of Nomad: Cold Smolder from Graft Cider 5 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Ridiculously hazy, almost fully opaque brown, copper and bronze glow with a ton of effervescence from the bottom and no head at all. Aroma of smoke, peat, ginger, molasses, allspice, nutmeg, malt and alcohol. Medium-bodied; Strong very funky malt and soured/tart astringency shows up front with a light dash of apples, fruits, bread, yeast and a lot of the spice notes with some specialty grains, a lot of molasses and toffee sweetness, all ending with the ginger and allspice. Aftertaste is rich and very sweet and spicey with a good balance between those two, withouth any malt or body, of course and only a touch of alcohol noticeable at the end. Overall, a very nice and unexpected cider, even for Graft! This has a lot of spiced notes, some smooth sugars and a good kick of apples, still. Great to try and well-recommended for all, but especially cider drinkers looking for something 'different'. I sampled this twelve ounce can, purchased from Crystal City Wine Shop in Arlington, Virginia on 03-April-2020 for US$3,95, sampled just four days later at my house in Washington on 07-April-2020, just a few blocks away.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5
Pale golden and almost straw yellow coloured body with a faint pure white head that fades faster than soda and leaves nothing on top. Aroma of flowers, apples, light citrus and mangoes with some subdued creamy and almost icing sugar-like sweetness in the nose at least. Light-bodied; Strong apple and spiced flavours dominate with a lot of allspice, canella, grass and hay notes around with some citrus and lactose on the edges and only a touch of the floral aspects. Aftertaste shows more of the apples, yeast, bread and light spiced pear notes than anything else with a lot of complexity running towards the end from the spices and sugars without much support or balance to counteract. Overall, a relatively strong and deeply spiced cider with more of a funky and dry and herbal profile than sweet and fruity. Nice to try, but not one of the better ones from the producer - this can be passed up, if there are other options from Graft, as ther offerings are usually much better! I sampled this twelve ounce can purchased from Crystal City Wine Shop in Arlington, Virginia on 18-October-2019 for US$4,04 sampled at home in Washington on 26-March-2020
jgb9348 (11828) reviewed Book of Nomad | Pleasant Poison from Graft Cider 6 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Quite hazy golden and light orange coloured body with a very fast-dying tan head and very large bubbles throughout that makes this look like soda, similar to most other offerings from Graft. Aroma of soured fruits, pure honey, grass, flowers and a nice spicey smell of canella, allspice and some nutmeg - almost smells like a mug of mulled apple cider (and probably not too far off from that, in actuality). Light-bodied; Sharp apple and honey flavour dominates at first with tons of sour and tart fruits - very nice! Finishes with a good deal of spice from allspice and canella with a good woodsy and lightly earthy bite at the end. Aftertaste shows a great balance of sour, tart, sweet and spicey qualities - all somehow while being easy-going and simple to drink, while being complex. Overall, a very nice cider - perfect for the fall season...even though none of the root or smoked notes were picked up, the rest was very nice! Great to sample and yet another winner from Graft! I sampled this twelve ounce can, purchased from Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville, New Jersey on 21-October-2018 for US$3,49 sampled just over a year later at home in Washington on 09-November-2019.
obguthr (12465) reviewed Forest & Frost from Graft Cider 6 years ago
Appearance - 2 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Apple, blackberry, mild funk nose. Hazy pink. Dry apple, hibiscus, funk. Light body, easy carbonation.
kangareuben (5049) ticked Comes & Gose from Graft Cider 6 years ago
Appearance - 2 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5
Can from Covenhoven. Mojito glass. Opaque, still, iced-tea looking-sorta brew. Smells of mellow ginger & honey. Acidic apples & subtle cinnamon candies. Taste is sorta okay. A murky half sweet blend of macerated ginger, twangy apple, mild cinnamon & black tea tannins. Sorta a little like cold, runny apple cobbler. It's yeasty texture & near flat carbonation aren't helping. ABV feels about right. Doesn't taste bad, just isn't very appealing. Meh.