A Duo of Ciders

This week was a week filled with traveling and work and not much else. Friday evening on my way out of a town I was traveling to I stopped by the LCBO near 401 and noticed two ciders I have not tried among the dozens of ravaged macro brews trays. The first one I recognized no problem - the new Growers 1927, but the second one was a stranger to me - Pommies, awesome name, awesome bottle and an awesome package.

Growers 1927

Taking its name after the year Growers was established, this premium cider has a very pale straw/yellow color and pours with a lot of fizz. The aroma is completely defined by sweet apples which conjure images of McIntosh (sure these are not as sweet, but this cider reminds me of them) and sweet Golden Delicious apples. The taste is well balanced with a very well defined fresh apple flavour featuring a bit of tartness at the start and some complimentary sweetness at the end. It is not as sweet as other ciders and offers plenty in terms of refreshment on a hot summer night. The finish is once again well balanced, crisp and very refreshing. I already sort of like Growers apple cider, but this is something else, this cider is absolutely fantastic. Instant recommendation.

Scores:
Cost - $2.95 for a can
Taste - 9/10
ABV 5.5%

Pommies Dry Cider

I normally hear about new releases through other bloggers, press releases or the LCBO, but I guess I completely missed this one. Pommies...first time ever hearing of it. The clean look is what got me to buy it.

Coming in a tad paler than Growers, this cider also exhibits the same level of carbonation. The aroma is sweeter and has a very typical fermented apple scent. Pommies is much, much drier than Growers 1927 and also much less sweeter...but only at first. The flavour is more like a typical cider and the fermented part is noticeable. Towards the end some Golden Delicious sweetness can be noticed, but it doesn't really start to pronounce itself until halfway through the bottle. Have a second one and you pictures of golden apples will start dancing around your head. Though the sweetness builds up, it never really lingers for a long time. It is a very weird sensation. Each sip seems sweeter, but several minutes later the sweetness is gone. Have another sip and the sweetness returns sweeter than before. Sure this sounds weird, but when it is hot outside and the cider is cold, you can easily consume the entire pack without thinking twice about the sweetness.

Scores:
Cost - $12.95 for a 4 pack
Taste - 8.5/10
ABV - 5%

Overall - I really liked Pommies cider, but I will pick Growers 1927 over it...it is just so well balanced.