Omenainen, aito siideri

Kanelisen omenainen siideri, ei yhtään liian makea. Erittäin hyvä. Yleensä kuivien ystävä mutta tämä on melkeinpä parempi kuin kuiva. Hienoa kun lähitilalalta voipi ostella.

Todella omenaista ja raikasta!

This is a very local drink. Not a new one but was obviously finished last summer when I visited this place last time. But first a fun fact: in Finland, a cider must be made of apple or pear. You can have a cider that contains e.g. mango and it can be called a "mango cider" only if the base ingredient is apple or pear. This cider is not called a cider but a "vider". The reason is the Finnish Alcohol Act: the product doesn't contain apple or pear. It's been made of raspberries and whitecurrants. The name of a "vider" (~ viideri) is the innovation of this particular cidery, not used by any other producer to my knowledge. A "vider" obviously originates from the fact that the base ingredient here, and some other drinks of this cidery, is whitecurrant (~ valkoherukka). Alright. The cider... I mean vider... looks lucid, brilliant, strawberry-juice-colored. The spritzy but short-lived carbonation builds a clean white head that reaches one finger and dissipates rapidly to nil. Raspberry is ample in the scent. The taste, in turn, gives whitecurrant first. Then comes the raspberry. It's a bit reserved but surely recognizable. Citric acid can also be detected. A bit too sweet to my taste but not icky. The mouthfeel is juicy, light and summery. Interestingly, this is also balanced and not actually lip-glueing despite the sweet undertone. Pretty nice in the "Other Cider" category.

This claims to be a "traditional farmhouse cider". I guess it means farmhousey, not-so-clean flavors. Let's see. The hue is transparent, pale gold. Sparkling carbonation kicks off a fluffy head that reaches two fingers but melts rushedly to a thin lace ring on the surface. Natural apple mash, apple peel, faint pear and a hint of wild yeast emanate to my nostrils. Promising! Okay, indeed, not so clean flavors... I pick natural sour apple mash and apple peel, even marginally stale. Or is it mold? It doesn't taste like mold though. Or acetaldehyde? Green apple is obvious in the palate, can't tell though if it's an off-flavor or an ingredient since this is a dry apple cider anyway. An alcoholic vibe enters the scene right thereafter. The finish gives light-sour apple mash, especially green apple, acetaldehyde, apple peel and yeast. Wild? Probably not. It's not funky. The mouthfeel is light to light-medium, sparkling, a bit stale, juicy, gardeny and autumnal. It's also earthy and farmhousey, somewhat tart, dry and drying. And slightly alcoholic. Interesting for sure. Not necessarily entirely clean, may portray off-flavors. Not sure though. Difficult to rate, not exactly my favorite.

Mustaherukkamehua alkoholilla ja kuplilla.