So if we haven’t hammered it home just yet, this is the Apples Issue, and we wanted to try as many appley things as we could. This issue features segments on apple desserts, apple ciders (the “soft” kind), apple trees, apple picking, apples on the ground and more.
So it only makes sense that we also do an appley Tasty Brews, right?
We know Area 23 is big on cider – the hard kind – so we went by the bar in the Smokestack Center (on North State Street) last week to see what they had to offer.
For cider, it was just one option: Downeast Cider House Original Blend. This is made in Boston by a company that specializes in cider, unfiltered cider, specifically.
That unfiltered characteristic was the first thing we noticed – the drink is completely opaque and super cloudy. It had been a while since our last hard cider, but this was certainly the cloudiest we could recall. It almost had an orange color to it – it looked great.
The taste and texture were equally good. The cider was crisp and juicy – like a real apple – and definitely appley. Not being huge cider fans, this drink was approachable enough for us to give it a go, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
It didn’t have a very strong alcohol presence (5.1 percent by volume, but it didn’t feel that strong), which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your mood. In this case, we didn’t mind – after all, this was in the middle of the afternoon and we still had to drive.
A big plus for this cider is that it didn’t have a strong aftertaste – one of the things we don’t really love about ciders. Generally, there’s an acidic kick that lingers after the sip, but the Downeast concoction kept that linger to a bare minimum.
If you’re in the mood for something crisp, head to Area 23 and give this one a try.
