Cider: Crispin THE SAINT 
Maker: Crispin Cider Company
Origin: Minneapolis, MN & Colfax, CA
website: www.crispincider.com
ABV: 6.9 % Bottle: 22 fl oz. 650 ml.
Maker’s Style Notes: Super Premium cider. Naturally fermented with Belgian Trappist yeasts. Organic maple syrup added. An homage to American craft beer makers pioneer spirit. Designed to be enjoyed over ice.
Fruit: Apple.
Cider Maker: Bruce Nissen, Head Cider-Maker, Crispin Cider Company
Our Tasting Notes: Crispin THE SAINT:
In The Glass: Golden, creamy, milky, opaque. Lots of tiny very active effervescent bubbles.
Aroma: Very strong confectionary aromas on the nose, with a slight maple sugar note.
Taste: Culinary apples, spun sugars, honey syrup, with hints of maple in the finish.
Overall Impressions: This cider has one dominant consistent note: sweetness. Smooth, sweet, uncomplicated.
Note: Drank this cider up and chilled, not over ice as maker recommends. Next time we will try over ice and see how that affects the cider drinking experience.
And: Beer yeasts used in cider making. We’ll discuss that topic in an upcoming post.
Pairing Notes-The Tasting Lab: Drank solo.
For more about Crispin Cider Company, read this informative interview from Heavy Table with Crispin Cider Company founder and CEO Joe Herron, written by Joe Norton, 2009.
If you have tasting notes to add please leave a comment.
Further Reading:
For an interesting read on apples and the human quest for sweetness: see Botany Of Desire: A Plants-Eye View of the World, Michael Pollan’s fascinating look at how plants have directed our desires.
“Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?”
