Browns Apple Cider 2019

Oooh. Lovely! A very sharp, fruitful dry cider. Under the nose - you can smell the manure! But don’t let this put you off! It’s so alive with organic life and vibrancy. There’s hints of hay under the nose as well - and a really complex aroma with a surprise dwelling of pineapple (I know, stay with me!) and so much ‘orchard’ and farmyard. It’s just superb. (Depends how you were brought up, but a farmyard to me was a pleasant smell, not repulsive). Fizz wise, this is on the money. Not too much, not too little - so many ciders these days offer something either side of the balanced see-saw of carbonation. To the taste - it’s great, hence my 5/5 score. This is a very special dry cider and an absolute pleasure to consume and review. It’s apply taste and dry finish is so complex and divine it needs to be tried to be compared. The taste hits so broadly - so wide - it’s amazing - and then it settles in and provides a rewarding apple fruit depth that is so rare in a cider. This one deliveres. And then some… It’s dry, yes - and I like that - but there’s a wonderful kickback of sweetness at the end that is then overcrowded by the apple aroma and broad taste of pure apple loveliness. The sweetness is natural, it never once tastes manufactured - and that - is this cider’s secret. This is cidermaking at the highest level. I’ve often argued the toss between which county in England is ‘king’. And I must say over the years, I’ve often swayed to Somerset - but I’ve always held a candle (a very British phrase!) for Herefordshire. This, for me, is the ultimate effort from Herefordshire and the Ross-on-Wye Cider and Perry Company and if I had to present one cider from Herefordshire to represent them all (and I appreciate that sounds like a line from The Lord of The Rings), then this cider would be it. A superb cider. It has it all - particularly if you are a dry cider fan, and I am - it’s just sublime. It’s complex and medium to heavy bodied. The nose, the taste, the finish - the hints of lemon, citrus, hay, earth, apples, it’s all there - it’s golden-hazy colour is to be adored - it’s just nigh-on perfect in my eyes. I’d give it 6/5 but we can’t do that - so I’ll settle for 5/5 - and at 6.0%ABV you could chance this one on ‘all day session’ and be in love with everyone you meet by the end of the day! (I reviewed this cider by itself, no snacks, cheese or additives - just some ice and as it was poured).

Really enjoyable refreshing cider. Golden colour with slight haze but almost clear. Funky aroma and it is the lingering taste mixed in with sharp acidic apple flavours .

Dark golden colour, mid to light fizz and lightly hazy. Funky aroma with a little orange and wood. Funky flavour with cinnamon and spice. Soft mouthfeel and light. As dry as licking sawdust. But not in a bad way.