Recent Tasting Notes

Sapporo Yebisu (8/20)
Tough to get excited here. Fairly standard macro lager. Stale / corn-like malts run though the nose and palate. Definitely has a sweet adjunct edge. Finishes quite dry and long.

Bress 'Harcourt Valley' Cider (13/20)
Packaged and priced like a top-flight cider bunt unfortunately the flavours and structure don’t quite get it there. Glowing orange in the glass with a lemon hue washing through. Nose is lifted, sweet with apple concentrate, and well rounded out with a mineral, chalky edge. Flavours are dominated with sweet apple and tropical fruit. Plenty of hot acid runs through the back palate, driving a long, raspy, spicy and ginger finish. Not bad, but not in the class of Thorogoods. (note: may be a recipe change here as the ABV is now stated at 10%)

Bordelet Sydre Argelette (14/20)
2005 Vintage. Good to see that these super delux ciders have hit Australian shores. Strictly for the enthusiast given the price ($27 for 750ml), perhaps more so given they are surprisingly low in alcohol. Colour and pour is fairly standard for the genre (light gold amber) and big head early. Aromas are intriguing; dirty apple must, old wood, stalks. A cassis note lurks as well. Definitely has a wine corked character but that is more or less ’part and parcel’ for the style. Flavours are quite mild but well built. Fruits are understated, dry, some spice, more faint cassis. Good presence despite the low ABV.