Hood River-based Double Mountain Brewery is generally known for its hop-forward beers as well as some particularly fine regional kriek, also dips its brewing toes into cider, not entirely surprising considering the region is known for its orchards. The brewery had sent me samples of its Dry Cider and Perry, and both are worth checking out if you’re apple-inclined.

Dry Cider

The brewery says:

For our first Dry Cider, we kept it simple and local. Newtons and old world cider apples from the Double Mountain Orchard were pressed and fermented on our house yeast strain. We gave it plenty of time to dry out and develop wondrous aromas of juicy pear, lychee, green fruit, and chamomile. It finishes tart, crisp, dry, and quenching. 6.7% ABV

I recently learned a bit about cider judging per BJCP guidelines, and discovered the term “petillant” in terms of carbonation to mean a moderate level (as opposed to still, no carbonation, and sparkling, like champagne). So you’ll see that term popping up in my tasting notes about ciders from now on.

Appearance: Straw yellow in color, pale, mostly clear. Fizzy, petillant level of carbonation feeds an initial head that doesn’t persist.

Smell: Tannic apple skins. Mellow with a good expression of the fruit, a light tart note with some juicy sweetness.

Taste: Quite tart up front at first, with a sour crabapple-like tart character. Dry and tannic, as advertised. The apple comes through, a nice fruitiness though I couldn’t tell you a variety, and it finishes dry with a lightly dusty apple skin note.

Mouthfeel: Petillant (moderately carbonated, not too fizzy) and dry mouthfeel, with a crisp and bracing finish.

Overall: As it warms, it loses some of that initial tart character, and to my (still admittedly limited) experience I think it’s a good example of a dry American style cider.

Perry

Perry is pear cider, made from pears instead of apples. Hood River is just as known for its pears as its apples, so this is a natural addition to the cider lineup. The brewery says:

The Hood River Valley produces some of the best pears in the world. We took advantage of our local resources and pressed Starkrimson and Comice pears together for this Perry. And oh, its sheer joy! Light aromas of honey, juicy pear, and green apple, end in a delicately sweet, gracefully tart and crisp pear cider.

Perry is 6.3% ABV.

Appearance: Hazy golden straw yellow, with what I would consider a “rustic” look. Petillant carbonation, with a fizzy white minimal head that doesn’t last.

Smell: Grass and hay with a light barnyard funk, honey, a light tart essence. The sweet/tart combination reminds of something like Sprite soda.

Taste: Light kiss of sweetness with a touch of horse blanket and hay. Lightly sugary expression of Sprite again. Sort of semi-sweet and semi-dry at the same time, finishing relatively mellow and easy-drinking.

Mouthfeel: Petillant (there it is again) with a pleasantly sweet aftertaste that never strays into cloying.

Overall: It’s tasty with a surprisingly barnyard rusticity, lighter and not as sweet as I’d been expecting. Ultimately it’s quite a great easy drinker, with a good balance and (despite its strength) sessionable.