Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Armed with a list from Barnivore, I've made it my autumn mission to try out a bunch of different vegan hard ciders.
Please add your recommendations!

Some of the best ones I've had so far:

Crispin - The Saint
It's not too sweet and has a nice maple flavor.

Wandering Aengus - Wanderlust
Good flavor and pretty boozy.

Thistly Cross Scottish Cider
This one is one of the most "apple-y" tasting ciders, but it isn't overly sweet.
Unfortunately, it was really expensive so I probably won't get it again.

I also found a very promising looking cider that said it was vegan right on the label, Reverend Nat's Deliverance Ginger hard cider. Unfortunately it was one of the most disappointing ones. The flavor was dull and flat, and I think the ginger kind of made it taste like dirt (this might just be me). None of the other types from Reverend Nat I saw were labeled as vegan.

I had some other cheaper brands like Angry Orchard and Anthem.
They weren't bad, but they were unremarkable.

A trip to Bevmo is in order!

Hi! I sling vegan cider for a living. The brand is Sea Cider, but it's not available in too many states (though it is available in most provinces in Canada). It's certified organic, and delicious. I am not just saying that. :) This is not meant to be spammy or cause any personal gain for myself (I won't get anything!), but it is really good shiitake.

Do BCLs sell it? I want to try Vijita Cider!

Nope, not the government stores, but tonnes of stores in Vancouver do. Let's see...Kitsilano Wine Cellars, Firefly on Cambie, Legacy, Edible Canada, umm...that's all I can think of off the top of my head. You will love it! :) Oh I used to buy it at the store on Broadway near MacDonald.

Anywhere in East Van that you know of? I will try to track some down this weekend.

I was so going to pimp Sea Cider!

Probably any of the nicer beer and wine stores. Firefly is the closest to East Van that I know for sure for sure. Since we're so small we have a hard time keeping up with wholesale.

Also, <3 jdfunks.

ETA: If you find Rumrunner (and like a sweeter and really unique cider), Jay made that whole batch! So it actually is kind of a Vijita Cider. :)

I'm not much of a drinker but I'm getting excited for cider!

You can make mulled cider too. We use Silk Road chai whole spices and simmer it with the Rumrunner. (Sorry for the "I'm obsessed with cider because I live it every day" threadjack).

I find them hard to find but I'm a big fan of ciders when they're cherry or... Basically just not apple/pear. A good sourness is my thing, too. Yum. I haven't had one I loved in years sadly... I think it was Anthem cherry? Gah maybe not. An A name.

Hard cider is just alcoholic cider right? (We just call it cider).

Rekordelig! It's from Sweden and it's delicious.

Know what I hate? Brands who have started producing "Pear cider". It's called Perry, companies, it had its own name already, stop making one up. (This may only be a UK thing and in way relevent to the question asked).

That's a thing here. Usually I think it's a labelling issue--Perry is meant to be made from Perry pears, but the cheaper and crapier brands just add pear flavouring or juice from eating pears to apple juice that has booze added, so they can't rightly call it Perry. Well here, anyway. But Canada is crazy about labelling things accurately. We make a Perry that we use Perry pears for, but we have to call it something else when we ship to the US because of the UK Perry brand. We also make a cider that's aged in rum-soaked screech barrels, and we have to call it Prohibition when we sell it to the US, because even though it does have rum in it, rum can't be in the title. There are all sorts of silly rules about naming things.

For some reason, in the US, a lot of people (judging by the American tourists we get) don't know that cider is a thing. I'd never heard it called "hard" cider either. What's more confounding is that because there are few real cideries where I live, we have to be on the wine tour provincial list (which basically just gives us signage on the highway), so we're always getting people who have no idea why they are here, no idea that you can make booze out of apples, and they ask me for a glass of merlot (even if we were a winery, we couldn't possibly grow merlot grapes in this climate). Then they ask me for the closest cider to a merlot. There is no cider close to a merlot! Go tour Napa if you want a merlot. See that orchard behind you? Yep, apples. Not grapes. Apples.

/cidernerd

My guess is that Americans call it hard cider to distinguish it from non-alcoholic apple cider, which is basically unfiltered apple juice.

I like Angry Orchard a lot, but I don't really have expensive tastes, haha. My favorite brand is Woodchuck, and it's vegan-friendly according to Barnivore. I love the Woodchuck seasonal ciders. Crispin is pretty good, but some of the flavors contain honey, so always read the labels!

Ah, see I think we call that cloudy apple juice.

I've moved from beer country (South East) to cider country (West Country) and I've learnt to love my cider. It really is very good... I'll never be a scrumpy fan but bad cider is better than bad beer any day of the week.

I don't mind perry being called pear cider. It's like calling alegar "malt vinegar". Language is dynamic, baby!

Fish Brewing Co's Spire Mountain Dark and Dry Cider out of Olympia WA. forking delicious. Tastes like apple forking pie.

I have cleaned out the cooler every time I pass through Ashland Oregons co op

I don't like beer, so cider is always my go-to when I don't want a cocktail.

I like Angry Orchard and Hornsby's, but I'm not fancy.

Vijita, I want to take a field trip to your world!
Cider is my very favorite drink. I pretty much like them all. The Angry Orchard with ginger is very good for a supermarket choice.

One of these days I do want to make my own.

This thread and an evening bus ride made me remember that there's a CIDER BAR nearish my apartment that I have ridiculously not visited yet.

I picked up The Incider (ba da bum) by 2 Towns Ciderhouse tonight http://www.2townsciderhouse.com/

I'm going to email Reverend Nat's because it's also local and I really wanted to try it.

There are two new hard ciders being produced in Nova Scotia this fall and I have emailed the companies to find out if they are vegan. Vijita, are ciders usually vegan? These are made with fresh pressed apples, according to the websites.

I got a reply back from Bulwark Cider http://www.muwinestate.com/?page_id=101. "We use natural bentonite to help clear the product only. No gelatin or animal products are used in any form or manner in our product."

Will take some to my book club this weekend.

Not always, but the ones from small farms made in small batches usually are. Definitely best to check, though!

Some (usually called Cyser) contain honey. We made a cyser years ago with fermented honey from the bees that pollinate the orchard, but it is not at all popular, so thankfully we are all vegan now. :)

these are the ciders i've seen & tried in the NY area:
Woodpecker (standard but tasty; probably the most common brand)
Original Sin (sold at quite a few NYC bars, but a bit too musty-tasting for me)
Woodchuck (i've only tried the summer variety, but holy crepe was it delicious)