Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Tailgate Season Cider Favorites

Football tailgating season is in full swing.  Let's forget the fact that UConn got destroyed last week by Towson [embarrassing, yes], and just remember the fun tailgate beforehand.  Mmmm tailgate toss, tons of food, and cider: what could be better?  Lately, Mike's been bringing home tons of new ciders to try, and I'm looooving it!  Here are my favorites so far this season:

[In case you missed it, here were my favorites last fall and this summer.]
Who says ciders have to be apple?  Fox Barrel Pacific Pear Cider is one of my new favorites.  I definitely feel like pears say "fall" and pears are the perfect fruit for cider.  It isn't too dry or too sweet, meaning I can drink a couple and not get tired of it.  Is this definitely my current favorite! 

Mike and I have been all about trying every single Mike's Hard flavor we find in the store this summer.  Blood orange and strawberry lemonade have been our favorite traditional Mike's so far.  However, their cider is definitely my absolute favorite.  We've only bought it once [the day before Mike proposed, hence the only photo], but it's really good! We tried Mike's Smashed Crisp Apple as opposed to the Dry cider.  It wasn't anything crazy or different, but it was good!  It didn't have the excessively sugary taste other Mike's have, and it was pretty tart.   

Alright, so this isn't a cider, but it's perfect for the transition from summer to fall.  Leinenkugal's Orange Shandy is delicious.  It has more orange flavor than a Blue Moon or Shock Top probably because of the already citrus flavor of the shandy.  Definitely a keeper!

Keeping with the lemon-theme, McKenzie's Lazy Lemon hard cider combines your typical apple cider with lemonade.  At first I was a bit nervous about this one, apples and lemon?  In reality, you couldn't really taste the apple, it just tasted more like another shandy.  It's pretty tart but not acidic as lemons can be, and once you get over the initial surprise, it's a nice light drink.  

Redd's Apple Ale.  What's an apple ale you ask?  Well, it's brewed instead of fermented like cider.  To me, at least, the tastes are similar [even though Redd's would probably be mad at me for saying that].  The taste is light and crisp and it's definitely a thirst-quencher when it's ice cold.

If you're looking for something a little different but still love Redd's, their Strawberry Ale is pretty good, too!  It's very sweet and was more of a candy strawberry taste than a real strawberry.  It's a nice cider to have as a dessert.

Here's your traditional cider: Strongbow.  It's definitely the perfect bittersweet cider.  It's fresh and has a great apple flavor.

I know most of my favorites are more summer-y, but this one really brings me into autumn: Angry Orchard Seasonal Cinnful Apple.  It tastes like their dry cider, but at the end of each sip, you get a little spicy, fireball cinnamon flavor.  It's delicious and will be good all the way into the winter!

There you have it! Now go give one a try!

Alright, so it's not quite wine, but I thought I'd link up with one of my favorite ladies to read, Danielle, for the first time in forever!
 SweetSouthernGirl
Venus Trapped in Mars

*All of these opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way for these drinks or the reviews.*

10 comments:

PJ @ Planned in Pencil said...

The Angry Orchard line is quickly becoming my favorite thing, they have a ginger apple cider that is amazing!

Jen said...

I've been wanting to try the Redd's Apple Ale, but now I will have to wait haha.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to have to try some of these. I've never been a wine person but I had a Pear Cider with a friend a few weeks ago and I really liked it! Thanks for linking up!

BTW Your bracelet is in the mail. This wedding has seriously effected my flakiness. So sorry!

Aubrey S. said...

You really can't go wrong with a cider. Thanks for linking up for Wino Wednesday!

The Girl who Loved to Write said...

Mmm, I'm suddenly insanely thirsty!

Kelly said...

Ohh I do love a great cider! That Angry Orchard one sounds awesome! Have you ever had the seasonal Fall Wood Chuck cider? A.maz.ing.

Venus Trapped In Mars said...

I have never had any of these except the Leinenkugel. I'm clearly going to have to make a special trip to the specialty liquor store and pick some up. I think I want to start with the Angry Orchard because I've heard so many people talk about it!!

Kakers said...

I love when the season changed, that means I an go into BevoMo without them judging me.

Optimistic Existentialist said...

Ah tailgating...a staple of autumn :)

krystal said...

Whoaaaa I haven't seen the Strawberry Redd's! I've been drinking the apple ale like it's going out of style! I also love the Mike's Hard Cider ... who knew their stuff was good?!

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