Cider By Cider Comparison: Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider v. Doc’s Draft Hard Pear Cider

I’ve avoided reviewing ciders on these pages for the simple fact that I write beer reviews and they are not beer. Made from the juice of pressed apples instead of barley and hops, most ciders are fermented using champagne or wine yeast instead of beer yeast producing a cleaner, fruitier flavor. But after several cloying attempts from my girlfriend I finally broke down and bought something she liked to drink instead of an 11% Double Chocolate Stout. So we picked up two ciders from the Beer Wall at our local grocery and had ourselves a little Cider by Cider comparison over nachos pre-season Giants football.

The first we tried was Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider, an English cider made with organically grown apples. Cider has long standing traditions in both the UK and the US going all the way back to the 1800’s and that storied seed spreader Johnny Appleseed. This cider was clear, clean, sweet and dry like a good gewürztraminer. The organic apples provided for a clean apple taste augmented by a slight yeasty flavor. A great brunch substitute for mimosas or bloody marys, drink it like you used to drink apple juice, just now it’s alcoholic.

The next one we tried was Doc’s Draft Hard Pear Cider from just outside New York City. New York has some of the best apples and pears in the United States and they’re in season practically year round. This pear cider was poured almost clear like a white grape juice and was subtle and sweet just like a good pear. Fermented with champagne yeast, it has less yeasty flavor which allowed the pear flavor to come out more.

The girl liked the pear cider better because it was sweeter and less yeasty. I liked the Samuel Smith’s Organic for the opposite reasons. The apple cider we tired had more layers and was a little more complex like a wine rather than an alcoholic carbonated Welch’s. The Cider by Cider comparison proved to be a success based on how drunk we both were by the fourth quarter. Ciders usually have an alcohol content that is no less than beer, about 3-5%, and I intend to repeat the process to save my masculinity when the job calls to review fruity lambics or late summer peach flavored beers.