A bottle of Number 12 Cider House cider chilling on ice before being served // Photo by Aaron Job
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Hoch Orchards
Organic Barrel Aged
This blend of Fireside and Bulmer’s Norman apples is a demonstration in barrel-aging restraint. Aged just long enough to add the slightest suggestion of vanilla and wood to dull the sharp acids and add body to the cider, this is a layered, complex drinking experience.
Milk & Honey Ciders
Heirloom
Fruity and floral with just enough notes of citrus, honey, and spice to round things out, Milk & Honey’s Heirloom exemplifies how blending the right apples can create a balanced, soft, subtle cider that appeals to newcomers and diehards alike.
Number 12 Cider House
Sparkling Dry Cider
It starts with a complex, layered nose and emerges from the glass restrained, elegant, and balanced. It’s a “thinker” in the best possible sense—a beverage you want to contemplate.
Sociable Cider Werks
Hop a wheelie Hopped Apple
An apple graf with a dash of citrus and herbal notes from Chinook, Cascade, and Golding hops, Hop A Wheelie offers the refreshing crispness of both cider and IPA. A perfect cross-over drink for enthusiasts on both sides of the craft-beverage fence.
Sweetland Orchard
Rustic Apple Scrumpy
Formerly called “Scrumpy Sweet,” this is an excellent example of semi-sweet cider. Its cloudiness (the trademark of a scrumpy cider) comes from a last-stage blending of the fermented cider with fresh, unfermented apple juice, giving it an orchard-direct freshness.
Urban Forage Winery & Cider House
Sparkling Pear
Vintages vary based on Urban Forage’s eclectic fruit-sourcing practices, but that’s part of the fun. Bold and earthy with full-bodied flavor and a lush finish, where mass-produced pear ciders can be one-note and thin, this is anything but.
To find more information about these cideries and the rest of Minnesota’s cidermakers, explore The Growler’s Land of 10,000 Drinks Map.
