Angry Orchard Cider Company Muse

**Aroma:** “Medium-sweet red apples with some brown sugar and earthy notes. Some esters of pears or peaches. Mild apple-blossom aroma melds with the esters with hints of roses and perfume.” **Flavor:** “Sweet apples, fully ripe. Acidity nicely balances the residual sugars. Some tannic astringency in the aftertaste. Fairly sweet but not quite cloying as the acid supplies balance. Very fruity.” **Overall:** “Rich and earthy, full of sweet, bruised-apple flavors. Perhaps a bit cloying in the midpalate from the vanilla notes. A very fruity example. Nose is richer than the flavor. Apple character is somewhat muddled. Showcases both sweet and tart apple characteristics. Very drinkable.”

**Aroma:** “A big blend of red and green apples with light sugar, a bit of alcohol, and low spicy yeast elements. It’s very bright with light hints of grape and floral notes. Slight chardonnay-like fermenta- tion esters and a touch of malic acidity.” **Flavor:** “Super clean fermentation char- acteristics and big apple flavors lead to a medium-dry slightly tannic finish with lingering tart/sour notes. Slightly bitter in the finish, but not off-putting. Appropriate low alcohol warming and moderately low carbonation mitigates the bitterness. Light apple, fruity, with a touch of that grape from the nose.” **Overall:** “Full-flavored cider with big apple flavors that still tastes ‘crushable.’ Simple and straightforward, the apple is so clear and obvious, but finishes crisp with a cleansing carbonation and acidity. Strong apple aroma and other esters make this a pleasant drink that you can drink for some time.”

**Aroma:** “Red apple and caramel with a little acid, Brett barnyard goodness, and stone-fruit-like plum, apricot, and dark cherries. Very intriguing with almond, wildflower, leather, and mahogany notes.” **Flavor:** “Honey and a bit of umami yeast stress meatiness accented by light mint, brett, caramel, and lactic acid notes. Has a light tannic bitterness. Astringent wild lacto/pedio chewiness sits up front, but past that is some very interesting bitter/acid carrying it through the finish. Light wild-yeast sourness and Brett horsiness. Could use more apple charac- ter and a little more tartness.” **Overall:** “Interesting cider—the Brett balances well with the apple. I wanted to love this—the wild character is so much fun—but there are aspects that come off accidental. The astringency and leather are a bit strong for taste. As a cider, this really doesn’t satisfy. Instead, it’s better to think of it as a wild thing.”