Cider 101: Hops and Cider

We've learned over the years that hops are not just used to balance the malt in beers. It can also be used to balance the honey sweetness in mead and also the sweet apple flavors in cider. A couple weeks back we first sampled the Wandering Aengus Ciderworks Anthem Hops at our local Whole Foods. And this week we discovered it at our local beer store. The cider is produced from Washington grown Red Delicious, Gala, and Granny Smith apples and dry hopped with a dose of Oregon grown Cascade hops. This procedure enhances the aroma from the hops, all the while avoiding the heavy bitterness when added earlier in the process. The result is a cider with apple-grapefruit aromas with a subtle dry lemon-grass finish. And at 5.5% ABV, had no problems biking the rest of the day. Cheers.