Put the Beer Aside: Crispin Hard Apple Cider

In the land of hard cider, there is a population that's often overly sweet and even artificial tasting. Crispin Hard Apple Ciders are in a different category altogether. So if you've shunned hard cider in the past, we think their Artisanal Reserve line is reason enough to get back in the game.

Crispin ciders are fermented with yeast and are much drier and more complex than any other hard cider we've tried. They're naturally fermented in the U.S. using fresh-pressed apple juice (many other companies use apple juice concentrate), and they don't add any malt, grape wine or processed sugars so you're really getting the apple here: plain and simple. While they have 7 different varieties, we've fallen hard for their line of unfiltered Artisanal Reserves: Honey Crisp, The Saint and Lansdowne.

•Honey Crisp: Honey Crisp is the lightest, most subtle cider in the Artisanal line-up. It's sweetened with pure organic honey and made with 3 to 5 different apples. Very drinkable.

• The Saint: Fermented with Belgian Trappist beer yeasts and brewed with maple, this cider has a really nice yeasty, herbal complexity. It's also quite light and very drinkable. We think The Saint pairs really with food as it's not too light but also not as full bodied as their stout version.

• The Landsdowne: Crispin describes this cider as "full bodied, confident & imposing." We think that's fair. If you like stout beers, you've got to try this one. It's fermented from a premium blend of fresh pressed apple juice and Irish stout ale yeast, so there's a slight hint of butterscotch that balances out the subtle fruitiness. This one is a favorite, for sure.

What are your favorite hard ciders this season?

Related: Do You Ever Drink Hard Cider?

(Image: Megan Gordon)

Comments (18)

I was at a bar a few weeks ago joining some friends who appeared to be drinking a clear beverage that obviously wasn't beer. It was pear cider and I quickly ordered one up for myself. DELICIOUS. I put three more back & finally decide to look at the nutrition info, I turn the bottle around and was horrified to see that each beer was about 340 calories. I just consumed OVER 1300 calories in one sitting. I experienced an immediate wash of guilt and went running the next day.

Yay Minneapolis Brewers! If you think most hard ciders are gross and overly sweet, try Crispin, particularity their dry variety. This is a hard cider that actually tastes like apples! I hate pretty much all other hard ciders but these are very good.

I don't like beer, but love ciders. I really enjoy drier ciders and I do love draft Cripsin. BUT, the artisan ones shown here, all of them taste too yeasty and, well, taste like beer! That's the reason I'm drinking them is to NOT get the beer flavor so I was really disappointed in all the flavors. It's cider pretending to be beer. The draft Crispin though is excellent.

Crispin is so delightful - it's my favorite cider, and I used to be a Woodchuck-only kind of girl. We have a few bottles of Honeycrisp in our fridge waiting to be drunk.

I am a big fan of Crispin, it is one of the few hard ciders available here in Fairbanks.

I hate beer (except the occasional sip of oatmeal stout or other dark malt beers that taste like dark chocolate) but I LOVE fruit ciders.

If you live in New York state, Fly Creek Cider Mill near Cooperstown makes excellent hard apple cider, the Pump Station restaurant/brewery in Albany makes an amazing pear cider (sweeter than apple), and Doc's brand based out of Warwick, NY makes a delicious, less-sweet pear cider, but their apple cider is not as good as Fly Creek.

I personally love sweeter booze (I adore late-harvest reislings, muscats, lambrusco, madeira, amaretto) but the boyfriend likes things much drier (except for madeira). So hard cider is a good compromise for us. Plus, it's historic and we are hardcore historians. :D

My favorite cider ever is Aspall's from the UK. You can find it on tap there (heaven!), but here I've only found it in (very expensive) bottles from BevMo. That being said, so crisp, dry and refreshing! Goes down just a leeetle too easily.

My favorite is Wandering Aengus. It's only available in the NW, but it's delicious and not too sweet.

Yum. In Minneapolis (perhaps other places), they serve the draughts over ice.

i LOVE beer. but have been gluten-free for about six weeks now and don't care for the gf beers, so cider is my go-to now.
i've tried a few of the crispins - didn't care for the molasses or honey sweetened ones, but loved the dry brut.
strongbow is my favourite so far. magners, ace and wydmers are good too. fox barrel is the best pear cider i've tried. (ace pear is VERY dry, good on occasion, but not all the time).
many of the bars in san francisco have at least one cider option available, which i really appreciate. i'm having a hard time finding quantities at the stores though. occasionally i find ace by the six-pack, but i'm constantly on the lookout for cases to stock my fridge and/or take for a day at the park or beach.
(um, yes, i drink a lot.)

molly h, where, oh where, did you find Magners?? I had it in Europe where its called Bulmers and it was my favorite!

Around me in Texas, everyone sells Ace (I think it tastes like yellow fizzy water yuck) Strongbow is big, Horsby's is a good brand in all our groceries, Woodchuck, More stores are starting to stock Crispin and Samuel Smith's cider.

Looks like one I have to try, I'm def. a hard core Woodchuck fan (Oak aged all the way!). I get Magners here in Orlando all over the place, jmorri26.

Gotta try this one!

I too am gluten free and thankfully never developed a taste for beer but I do LOVE my cider and am always excited to find new ones. I tried the original Crispin and wasn't blown away, particularly for the price, but I'm curious to try the ones mentioned here.

As for others, I'm not sure how widely available it is but my favorite I've found is J.K.'s Scrumpy, it's fantastic it seriously tastes like apple juice (in a good way, I promise). Woodchuck amber and 802 are also at the top of my list. Magners now makes a pear cider that is fantastic and I'm not usually a pear cider fan, for some reason it often tastes vaguely of potpourri to me...

And as far as finding Magners it must depend on where you are, in Boston I don't think you can find a bar or a liquor store that doesn't carry it so while it's not my favorite, it's always nice to have that option when going out.

I love Ace Pear! Nice and crisp. Apple is good, too. I recently picked up a 12 pack of Woodchuck on the cheap, and it's really too sweet for me.

I did not enjoy these... maybe I need to try it again...

I second Ace Pear. It's freaking fantastic!

Funny, this just came up in my RSS reader while I am sitting here drinking a glass of The Saint. I like it. I too never really developed a taste for beer, but love ciders. One local brewery here in WA, Fish Brewing Company, also makes some good ciders. I love their Dark & Dry. I have tried some other local ciders and they are getting pretty good. Nice to see them appearing to gain some ground.

I'm enjoying a glass of the honey crisp right now. I like it!