Fun tasting at Reverend Nat's Hard Cider (1813 NE 2nd, Portland OR)

We tried a sampler of six hard ciders ($15) and they threw in a seventh as well. This is a very good cidery (for the drafts; I'm not recommending the bottled versions). Specifically:

#1 Revival hard apple cider (their flagship cider): Clean. Well-made. Traditional. Off-dry. Bit of a honey nose. A pleasure to drink. B+ This is the one I took home. A winner.

#4 Tent Show. Burgundy barrel-aged pomegranate wine, with Jonathan apple eau di vie, prune juice, and spices (this was the freebie they wanted me to taste): Smells a bit sour; is just too strange for me. C-

#5 Cascadia Ciderworkers United Granny Smith: Great flavor. Nice balance. So well made. B

#6 Rev Nat's Winter Abbey Spice: Smells sour, with cinnamon. Nice in the mouth. B-

#8 Rev Nat's Overlook Organic Heirloom: Really fun. Flower bouquet, tart palate, grapefruity finish. B

#10 Rev Nat's Deliiverance Ginger Tonic: Too much ginger for me, but B+ if you love ginger.

#11 Cascadia Ciderworkers United Winter Cider: with "warming spices." Ugh. The only cider I tried that was not well-made. A hot plastic smell ruined it for me. D

He makes a few bitter (hoppy) ciders, but most of his ciders are not, for which I am grateful.

A container of warm (non-alcoholic) cider was available free, which was nice, as were artisan donuts from a nearby shop. You can take good-looking pizza and salad in from a nearby pizzeria (not sure which one, but certainly the Rev Nat's staff could tell you. If you drink on-site, it's by the tap, but they sell by the bottle and by the growler also.  Reverend Nat is a real reverend, and was very kind to me in a brief email change earlier this year, about my growing and selling cider apples (his operation is too large to be interested in my small production).

Fun tasting at Reverend Nat's Hard Cider (1813 NE 2nd, Portland OR)

We tried a sampler of six hard ciders ($15) and they threw in a seventh as well. This is a very good cidery; highly recommend (for the drafts; not recommending it for their bottled stuff). Specifically:

#1 Revival hard apple cider (their flagship cider): Clean. Well-made. Traditional. Off-dry. Bit of a honey nose. A pleasure to drink. B+ This is the one I took home. A winner.

#4 Tent Show. Burgundy barrel-aged pomegranate wine, with Jonathan apple eau di vie, prune juice, and spices (this was the freebie they wanted me to taste): Smells a bit sour; is just too strange for me. C-

#5 Cascadia Ciderworkers United Granny Smith: Great flavor. Nice balance. So well made. B

#6 Rev Nat's Winter Abbey Spice: Smells sour, with cinnamon. Nice in the mouth. B-

#8 Rev Nat's Overlook Organic Heirloom: Really fun. Flower bouquet, tart palate, grapefruity finish. B+

#10 Rev Nat's Deliiverance Ginger Tonic: Too much ginger for me, but B+ if you love ginger.

#11 Cascadia Ciderworkers United Winter Cider: with "warming spices." Ugh. The only cider I tried that was not well-made. A hot plastic smell in it ruined the experience for me. D

He makes a few bitter (hoppy) ciders, but most of his ciders are not, for which I am grateful. However, the ciders that don't have any tannin could use a wee bit of that--it would give them more crispness and make sure they don't fall close to the realm of insipidness. Just not too much!

A container of warm (non-alcoholic) cider was available free, which was nice, as were artisan donuts from a nearby shop. You can take good-looking pizza and salad in from a nearby pizzeria (not sure which one, but certainly the Rev Nat's staff could tell you. If you drink on-site, it's by the tap, but they sell by the bottle and by the growler also.  Reverend Nat is a real reverend, and was very kind to me in a brief email change earlier this year, about my growing and selling cider apples (his operation is too large to be interested in my small production).