Last week we took you behind-the-scenes as Chef Chris Cosentino and the Virtue Cider team created a custom cider called Offalgood Cider. Now that the cider has officially been released, we sat down with Lakeshore Beverage craft beer and cider expert, Jenn Eppich for a closer look at the final product.
A Bit of Background
Offalgood Cider is a collaboration between the Virtue Cider team and Top Chef Masters winner Chef Chris Cosentino. When Chef Cosentino opened his new restaurant, Cockscomb in San Francisco, he wanted to have a house cider that would work well with his nose-to-tail cooking and offal dishes. He went out on Virtue Farms for two days, walked the orchard, learned about the cider making process, and they ended up with a blend of old world and new world apples which we’re going to open up today.
Aroma
It definitely smells high-acid. It’s really aromatic with a little bit of funk to it which to me says it’s definitely coming from a farm because it has a lot of the farmhouse flavor to it — a little bit of funk in the best way possible. It just brings our those flavors with a little bit of acidity.
Appearance
It’s not quite brilliant, and there’s a little bit of sediment in there which really adds to the body. It’s easy to see that this Offalgood is unfiltered and it looks as though much of the color is coming just from the blend of bittersharp and bittersweet apples that were used. The color resembles the flesh of an apple that has been sitting out for a few minutes after taking a bite out of it.
Flavor
It’s got some high acid to it. It’s a pretty tannic cider. It’s almost pucker-y and you can really taste the skins of the apple. It brings a terroir to it, so you can taste that the apples are from Western Michigan, grown by the lake. Terroir is smelling the soil, it’s really unique to a given region and given territory.
Mouthfeel
Because the cider is unfiltered, it gives it a lot of great body and mouthfeel. It’s got really really nice effervescence with tight bubbles. The full body of this cider also adds a slight perception of sweetness, while remaining clean and dry. It’s complex while remaining completely accessible.
Finish
As it warms up, some of the sweetness is becoming more prevalent, while still finishing really dry. It’s nice and dry up front and then there’s a little bit of sweetness that lingers. It’s really accessible, finishes dry with some nice tannins to it. It dries your mouth out a little bit.
Food Pairing Suggestions
I think it’s definitely one of the more food-versatile ciders I’ve had. You could pair this with so many different types of dishes. I think this will go well with a salty, sharp cheese — manchego, or even a parmesean. But it also has enough acidity so that it would work with something that has a bit more fat to it like a burratta.
As far as proteins go, I would lean towards a leaner fish like a halibut. The juiciness of this and the body of the cider would stand up really nicely. It has enough sweetness to it, with just a hint of acidity that it could stand up to smoke pretty well too. I like the idea of pairing this with dishes like pork shoulder, smoked ham hocks, or roasted duck.
Did you miss our last Virtue Cider piece as we visited Virtue Farms for a behind-the-scenes look at the Offalgood Cider creation process? Check it out HERE.
