Angry Orchard The Muse

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts 

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Friar Tuck Beverage in Urbana, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Cider, 7.7%

Reported IBUs: ?

Not only is tomorrow Friday, but tomorrow is hockey Friday. Woot. About Angry Orchard/Boston Brewing Company:

Angry Orchard launched nationally sometime around 2012, after the Boston Brewing Company killed their Hardcore Cider brand. Angry Orchard is the Boston Brewing Company's response to the growing demand for and rising popularity of ciders. Unlike local breweries making ciders, Angry Orchard utilizes bittersweet apples from France and culinary apples from Italy. They also use some apples from the Pacific Northwest and Northeast of the United States. To learn more about Angry Orchard's brewing process, check out their brewing/process page.  

The Boston Brewing Company/Sam Adams is, of course, the brain child of Jim Koch (and Harry M. Rubin and Lorenzo Lamadrid). Founded in 1984, Jim Koch got the ball rolling after college when he decided to resurrect and brew his favorite family recipe. That recipe belonged to his great-great grandfather, Louis Koch, and dates back to the 1870s (where it was brewed in a St. Louis brewery). That infamous family brew is the Sam Adams Boston Lager, of course. You can read more about the history of the Boston Brewing Company HERE, or check out their website HERE.  

The back of the bottle reads: "The Muse is the newest addition to our Cider House Collection. Inspired by the festive nature of slightly sweet demi-sec champagnes and sparkling wines, The Muse is bubbly and effervescent. It is made from traditional culinary and bittersweet apples and aged on French oak. The Muse is sweet upfront with a juicy apple aroma and bright acidity, and slightly drying on the finish with a lingering sweet apple note. The French oak adds a subtle wood impression, imparting notes of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and hints of vanilla." This one clocks in at 7.7%, and should be apropos.

Angry Orchard The Muse

This one pours out looking exactly like carbonated apple cider or apple juice. That in itself is impressive. There was four fingers of foam that quickly gave way to a crackling nothing. This one is super carbonated with streams of carbonation ascending with the curve of the glass, and a white ring of head has formed around the edges. In bright light this looks a lot like a Pale Lager, but the aroma is all cider.

Yupp. Lots of cider on the aroma. I'm getting deep apple depth, with sweet apples, grape/white wine, honey, peaches/melon/gooseberry, light French oak, and tons of dry Champagne notes. It smells really sweet, inviting, and refreshing.

WOW. This one has a lot more going on in the taste than I was expecting. This is also a lot more full and rounded than I was expecting, and it's not nearly as sweet. There is huge, woody cider and white wine goodness up front, with big sweet apples, apple cider, lightly tart baker's apples, gooseberries, and light melon/peach/lemon. I'm getting a lot of white wine in here, with big oaky notes. The finish is also surprisingly dry and clean, and this definitely hints at champagne-dryness.

I'm surprised at how expansive, rounded, and oaky this is. For a cider, this is nearing that warming full-body experience that you want with 7.7% ABV. Like...I want to be drinking this on a cold Winter afternoon. It definitely works as a Summer/Spring cider, but it has that warm cider warming thing going on. This is well carbonated and refreshing like a good cider should be, and the finish is pleasantly oaky and dry. It has good palate depth and the only thing holding it back from being truly world-class is probably the lack of complexity. This unfolds with lots of apples and oaky/wood up front; that rolls into big apples, warm cider, cinnamon, some light spice/clove, more oak, white wine, peaches/melon/gooseberries; the back end dials up some white wine and oak, with a champagne-dry finish accentuated by the dry oak. Nice stuff.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. I would buy this again in a heartbeat, even at the slightly high price of around $12 per bottle. I think? I don't know, it might have even been a bit higher than that. This would be great to pair with a fruit salad, cold lunch meat sandwich, or by the fire or with some football on a cold Winter day/night. I love the Angry Orchard brand, but I really like their Cider House Collection. I hope they continue with these. 

Random Thought: You can't beat the simplicity of a well-made Cider.