Cider Days 2021

There might not have been a Festival Italiano this year in Belmar, but Cider Days is a go for 2021. As always, it's being held at the Lakewood Heritage Center in Belmar Park, but new for this year, the hard cider tasting has been split off from the main event.

Why? Well, the hard cider tasting has grown substantially, to the point where there wasn't really enough room to have both the tasting and the main Cider Days events at the same time.

Somewhat to my surprise, the hard cider tasting was this weekend (Sept. 25th), and the main Cider Days event is next weekend (Oct. 2-3). That means if you weren't in attendance last night, well, you've already missed the tasting event for this year.

Fortunately, I was able to get last minute tickets, and wow, the tasting event was a blast! Fourteen different cider producers were in attendance, most with 4-5 different ciders available to taste. The event was crowded (maybe too crowded, given the ongoing pandemic), with live music and food trucks in addition to the beverages. 

 My own first exposure to hard cider came while attending the University of Wales, where hard cider is a long-standing part of the local culture, consumed by coal miners and university students alike. Welsh ciders are crisp and dry with strong apple notes, but American ciders can be dry or sweet, and many incorporate citrus or other fruit flavors in addition to the standard apple. 

Personally, many of these American ciders are too sweet for my palette, but I there were plenty at this year's Cider Days tasting that I did like, including my personal best of show, Snow Capped Cider's Dabinett Reserve. It's a dry, crisp, apple-ly cider that reminds me of a really good Welsh cider. It's also apparently hard to get, as it's not listed for sale on their web site.

Snow Capped also had a Sour Cherry that was outstandingly tart and dry, but my favorite non-traditional cider of the show was the Talbott's Cider Company's Rafter IPC. Made in Palisade Colorado, this cider has  a hint of hops to round out the cider's dry apple body. It was highly quaffable, and is definitely on my list to track down. In fact, Mile High Wine and Spirits right here in Downtown Lakewood supposedly carries Talbott's, so the next time I'm in, I'm going to see if they have the Rafter IPC.