Today I had the great fortune of patronizing Lion’s Pride in Brunswick, Maine (http://www.lionspridepub.com/). They are open from 11:30 ’til close, seven days a week and I highly recommend trying them out. They carry 36 beers on draft that represent a whole range styles, tastes, breweries, and crazy beer experiments. And with samples to the tune of 25 cents a piece, you can’t go wrong!
Okay, back to the review of the goods…Of the four hard ciders I sampled, UFF’s Dry Hopped Cidah really blew my skirt up.
First and foremost, it’s a product manufactured in Portland, Maine. I do love supporting my fellow Mainers whenever given a yummy chance. Urban Farm Fermentory (UFF) specializes in the fermenting of foods (i.e. pickles, sauerkraut) and beverages like cider and wine. They also produce honey and sustain a micro farm. The vision is to operate very much like a community supported farm as they encourage involvement and sharing of skills towards the overall project at UFF. So git yer bee keeper suit on and knock on their door; take grandpa’s mustard pickle recipe over with a case of Mason jars; lend your permaculture expertise. Or…just buy some products from them. Check them out at http://www.urbanfarmfermentory.com/home
Second reason to love the cider: it’s hopped like a beer. In case you don’t know, hops are plants that are added to beer to impart bitterness and aroma. There are many different hop varieties and I am unsure of the variety they use, but it is an amazing choice. Hopped cider is definitely new to my palate and nothing I had ever heard of before today. So let me try to describe…
The first sniffs reveal a lovely bouquet of floral, honeysuckle-type notes from the hops. I couldn’t stop huffing it. If they made a perfume out of it, I’d spray it on myself! The first taste is a dry cider that finishes with a faint reminder of the sweet, floral notes. I really enjoyed it…and you can, too!
Craft & Micro Brew Enthusiast 
Mell, you’re doing an impressive (expressive, too) job! Very nice and interesting descriptive copy. I’d swear you’d been doing this for decades.
I have been called an old soul…but sometimes I think I might just smell like moth balls…just kidding!
WOW! Now I want to go a try these for myself…..your descriptions of the flavors are so awesome that I want to experience these for myself….road trip!
Great idea! I would love to take a road trip to Lion’s Pride ANYTIME! I will have to organize one!
Nicely done Mello!
Thank you, Dawn!
Very well written.. as usual.. 🙂 Are they bottling or was this on tap? Where might it be available? I can’t remember if you mentioned the alcohol content? How does that compare to other ciders and beers?
This is bottled and on tap (unless I hallucinated at Lion’s Pride). The ABV (alcohol by volume) for this cidah is 6.5%. I found it to be very different because of the hops. This is not a unique concept; just never heard of it until I tried UFF’s offering. How does it compare? It is carbonated, tastes like a dry cider, but has the aroma of spring in full bloom. I’ve never had anything like it and it was just absolutely incredible. Can’t wait to find other dry hopped ciders to try!
Check out this link to see where you can buy or try their offerings: http://urbanfarmfermentory.com/buy-or-try-locations