The Cidery Sweet Rosie

Long time readers will remember The Cidery, A Western Australian house that has been making cider for many years. I was kindly given some samples back then and promptly forgot about one of the bottles. The Sweet Rosie Cider has been living in my fridge since then. I think it’s about time I opened it up to see what it’s like.

The Sweet Rosie is one of The Cidery’s original products. The cider is full of the locally developed pink lady apples and a few other locally grown apples. The thing that I really like about the Sweet Rosie is how they make it sweet. Many sweet ciders are sweet because fresh juice is added back to a dry cider. The technic option is just to add sugar until you get the sweetness you want. The Sweet Rosie, on the other hand, has its fermentation cut short. By filtering out the champagne yeast cells they are unable to eat any more sugar. The flip side of this method is that the alcohol content is kept lower.

Before I crack the bottle open I’ve got to mention that I completely forgot that I had this in the bottom of my fridge for about 18 months. As I’ve found out before, Ciders drift from a fresh apple to a baked apple taste over time. Real cider is a dynamic product that changes over time. Red wine lovers know that a well-aged bottle can fetch a premium over a fresh one. There is no reason why a cider can’t be appreciated for its age. Saying that, I’m sure The Cidery would rather you drink a fresh bottle of Sweet Rosie.

The Nose

Undoubtedly a pink lady cider, Beautiful floral notes mellowing out in their own lusciousness. There is certainly a little bit of age in there showing up like an apple sauce or apple crumble but it’s still very inviting.

The Taste

All the rolling sweetness of your grannies apple crumble. Even after nearly 2 years, there is still enough perky brightness to imagine the Western Australia sunshine tanning the Pink Ladies quicker than English backpacker at the WACA.

The Sweet Rosie has definitely aged but it’s still bloody good. It’s so low on fizz I’ve drunk almost all of it before I’ve finished tasting notes.

Even with such bold cooked apple sweetness, the finish has a little sharpness that is clean, refreshing and begs for another sip.

Final Thoughts on The Sweet Rosie Cider

Please keep in mind that what I’m drinking is nearly 2 years old. This product is almost made to order throughout the year. The cider is shipped out as soon as it’s bottled. It’s designed to be a super fresh cider. But what I think I’ve accidentally done here is watch the Classic film, Gone With The Wind, on a brand new 55 inch Ultra HD LED TV. The creators certainly never imagined this is how it would be consumed but the experience is still extremely enjoyable. I can only imagine how a fresh bottle would light up your face.

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