Tilse’s Pear Cider

Recently I had a meet with Luke Tilse of Tilse Cider. We got chatting about the cider industry and how it is growing rapidly in Australia. The growth, however isn’t without its’ challenges. One of the challenges was bottling enough product. That challenge has made the Tilse’s Pear Cider, in this form, somewhat of a limited release.
Tilse have used Beure Rose and Williams pears in this cider. These have flavours that people expect from pears and therefore a pear based cider. Luke told me that their Tilse Apple Cider was hard to not like and very approachable to anyone, cider fan or not.
Other ciders, like Custard Co Scrumpy set out to challenge your taste buds. Tilses ciders just want to be enjoyed by anyone. A recent deal with Rocks Brewery has seen it make inroads into the Sydney market. This sudden spike in popularity has meant that the bottled Tilse Pear Cider may be a thing of the past. The plan in the future will be to only offer the Pear Cider on Tap. There is also with talk of a new recipe.

The Nose

Well it smells of pears, lovely soft pears. There are undercurrents from liquorice to a sweet toffee.

The Taste

This is such a smooth pear cider, it doesn’t have that harsh finish like other pear ciders have. The sweetness is beautifully balanced against the subtle tang and bitterness. I think that is the highlight of the Tilse in its gentle subtly. The Cider is sweet with just a bit of bite at the end just so you know it is still a pear cider. The finish is clean and dry not necessarily crisp, more smoother. Small bubbles and a creamy mouth feel, contribute to the smooth finish. If you must have your cider on ice, the Tilse Pear Cider would work well.

Final Thoughts on Tilse’s Pear Cider

To be honest I wasn’t expecting much from the Pear Cider, because I’m just not a fan of pear cider. That being said I thoroughly enjoyed the Tilse’s Pear Cider. So in the end I think Tilse have done what they do best, make a cider that anyone can appreciate. This Pear Cider could really get me drinking more pear ciders; this could be somewhat of a gateway drink.
If Tilse does change the taste in the future, I don’t know how they will change it because it seems pretty good to me as a casual drink on a hot day. I’m going to try it again on tap later in the year to see how it stacks up.

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