Twisted Branch Cider is what came out of the tinker tank at the southern hemispheres’ most northern cidery – Granite Belt Cider.
You probably don’t think about apples in Queensland. But just north of the border there is a few mountains, old volcanic mountains leaving behind granite soil. Normally you think of Queensland as the sunshine state but the Granite Belt actually gets snow or frozen sunshine as the locals call it. Which allows them to grow plenty of apples.
Most home fermenters have that one plastic barrel where the weird experiments happen. Granite Belt Cider have the Tinker Tank. This where the cider makers are free to play, this is when cider makers can really improve their skills. The Tinker Tank has been responsible for limited like the Honey Cyser and the Baked Apple Dry. The Twisted Branch Cider made such an impact it has become part of the standard range.
The Nose
This one is hard to place. It seems sweet with plenty of yeast, a little bit like a bakery. It is a very heavy scent of rose blossoms and very ripe apples it seems like it might even have hints of peach. You’ll be able to smell it well before it’s been poured.
The Taste
The bottle calls it an “Unfiltered Dry Cider”. It is certainly unfiltered, in fact, this is super cloudy, it looks like a bloody mary with a frothy head. Once you get through head there is plenty of acids which flow into sourness on the back of your palette. There is a little bit of tannin which gives it the vibe of soft red wine. Its got lots of overripe apples and melon fruitiness but no residual sugar. There isn’t much of the minerally taste that I look for in granite grown ciders like the Tree House also made by Granite Belt but there is so much going on it doesn’t matter.
Final Thoughts on the Twisted Branch
This is an unusual cider. The colour is intense this could be off-putting to some. the carbonation is lower then you would expect. In fact, the easiest point of comparison is a very soft red wine. This is one of those ciders by cider geeks for cider geeks because we all love that weird experiment in the corner that turns out better than expected.
Product | Twisted Branch Unfiltered Dry Cider |
Company | Granite Belt Cider Co |
Sweetness | Medium Dry |
Alc/Vol | 6% |
Website | |
Country of Origin | Australia |
Region | Southern Queensland |