The Doo Kalangadoo Cider is a new project by The Side Project, South Australia’s Cider and beer making band of mates who make the cider in an after-hours side hustle. Something that I can really relate to.
The Side project makes all of their ciders using apples grown in the Kalangadoo orchards north-west of Mount Gambier or on their neighbour’s block of dirt. The Doo features Lord Lambourne, Foxwhelp and Michelin all grown their own orchard. It has no residual sugar and has some sweetening with Xylitol. Expect to see more volume and variety in the next few years are The Side Project’s orchard expands with 200 new graftings.
While the Side Project crew started off as a hobbyist outfit, these days they have a professional brewer for their beers and a winemaker turned cider maker to work on converting the apple juice to cider. Australia has some very well-trained winemakers so this should be free of those simple mistakes and should be very clean.
The Nose
The Doo is smelling like a cider with a bit of age about it but in a two-toned manner, there is still a hit of crisp acidic apple. Elements of autumn leaves balanced against something tropical. Maybe pawpaw or mango.
The Taste
There is a lot going on there. While it’s at the drier end of the spectrum it has plenty of fruit. Again, those tropical elements sneak on in. The Foxwhelps seems to be the hero of The Doo coupled with the small bubble fizz makes for a smooth textured cider.
The finish has a good acidic kick and leaves you with a bold fruity residue. It’s this fruitiness that helps to hide the 7.1% ABV.
Final Thoughts on The Doo
This is pretty much what I’m looking for in an afternoon cider. Nice and dry with plenty of fruit forward flavours. It’s built as a modern new world cider but has the bold fruit of the old world, making it highly desirable. It treads that line between a relaxing bevvy and being complex and exciting enough to keep you coming back for more.
| Product | The Doo |
| Company | Kalangadoo Cider Co |
| Sweetness | Off Dry |
| Alc/Vol | 7.1% |
| Website | sideprojectciderbeer.com/ |
| Country of Origin | Australia |
| Region | Kalangadoo, South Australia. |
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