Balholm Handverk Cider Økologisk

I just got a box of cider from Norway; the first one into the fridge is Balholm’s Handverk Cider Økologisk, read on to find out what that means.

To me the Norwegian language looks half way between elvish and a tantrum on a scrabble board. But the rough translation of Handverk Cider Økologisk is handmade organic cider but I’ll just be calling it the Balholm’s Økologisk.

Balhom have been growing apples on the outskirts of the Norwegian capital, Oslo, since the 1920’s but in 1999 the family imported some cider apple cuttings from England and France (Normandy) and grafted them onto the existing apple trees. Today there are about 1000 trees bearing cider fruit.

Økologisk have two streams of cider in production each year. One is a fresh base cider made from this year’s juice from dessert apples. The other is a cider that is ageing and maturing from cider apples. The two are blended to make the Økologisk cider.

The Nose

Rich caramel and baked apple scents. It smells like an apple crumble fresh out of the oven. It’s all very inviting.

The Taste

Let’s start at the texture, the light tannins and rolling sweetness create a thick unctuous cider broken up by the finest bubbles. These fine bubbles hold the head till the pint is finished. The Økologisk Cider is very fruity without being too sweet. There are hardly any sticky residual sugars. Still there are plenty of that baked apple flavour going on offset by a little bit of bitterness. The finish is long and smooth.

Final Thoughts on the Balholm Handverk Cider Økologisk.

When I first heard that cider was being made in Norway, my thoughts were OK I wonder how close this is going to be to other well known Scandinavian lolly waters claiming to be ciders. I was very pleased to find a smooth, rich cider. I have a few more bottles from Balholm to write about over the coming weeks and if this is any indication of the quality of the other ciders then I’m in for a treat.

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