Me and You and a Blog Named Brew: Clear the Way!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Clear the Way!

Beer #307 Jack's Hard Cider / Hauser Estate Winery, Gettysburg, PA

It's a Friday, and the weekend has finally arrived, so I'm keeping this short so I can get on with my festivities. Which exclusively consists of me sitting on my couch, as I'm an old ass man.

Tonight's brew is Jack's Hard Cider, which is produced by the Hauser Estate Winery here in Pennsylvania. We had some great fall weather today, so having a cider seems like a rather good idea at the moment. This one pours with an incredibly pale yellow, almost clear color. The picture below sort of captures this - there's only a faint hint of yellow. The aroma gives off a nutty, earthy, apple scent, and the taste is really nice, with flavors of tart green apple. It's dry, delicious, clean, and simple. A very appealing early fall drink.

That is one very, very clear beverage

Jack's started being sold in 2008, and interestingly their operation is housed entirely underground - at a naturally cool 55 degrees. While the cider is a relatively new addition, apples have been in the master plan since 1907, when a canning operation was purchased by John S. Musselman, Sr. Now you know.

Thing to Think About Today:

Honestly, when I poured this cider, the first thing that popped into my head was Zima. If you're in your mid- to late 30's, you remember Zima. It came about during America's fascination with clear beverages (looking right at - and through - you, Crystal Pepsi!), and was a clear, carbonated, lemon lime alcoholic beverage put out by Coors. Sort of like Sprite, only booze. Can't miss, right? I suppose if I was trying to be macho, I would pretend that I never had any Zima, as Zima now seems like a bit of an effeminate drink. That would be bald faced lie, as I had plenty of Zima back in the day. Why? I have no real reason other than it was extremely tasty. And, let's give credit where credit is due - all of the "alco-pop" drinks like Smirnoff Ice owe their entire existence to the awesomeness that was Zima. Not sure they ever said "thank you."

Sadly, Zima is no longer produced, and according to the internet it seems it finally died in 2008. Anyone here know that it was still being produced into the last decade? I didn't. However, I'm sure if we all worked on this we could find a few cases hiding in a dusty corner of a beer distributor somewhere. So.... let's get on that, right? Help me out here. Please.