I did not wan t to coat my mouth with any heavy flavours in preparation for a spicy dinner of green coconut curry Thai mussels, but I did want something yummy to keep me company while I binge watched Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I found a can of Sir Isaac’s Premium Pear Cider by Puddicombe Cider Company from Winona, ON in the Niagara region hiding in Bev, our living room beer fridge. Exciting! I don’t remember trying them before.

I can usually only handle one or two pints of cider before the sugars get to me, and usually only in the summer. I find the heavier winter foods overpower the delicate aroma of cider. But I forgot to pick up wine or appropriate beer selections to cook the mussels in, and I didn’t have an extra can of cider kicking around to try making cider mussels in as an experiment this time. Small sacrifice to make. We shared a 473 ml can split between two standard shaped pint glasses.

Appearance: Delicate and light colouring. Very fizzy pour.

Aroma: Strong and sweet pear aroma.

Taste: Starts sweet on the tip of the tongue, with a deceptively light flavour. At 6.5% alcohol, the light flavour can catch up to you fairly quickly if you have not had much to eat. Refreshing with a light mouth feel.

Aftertaste: Dry finish for the aftertaste. Definitely a pear aftertaste, there are no apples in this cider. Possibly bartlett pears?

Overall: A well-balanced cider, more tart than I expected. I’ll keep an eye out for it again next summer.