The Best Things We Drank: December 11 - 17

This week's best were a split decision between cider and beer, with all of the makers being relatively new to us. 

Starting off on the beer side we had two more beers from Revision Brewing Company out of Sparks, NV. The first beer we had from them was a triple IPA and made The List in early November.
Planet Lovetron - The label artwork has a fun (albeit perhaps sexist) pink/lilac theme that jives with the slightly hazy, mildly fruity New England style IPA contained inside. The combination of Amarillo, Mosaic and Citra hops and "pillowy bed of malted goodness" hit our taste buds just right, in line with its 4+ rating on Untappd.

The Bruff - Once again featuring one of our favorite combination of hops (Citra and Mosaic), this 8% New England style IPA is fantastically balanced. 

Heretic El Diablito - This was a beer that we were far more enamored with than our drinking buddies were. The 9% came across to us as pleasantly sweet (instead of cloying) and drinking dangerously crushable. As with their 12% Ecstasy barleywine, they seem to have the skill of "hiding" big ABVs in delicious drinkable packages. 

Now for the cider side of the list, starting with Bauman's Cider Company located in Gervais, OR (yeah, we had to look at a map, too, to find that it is about halfway between Wilsonville and Salem). These two ciders were a great introduction to them.
Loganberry - Light berry in flavor with a beautiful color, it is effervescent and temporarily transports one to the warmer days of summer. Loganberries are one typically one of the first berries to ripen with the trade off that due to their delicate softness, they must be hand picked. We applaud Bauman's for using them despite that and hope to find more of this cider in our glass in the future.

Clyde's Dry - Named for the cider maker's grandpa, this is a blend of 20 varieties of apples. What could have been a muddled, middling cider is in fact wonderfully complex and slightly funky. 

Carlton Cyderworks Summer Set - Located just down the road from Bauman's is Carlton Cyderworks in McMinnville. This is the third offering we've had from them, the others being a perry and their 2017 Willamette Week Pro/Am offering. A straightforward 50/50 blend of Dolgo Crab apples from Sunnyside, WA and Gravenstein apples from Wheatland Ferry, OR, it features a slightly funky aroma with a pleasantly tart flavor.

We have been keeping our eyes open, and starting to do some stocking up, of beverages for the holidays in anticipation of the gatherings we'll be attending and hosting. It's a bonus that all the beers and ciders on this week's list are available in packaged/portable form.