I make hard cider. I make wine, beer and I even ferment tea. So what?
The only thing hard about making hard cider is getting good heirloom apples to mix in for good flavors. But making truly great tasting hard cider is another story, and no simple matter.
Virtue's Red Streak is the best tasting cider I ever had. Light, thin, not terribly sweet, but bursting with flavor, and no off notes, none, anywhere. It's like drinking one of Scotty Anderson's perfectly executed, epic guitar pieces... (okay, what the hell am I talking about? Look here if you haven't heard him burn down a place: http://youtu.be/IRJbg1XyEbo )
Virtue's Red Streak is thin and a bit tangy like a Belgian sour, but not at all sour. You'll taste apple, and other hints from fruit orchards but without the sweetness of a juice box left on a school bus after some kids lunch pale was popped open by the 5th grade class funny guy.
And for the life of me, I'm not sure how Virtue does it. It doesn't look absolutely clear, like big commercial hard cider (soda-wine cooler style) producers out there, who shall remain unnamed, in the great beer loving state of Vermont. So it seems naturally fermented, rather than dosed with flavorings.
As I understand it, Gregg Hall is the guy behind the curtain, handing out like The Great Oz at Virtue in Michigan, which apparently he is juggling well along with his outstanding work at 5 Rabbits brewing on Chicago's South Side. I've made maybe one batch that's some 85% as good as this stuff, so I'm seriously considering taking Gregg's course at the storied Siebel Institute, just to learn how the trick is done. I'm sure there is a pun there about a magician revealing how he pulls 5 rabbits out of a hat, but I'm not going to reach for it.
If you don't try this cider, shame on me for not hyping it enough; so get off your dead ass and get you to someplace carrying it, such as Small Bar on Division where I got it, or Local Option, which announced it's tap by Tweetz.
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