Divoké Jablko Cidre Brut

Retirement is the perfect time to take up a new hobby. When Melanie and Jaromir retired, suddenly they had plenty of time for their trips to France. And, they also had an apple orchard full of apples. Hence, it came quite natural to them to start making cider from their own apples, and use cider making methods learned in France. I chatted to Melanie during this year’s Slavnost Cideru. She said that initially nobody really believed they would produce a drinkable cider. But, the business started to grow, the demand was rising. All of a sudden, they had to ask their neighbours for extra apples. Melanie is very positive and has a contagious smile that can’t help but spread to others. It’s not hard to tell that she is extremely enthusiastic inside and outside about her new hobby.Company: Moštárna Újezd – Melanie Čadová
Place of Origin: Chanovice, Klatovy District in the Plzeň Region, The Czech Republic
Apples: apples from their own and neighboring orchards
Sweetness as per label: brut
ABV: 7.5%
Package type: 500ml brown glass with crown cap
Recommended type of glass: pint glass

Appearance: pours a lightly hazy pale amber with a quickly dissipating white head. Medium carbonated. Body is medium.

Aroma/Nose: the nose is very rich with wild notes of barnyard, leather and beeswax. The aroma has also hints of red fermenting apples, sweet and floral honey, but also some dryness to it and a vinegary touch. Hypnotizing!

Taste: It starts slightly watery with a low level of sweetness and moderate citrusy acidity with lovely notes of blood orange and lemon. The mid-palate is funky with barnyard, beeswax, floral honey and fermenting apples. It finishes dry with a light grapefruit bitterness and a lingering moderate astringency.

Overall: This is one of the best ciders of Slavnost Cideru I had. I wouldn’t say it tastes like a French cidre though. On the last day of Slavnost Cideru I kept visiting Melanie’s stand over and over again and purchasing interchangeably the Brut and their Demi-Sec (which is even better! I’ll review this cider another time). Divoké Jablko’s Brut is extremely quaffable and has a huge breadth of flavours, which complement each other. I could drink this one every day as it has high addictive potential. A must try for every cider lover. 5/6 

Availability: on tap (sometimes) and bottled in the InCider Bar in Prague. The bottled version available online and locally from Dobry Cider in Prague.

Price: purchased locally in Prague from Dobry Cider at 58 CZK (2.25 EUR), and subsequently countless times during Slavnost Cideru 2017 at 50 CZK (1.92 EUR) at Divoké Jablko’s stand.