One of the best things about being female is that I generally don’t get teased for choosing to drink things that taste good, instead of just A: slamming cheap beer, or B: drinking something that seems manly. That’s not to say that I don’t appreciate a good beer or hard liquor beverage, but when it comes to relaxing around the house after a hard day at work, Hard Cider is my thing. I’ve always gone for Woodchuck because it’s easy to find, delicious, and cheap. And really, what more do you need in a beverage? But as I looked over the various choices that were at my local Harris Teeter, I decided to grab the two other options they had available – Strongbow and Magner’s, an English and an Irish offering respectively.
As I felt like a total lush for carting my 22 bottles of Hard Cider to the check out, I decided that perhaps this was a good opportunity to do a (more-or-less) objective test of the options. There are four Woodchuck offerings, because I got the variety pack, which is my typical purchase. I’ll likely devote a post to each once I get to drinking them, but for now, here are the hard facts. Descriptions provided are from the manufacturers.
Woodchuck:*
Amber:
The original Woodchuck. People liked it so much we made four more styles. The Amber is sweet (but not too sweet) with a nice golden color and crisp finish.
Alcohol Content: 5%
Price: $16.99 for 12, roughly $1.42 a bottle.
Size: 12 ounces
Granny Smith:
Made from only Granny Smith apples, this one’s a lot more tart and quite a bit tangier than your average Woodchuck. If you’re a green apple sort of person, this could be your Woodchuck.
Alcohol Content: 5%
Price: $16.99 for 12, roughly $1.42 a bottle.
Size: 12 ounces
802:
A drier Woodchuck. Its made with caramelized sugar to tone down the sweetness a bit and give it its bronze color. In case you’re wondering, 802 is our area code up here in Vermont. So if you’re planning on calling us up to say, “Dude, that 802 stuff like rocks!” just add 388-0700 to the name of your cider.
Alcohol Content: 5%
Price: $16.99 for 12, roughly $1.42 a bottle.
Size: 12 ounces
Spring:
Warm days and cold nights will make the sap flow in the woods, but keeping the cider flowing in your fridge is up to you. Start with our spring cider – the taste and aroma of fresh maple syrup and brown sugar will make you think you’re sitting in a warm sugarhouse in the Vermont countryside.
Alcohol Content: 5%
Price: $16.99 for 12, roughly $1.42 a bottle.
Size: 12 ounces
Magner’s:
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Price: $8.99 for 6, roughly $1.50 a bottle.
Size: 11.2 ounces
Strongbow:
Alcohol Content: 5%
Price: $9.99 for 4, roughly $2.50 a bottle.
Size: 15.9 ounces
*Woodchuck Prices Skewed Somewhat by the Variety Pack Purchase
Since we’ve recently moved right next to a Wegman’s, there are a few others that I’ve picked up as well, in the near future, there will be posts about Woodchuck’s Belgian White (I’ll spoil it now – this is one limited edition that you’re going to hate to part with), and a few of Hornsby’s offerings as well.
