Love, Sweat, and Beers

I have a new product to share with you guys. Okay, okay… it’s a new adult beverage. Big surprise there, eh? I think some of you might really be interested in this one. Michelob ULTRA Light Cider is now available nationwide (excluding CO, UT, WY and OK), and I recently picked some up to try.

I’m very familiar with Michelob ULTRA Light, seeing how that was my drink of choice in college, and I’m not new to hard ciders either.

Though I like the taste of ciders, most of them are a bit too sweet for my liking. However, when I heard Michelob offered a less sweet, lower calorie alternative to traditional ciders, I knew I had to give it a shot. According to the company, this cider “is naturally sweetened and made from hand-picked apples,” and it’s also gluten-free. You can read more about it on the sponsor’s site here.

Regular readers know my reviewing style. I go by Beer Advocate’s recommended ASTMO technique.

 

• Appearance: nearly clear, not nearly as golden as other ciders
• Smell: almost no aroma
• Taste: not much taste so extremely light in flavor; obviously tastes like apples; this does not taste like beer, so do not expect this to resemble the flagship Michelob ULTRA product; not overly sweet
• Mouthfeel: light carbonation; lacks the syrup-like thickness of sweet ciders; has a dry feel that reminds me of English-style ciders; refreshing but almost too thin and watery
• Overall: I liked this beverage and found it to be quite refreshing; however, I certainly would not recommend it to most of my craft beer drinking buddies. I’m not sure that I would buy this again since it was a bit too light in flavor, but I can definitely see how it would go well by the pool or on a patio. Even though it’s not exactly my cup of tea, I did enjoy it and would certainly recommend it to calorie-conscious friends who aren’t necessarily big beer drinkers.

According to the company, “Michelob ULTRA Light Cider has 1/3 less calories than an average of the leading regular hard ciders, 120 cal./serving in light hard cider vs. 180 cal./serving in an average of the leading hard ciders.” It also has 4% ABV. Want to learn more? Check out the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider page on BlogHer.com.

• Which favorite summer meal or activity do you think would go best with Michelob ULTRA Cider?