Big Beef Beer Review
By Greg

It's still October, it's still cider time!

When Tim suggested cider for the month of October, I must admit I wasn't immediately keen on the idea. After all, cider really isn't beer. I had it in my mind to do Octoberfest type beers. I even drank a few Hofbrau Haus Oktoberfiestbiers, and planned to review those.

Under protest, we published Tim's reviews. As I read them, nostalgia overtook me. I too remember drinking hard cider at Grandma's, peeling apples for her pies, and giggling with my sisters around the kitchen table on crisp October afternoons. I was especially reminded how exicted I used to get about cider (hard or otherwise). No offense to my friends in Germany, but keep your Oktoberfiest (and learn to spell). I'll take hard cider in October over any Hofbrau!

In our cider review series, I tackle another Vermont cider -- Hock's Cider. The brief bio of Fred Hock, found on the side of the bottle, will tell you much about this cider's character:

Fred Hock died during prohibition. He was a gentle man. He was a kind man. Fred Hock was... oh, who are we kidding. Fred hock was a mean old bastard who drank a lot of hard cider. End of story.

Look at that face. He reminds me of that neighbor whose house I egged, whose trees I tee-peed, and whose windows I soaped every October as Halloween approached. He could have called the police, but he never did. He knew it was me. Perhaps he, like Fred Hock, was eternally sour-faced because life interfered with his cider drinking.

This cider tasted, as I expected, a lot like that hard cider I drank as a kid. It isn't nearly as sweet though. This is extra dry as labeled. It reminds me of non-alcoholic champagne they let kids drink on New Year's Eve. The same stuff that guy with the hot wife and the flat stomach drinks. This year I'll keep a bottle of Hock's around to switch with his NA champagne. We'll see if he keeps all of his resolutions this year (insert evil laugh here). So much for gentle, sweet nostalgia.

Hock's Cider is a great October treat. At 5% alcohol by volume, one could get real nostalgic real fast. I plan to make cider an October tradition. Next weekend Tim is having a cider tasting (slamming) party. He should include Hock's Cider. I reccomend this cider for all your October festivities.

Ranking:  out of 5 BB&B's.
(October Only! 3 BB &B's the rest of the year.)

Price: Paid $4.59 for a six-pack

Availability:  Widely available.

URL:  None Found

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