Hawke’s Bay, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, may have a prominent wine industry but here we try this Hawke’s Bay Brewing Co Kingston Perry that’s made using a variety of culinary pears.
The cider is a translucent pale straw colour with a robust alcoholic nose absent of pear notes and a strong carbonation. Served chilled, the dryness of the cider is prominent from the head of the first sip before fragrant pear notes came through in the body ahead of sharper acidic notes. The cider finishes with an astringency whose bitterness is amplified by its high levels of carbonation and leaves a very dry yet floral pear aftertaste.
This is easily the driest pear cider we’ve tried by a long shot. Its dryness is comparable to beer – we prefer ciders light and sweet, so we would not return for this.
This Hawke’s Bay Brewing Co Kingston Perry contained 330 ml. It was bottled in New Zealand and gifted by family visiting Auckland, New Zealand in 2017.