A Mommy Story

I have a little secret that many don’t know about me: I don’t like beer. I know, I know, beer is the standard drink for many, the gateway drink when you’re in college (ahem…you were over 21, right?), and so on. But even in college I’d take a glass of wine over a beer any day, leading to my reputation as an alcohol snob.

Please. I’m far from a snob. It doesn’t even have to be expensive wine. I’d take a good cheap wine over the most prized micro-brew anytime.

It wasn’t until I spent a summer in Britain in 1996 that I was introduced to cider. Our local pub guy offered it to me one day when I confessed I didn’t like beer, and at first I thought he was making fun of me by offering me apple juice. Once I realized it was hard cider – as in, alcoholic apple juice (well, sorta) – I agreed to give it a try. At that point, I was hooked – it was sweeter than beer and didn’t have the hops taste that I didn’t like.

So what is hard cider, you ask? It’s brewed just like beer and goes through much of the same process, but uses apples instead of barley and hops and is naturally gluten-free. It’s been around nearly as long as beer, and has been popular in other parts of the world for quite some time. It’s carbonated like beer, and has roughly the same alcohol content as beer.

Hard cider has remained in my stable of go-to drinks over the years, especially in the summer when I want a crisp, cold drink. It was harder to find 10 years ago, but thankfully cider is growing in popularity and can be found in nearly any grocery store now. I must admit, holding a bottle of cider is much easier at a cookout than trying to hold a glass of wine, and no one will call you a pretentious snob as they all drink their beer. (But I still love me some wine, too…just not at cookouts or outdoor events.)

I recently was offered the chance to try the new Michelob ULTRA Light Cider, and wondered if they had been reading my mind. This cider is naturally sweetened and 1/3 less calories than the average cider. A lower calorie cider? I’m the center of the bulls-eye for that target audience.

I bought my six pack of 12-ounce bottles before Memorial Day weekend and, ummm, they’re already gone. Whoops. Guess that means I like them, eh? To be fair, Aaron had one. But that’s all I let him have.

The Michelob ULTRA Light Cider performs well up against the other ciders I’ve tasted. The flavor is light and crisp – not as sweet as some other hard ciders and not as full-bodied and heavy as the winter ciders I’ve tasted. It’s more of a granny smith apple flavor: a bit of a tart bite at first with a lightly sweet aftertaste, with no hint of bitterness. Like many alcoholic drinks, it tastes best when very cold, but the flavor still holds even as it warms up.

What I like most is that each 12-ounce bottle is only 120 calories, as compared to the 180 calories (on average) of a standard hard cider. You may not think much of 60 calories, but to me that 60 calories means a small dessert in addition to my drink – I don’t have to choose one or the other. This doesn’t taste like a low-cal alcohol, either. The flavor is light, but still comparable to other hard ciders I’ve tried.

Overall? I’m a big fan. I like having a lower calorie hard cider for summer parties and I’m thrilled that a low-cal hard cider can taste just as good as my old favorites.

For more information on Michelob ULTRA Light Cider, you can visit the Sponsor’s site to see which stores are selling it in your area. It was just released in early May, so it’s slowly getting out to stores in most parts of the US. Also, don’t just take my word for it – check out the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider page on BlogHer.com for more reviews.

Now tell me: Which favorite summer meal or activity do you think would go best with Michelob ULTRA Light Cider?