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   After a recent long, boring freeway drive, I stopped at Econofoods in Sturgeon Bay for a few supplies. They always have some great beverage specials – sometimes on display as soon as you walk into the store.

   That was the case on this day, which happened to be the weekend before Thanksgiving. Many malty beverages were on display at good prices. After my long, dry drive, one item in particular caught my eye, and not a malty beverage – Cidre, an apple cider from Stella Artois, six packs on sale for several dollars less than the usual price. I happily grabbed a sixer.

   Cidre is made with “hand-picked apples.” It says so on the neck label. I wonder if it really matters if the apples were hand-picked or foot-picked or nose-picked, does the picking process mean anything at all to the end product? Or is this just a diversion to suggest that this is a simple artisan product and not mass-produced in a factory. I can’t think of any other reason why someone would be impressed by a hand-picked apple.

But I digress.

   I grab a few others things, including chili fixings because it’s that time, and stand in line for a cash register, when a young woman opens the cash register next door and looks directly at me to say, “I can take you.”
The sixer of Cidre is the first thing I set down before emptying my basket of foodstuff on the line.
  

   “How is this Cidre?” she asked as she ran it past the price reader.
“Good,” I said. “It’s not a dry cider. It’s the appliest of the ciders I’ve had.”
I can’t remember her response because it was at that point the long drive caught up with me and my mind entered a pillowy place that promised sleep very, very soon…just 14 miles until the end of the line.
Yup. I was right, and I hope the cashier tries it from my recommendation because this really is one happy appley cider.

   Too many ciders are so dry that you have to really stretch your imagination to identify the apple. Not with Cidre. This is apple unabashed. And I like apples. I like eating them, and I like drinking them. This reminds me of my favorite apple ale, made by New Glarus Brewing. I must remember to have the two together sometime in order to compare.
But let me mention a few things I love about Cidre. I find it both refreshing and enlightening. The Yin and Yang of flavors conspiring in my mouth make me smile at their beauty.