Zupan’s Markets has been very smart in choosing brewing partners for its Farm To Market series of collaboration beers, and the latest double release I received—beer and cider this time—continues the trend. Breakside Brewery and Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider were the collaboration partners this time around, here’s the blurb from the release about the two:

Zupan’s Markets has partnered with Portland’s Breakside Brewery and Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider to develop the tenth beer and first cider in their Farm-to-Market lineup. The beer, a lightly hazy IPA features Chinook, Mosaic, Citra and Wakatu hops with notes of tropical fruit. The cider is dry-style, medium-bodied and crafted with a blend of Pacific Northwest apples.

Let’s dive in to my review notes on each.

Zupan’s/Breakside Farm To Market IPA

Here are the release notes:

Farm to Market Beer Profile: ABV 6%, IBU 52
Malts: German Pilsner, Vienna, Munich, Acidulated malts
Hops: Chinook, Mosaic, Citra, and Wakatu.
Tasting Notes: A persistently citrusy IPA, complex with tangible tropical fruit and brimming with aromas of lime zest and pine.

Appearance: Hazy orange-apricot color, kind of a pulpy fruit juice look. Off white head, fine-bubbled and lacy with a bit of fish eye bubbles.

Smell: Bright tropical citrus fruit, sweaty, citrus zest, a touch of hop resin (piney). Stone fruit, berries, grapefruit peel. Given that there is Mosaic in the mix, I don’t really get any of the usual green onion that I do from that family.

Taste: Herbal hop bitterness that’s up front and gentle, a touch of garlic greens (there they are). Soft and fluffy malts with a touch of arugula, mustard greens. Citrus pith reinforces a bit of savory bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a soft, almost creamy feel. Finishes with an herbal note at the back.

Overall: Yet another really good Breakside IPA, with terrific soft malts and quite a nice fruit presence.

Zupan’s/Reverend Nat’s Farm To Market Cider

The release notes say:

Farm to Market Cider Profile: ABV 6.5%
Tasting Notes: Fermented to crisply dry perfection, with light cloudiness to impart a softness of texture and body. Versatile enough to use in the kitchen, in a cocktail or simply enjoyed.

Appearance: Hazy/unfiltered raw juice/cider appearance, I’d say rustic. A bit fizzy in carbonation, rather minimal but it maintains throughout.

Smell: Very apple-y and I swear a (holiday-suggested?) spice note. Applesauce! Quite natural “apple” in the aromatics. Apple skin.

Taste: Nice natural apple flavor with a tannic streak on the tongue mid-palate. It goes from semi-dry to semi-sweet, with a touch of apple skin tartness, and overall just a really good apple flavor.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, somewhat still in carbonation, with a nice apple juice aftertaste.

Overall: One of the purest expressions of the fruit I’ve had in a cider in recent memory and one I could definitely drink more of.