Ryan F.
Yelp
Visited Stowe Cider on Sunday afternoon. They have a fun selection of ciders with unique flavors, which also managed to avoid being overly sweet. Its location makes it a busy place on the weekends, so be prepared for a potentially disorderly crowd.
Quality: During our visit to Stowe Cider, we tried all the ciders on the menu as well as one of the seltzers. This included High & Dry, Tips Up, Safety Meeting, Shandy, Strawberry Fields, Vermont Grown Raspberry Honey, Brainwaves Gummy Bears, Brainwaves Key Lime Pie, Raddle The Chains, Scarlet Sangria, Tea Party, and Citrus Ginger Seltzer. I was impressed by Stowe Cider's ability to get the essence of some of these unique and sweet flavors, but keep them dry or at least balanced. My highlights were Brainwaves Key Lime Pie, which nailed the pie taste, and Raddle The Chains, which pulled from grapefruit and beer. The only miss for me was Strawberry Fields, the mint simply overpowered the fruit flavor.
Quantity: Flights came with four 5oz pours, Full Pours ranged from 12oz to 16oz.
Value: $10 for a Flight. $6-$8 for Full Pours.
Ambiance: Stowe Cider is located close to the town center of Stowe, Vermont. The cidery is huge, with multiple outdoor areas and a massive indoor space as well. We sat in the front outdoor area, which was a gravel lot filled with picnic tables and Adirondack chairs. This was the first space to fill up and it became a bit chaotic in the early afternoon. It is also closest to the food truck, which was set up just outside the warehouse entrance. A second lesser known outdoor area can be found around the back. Inside they have a large wrap around bar, with some high-tops nearby. Then several private rooms, one which was set-up as an art gallery. There also seemed to be some tables in the warehouse, but they were encourage people to stay outside.
Crowd: We arrived right after they opened and there was already several groups drinking. By the time we left the line was about twenty people deep and every single outdoor table was filled. There were also a lot of people with dogs, many who were not very well-behaved, barking and lunging at other dogs and guests. It was not expected and clearly on the owners.
Service: The bartenders were excellent, but quickly overwhelmed by the crowd. On a holiday weekend, when a rush came, it took at least twenty minutes to get a drink.
Parking: Large parking lot shared between the cidery and neighboring restaurant.