Apple Adventures in Sebastopol: Ace in the Hole - $5 sampler of five hard ciders
Here's the sampler menu
ACE Apple
The driest of the four ACES, and the most similar to European ciders. (5%)
ACE Apple-Honey
A unique and smooth cider made from Sonoma wild flower honey, like a Meade. (5%)
ACE Perry
Our most popular ACE. A light refreshing pear flavor and natural vanilla from Madagascar
ACE Berry
Raspberry, Blackberry, and Strawberry juices make this our sweetest ACE.
ACE Joker
Strong, dry and Champagne like, reminiscent of European style. (7%)
While I've never been a fan of the bottled Ace, it was fun to sample all the ciders. The Apple-Honey was the cider I liked best that had a nice balance of honey and cider.
I liked the Joker next because it was more crisp. The berry was a pleasant light pink with a very faint berry taste. The pear was fine but like the original apple, for me a little dull.
Local Gravenstein and other apples are used for the ciders.
There's a menu of bar food with a few British dishes such as sausage rolls, fish & chips and a Ploughmans plate. It is mainly pizzas, bbq and salads. Outside next to the patio is a bbq area offering oysters burgers and honey-apple BBQ ribs. Place an order at the counter and someone brings it to the table.
However it is basically a bar with a pool table, two tv's playing sports and a small stage in front of a fire. It seems a little unkempt and is not the type of place I'd be attracted to even when I was in my 20's. As someone said on Yelp "Pretty divey, and not in the good way"
Still sitting on the patio sipping various ciders was pleasant and I'm glad I stopped. It is also nice to see someone do something with the local apples. Someone said it might be a winery soon. I hope not. It is nice to have something different and it's not like there's not enough wineries in Sonoma County.
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Ace In the Hole
3100 Gravenstein Hwy N, Sebastopol, CA 95472
