On a corner of Main Street opposite Pecan Lodge in Deep Ellum, Trinity Cider was opened in the fall by four guys and one girl. One of the founders hails from the Northwest, where cider is legion, and often comes in drier and more tart than some of the apple-y elixirs that have so far characterized the cider scene at trailblazing spots like Bishop Cider Co.
Beautiful—and expensive—fermentation tanks line the wall behind the long bar. Cider is fermented like wine more than beer, with yeast playing the major role. Head brewer Josh Price worked at a handful of wineries in Napa before joining the team. His creations rely on champagne yeast to eat through natural sugars, resulting in ciders that are bone dry, with sugar levels almost at zero.
If you’re used to cider that tastes fruity, floral, or lush from apples, you may be surprised. The line-up at Trinity is far more like champagne than it is fruit-forward—with a crisp, sparkling finish and pleasant yeasty aroma.
You can get flights of 4 ($10) or 6 ($15), or spring for a full $6 pour. In a flight I had recently, the Deep Ellum Dry was tart and light; the cucumber-habanero refreshing; a rosé so close to a sparkling wine rosé it was almost uncanny. A prickly pear cactus-infused brew was marginally sweeter, with a small amount of residual sugar from the fruit. Perhaps the best was the hopped grapefruit (think zest-infused beer), which Price is rotating in this week. Bone dry, with a wonderful aromatic hit of ruby citrus, it’s one I’d seek it out before they run out and move on to the next seasonal flavor. Meanwhile, a margarita machine churns a frozen cider slurry, in this case based on peach.
And then the party bus shows up, and it’s a dozen giddy women pounding the counter to make a shot of sake fall from balancing chopsticks into the tall glass of cider in front of them. And then it’s over and you’re back to the prickly-pear. Just Saturday night in Deep Ellum.
