Drink This Now: Hopped Scrumpy, by Bantam Cider Company

The weekend is so close, you can almost taste it. In this series, we highlight a must-drink beer, cocktail, glass of wine, boozy milkshake, etc. that you should put on your radar this weekend.

Hopped Scrumpy will be on draft at Bantam Cider Company taproom this weekend. / Photo by Suzi Wood

Sweet Scrumpy has been a juicy addition to Bantam Cider Company’s lineup of ciders for a while now, and it’s a crowd-pleaser, says cofounder Dana Masterpolo. So, the cidermakers decided to experiment with the unfiltered base, and the result—Hopped Scrumpy—hits draft lines at its Somerville taproom this weekend.

The addition of Amarillo and Mosaic hops during the last couple weeks of fermentation give the cider more structure and brightness, Masterpolo says.

“It’s a really nice contrast,” she says. “The Sweet Scrumpy has some sweetness to it, but ‘juicy’ is the quality to sticks in my mind. It’s really familiar: It tastes like farm stand cider. Adding the hops retains that, but gives it a different finish.”

The scrumpy is a classic, English style of cider. “It tends to be less refined, cloudy, and a younger cider, meaning it’s fresh out of the fermentors and served up,” Masterpolo explains. 

Bantam’s interpretation of a scrumpy will also be available this weekend, so guests can try the original side-by-side with the hopped version. Like the Sweet Scrumpy, the Hopped will be offered as part of a flight, by the pint, and in 32-ounce growler fills. But there’s not too much to go around.

“We don’t expect it being around more than a week or so,” Masterpolo says. “People tend to go crazy about growler fills when they know it won’t last a while.”

If you head to the taproom this weekend, another must-try cider is Who’s Your Llama? The name comes from the barnyard nose and flavors of this dry offering. New England cider was wild fermented over black tea leaves to create the earthy offering, Masterpolo says.

If the wild fermenation or the hopped-up scrumpy sound tasty, make sure you plan a trip to Union Square this weekend. The tasting room gives cider fans a chance to try something out of the ordinary. “We may never see it again,” Masterpolo says.

Bantam Cider Company, Friday, 5-8p.m., Saturday, 1-8 p.m., Sunday, 12-6 p.m., 40 Merriam St., Somerville; 617-299-8600 or bantamcider.com.