Nine Pin Cider

I recently had the opportunity to sip and chat here with Rob S., the current Duke of Nine Pin in terms of check-​ins (yet strangely, his review has disappeared). My overall experience was very enjoyable, and I learned a few things from Rob. He had come in specifically to try one of their newer ciders, and he wasn’t overwhelmed. He also said the taste of specific ciders can vary from time to time because new batches. None of this deterred me, as it was my first time here, and I enjoyed the entire experience.
For this visit, I opted for the flight of 4 for $ 7. I got their signature cider, the Belgian, the Peach, and the Pear. Of these, the one which impressed me the least was Peach, but only because i felt the peach presence could have been stronger. The other 3 I would definitely buy. The my list of cider mills/​cideries is still small but growing; for the moment, Nine Pin has moved to the top of my list.

Nine Pin is one of my favorite ciders. Their signature ciders are wonderful, and the experimental limited runs are always exciting. I love how they are so passionate about the local community.

Nine Pin is one of those not-​so-​hidden gems I love bringing people from out of town to. Or even in-​town people that aren’t aware of some of the amazing spots we have in Albany.
Schedule a tour, show up for a tasting, go to one of their special events — it’s all fun. It’s also a great date idea — stop by here for a tasting before a meal downtown and you will
The best part about this cider is that there full menu is never the same twice. Nine Pin is constantly experimenting with new blends that a very creative group of people come up with. If you can add it into any step of the cider fermentation process — they’re going to. And come up with some delicious results.
Head to their Facebook page or website to find out about their most recent events. And if you’re still planning on waiting to go here and find out how awesome this place is, I’m fine with that. More room for me at the bar.

I actually have loved every cider I have had from Nine Pin. It is a great little place to go on the weekends located in the «warehouse» district of Albany. The tasting room is quite small but it also adds character to it and makes it a great quick spot to enjoy a cider… or 2… or more! They are active on social media so I am constantly checking their Facebook page because they do offer some great events. I love that they are growing as a cidery because of the MANY ciders I have had in my time, Nine Pin’s original is in my top 3 favorite of all time. If you are in the Albany area, I highly encourage you stop in and Nine Pin for a drink and tour… it won’t disappoint… or drain your wallet!

It’s OK I guess. To be honest I think Angry Orchard has a much better, more tart, more apple, better tasting product all together. Some people may gravitate towards Nine Pin’s more gentle less tart taste but when I think of apple I want to taste tart and sour. One other point their product is expensive by comparison to others. I am all for supporting local and will pay a premium to do that but their price is considerably more than other brands.

Great hard cider, sold on draft or by the bottle at the cidery. Love the Ginger and the Belgian varieties and they do a great job of always having something new to try. The tasting area is pretty basic — just a few tables, but they do get food trucks in the evening in the summer if you want to grab a bite to eat and enjoy a cider outside with friends.

I can’t say enough good things about Nine Pin. Cute little space, very great service and every single cider we tried was outstanding. We ended up buying 3 or 4 bottles of cider to bring home to make sure we tried everything they had available at the time. If you visit one brewery/​cidery in Albany, make it this one.

Love this place! Visited this past weekend and got a tour of the place from Allejandro. First off, I learned more than I ever would about how cider is made. The tour was of their entire location, every nook and cranny and discussed not only how cider is made but the business side. The cider itself was awesome with a number of flavor available from their crisp white wine like «Signature» cider to their Ginger and Hibiscus infused ciders to their Bourbon Barrel cider (fermented in a barrel previously used to hold Bourbon). I highly recommend the flights of 4 or 7 different ciders to check out the taste and find your favorite. They also have a small tasting room which had about 20 folks cozily packed in when we arrived on Saturday at 2p. Make an oppointment for the tour in advance and make sure you buy some cider to go.

Nine Pin is a cider lover’s paradise. The cider here is very good, and with seven different kinds on tap there’s a flavor for everyone. The problem, however, is that although the cider is delicious there’s not a whole lot else going on.
The tasting room is much smaller than I expected. There are a handful of high-​top tables to sit at, a cooler full of bottles and four packs available for purchase, and a bar at which to order your drinks. The tables are pretty small; we sat three people at a table comfortably but a group larger than that would have to split up. Bottles aren’t any cheaper here than at the grocery store, but we didn’t come for bottles, we came to sample cider! Tasting options include flights of four or seven. Having had the signature and Belgian ciders in the past, I went with a flight of four consisting of the fruit of the forest, ginger, yarrose, and peach ciders. Fruit of the forest (a citrusy cider fermented with sour cherries) was easily my favorite, but I wouldn’t turn down a pint of any of them. I really wish there were some substantial food options to go with the drinks, but the snack list is limited to a cheese plate and some crackers.
There were a couple tables and a game of corn-​hole set up outdoors, so this is definitely a fun spot to grab a drink and hang out before going to the next place. But, until they develop a food menu or provide some sort of entertainment it’s not really a place you can make a night out of.

Cute little tasting room. Love that there’s a food truck that shows up. Friendly service. Try the ginger cider!

It just makes sense to have a cidery in Albany. We’re surrounded by apple orchards, and we can’t eat all those apples. So let’s crush and ferment them to transform nature’s bounty into an effervescent and refreshing beverage with a kick.
What’s fascinating about hard cider is all of the directions in which it can go. There are stylistic preferences from all around the world. Frankly, I’m partial to the deeply funky farmhouse ciders from France. But the zippy Germanic style ciders are a new found favorite.
Nine Pin goes a different direction, and produces ciders in a wide variety of flavors. Some of these are better than others. And some flavors just require the right accompaniments to make them sing.
For example, the Belgian cider is fantastic with malpeque oysters. But my favorite is the ginger. It’s intense. But that deep warm glow from the ginger really makes it more of a fall or winter kind of cider.
The raspberry was my favorite for summer, but now that’s gone. Tonight I tried the peach, and it’s quite good.
Not all the fruit flavors are created equal. I haven’t found the blueberry to deliver the same full fruit experience as the others. But I have to give Nine Pin credit for trying and being a bit experimental. I never would have thought a Yerba Mate cider would be good, but the herbaceousness of it played nicely off the fruity apples.
Probably the best thing to do as a neophyte is to get down here and try a sampling of all seven that are offered on tap, to form your own opinions. And then you can drink what you like. Becuase most likely there will be something in their line you enjoy. It’s just a matter of finding it.

Love this place. Talk to the boys a sour what’s up and good. Hope the food truck is out front. Awesome

Yummy cider. My husband and I got two flights so we could try all the flavors that day. The flavors are spot-​on with the way they are brewed. Except I didn’t get much blueberry flavor from my blueberry cider. Super laid-​back owner and atmosphere. He explained each of the flavors to us. There was a food truck outside (Yanni’s Too), so we took our flights outside and grabbed some food. It was a really relaxing time. Looking forward to going back when other trucks are there.

I feel slightly guilty about awarding only 3 stars here — but not guilty enough to not do it. «OK» is pretty spot-​on. Which is a shame: the products are unique and there’s potential, but the sitting area is very bare-​bones, not especially comfortable, and the staff — which have to be the core of an operation like this — were pretty uninterested and withdrawn, more interested in chatting among themselves and playing phone games. That probably sounds slightly harsher than the reality, but there’s certainly no chance that we’d return.
The ciders themselves are just fine, including a nonalcoholic version; mushroom cider really — and unexpectedly — impressed me, and I am a fan of the ginger; only the Dry came close to being rejected. So I suppose that they do what it says on the label: offer decent ciders. But that’s nothing I could not do for myself at home, in truth. I’d give them 4 – 5 stars as a cider-​maker; but as a bar, 3 at most.

Nine Pin is my type of bar: small, not loud and contains quality drinks.
Now, this isn’t really the type of place to bring a group of ten people, but is perfect for groups of 4 – 6.
All the ciders are distinct from each other, and they even offer a flight to try a bit of everything.

After trying the original cider in a local pub, I was very excited to make the trek over to the brewery and give the rest a try. It’s a small place, with maybe 15 seats inside and cute apple-​themed art and décor throughout.
Though the weather was beautiful, we sat inside so we could review the descriptions of the ciders we were trying (maybe they could make little laminated cards with that information on it?). The tasting platter came with small pours of all seven ciders, and was reasonably priced.
All of the ciders were good, though obviously everyone has their own favorite. We were very impressed with the blueberry cider, which lacked the expected cloyingly-​sweet flavor in exchange for a fresh, clean taste. The Belgian was the overall favorite, the only cider they make that uses a different kind of yeast than the rest.
They have bottles available for sale, and will fill growlers for a reasonable price, plus you can get some Nine Pin gear (t-​shirts, sweaters, etc.) while you’re at it.

I have been back to Nine Pin several times since I wrote my review, and I felt obliged to point out that they now do offer a wide variety of flavors aside from original, ginger, and Belgian. It seems to change quite often now, which makes it fun to go back for tastings. I have had Broadway Rose, yarrow, wild pear, vanilla molasses, raspberry, blueberry, and more. Love it here!

What a perfect place to visit after eating 30+ varieties of macaroni and cheese at the Mac-​n-​Cheese Bowl. I’m glad someone in my group thought of it. Stuffed to the gills with dairy and smoked meats, I was really craving something crisp to wash all those tastes out.
I was a tad worried the tasting room wasn’t open when we arrived. It certainly didn’t look open. Hell, it hardly looked like a tasting room! From outside, it looked like a warehouse office with almost no windows. But once you open the door, it’s a small, homey space with pub height tables and probably three too few seats. I ordered a flight of four, and so did my wife, and by the time Mr. Bartender finished them, I think he mixed up what I ordered, or I forgot what I ordered, so forgive me if I’m a little vague on what I actually tasted.
The ginger stood out, that’s for sure. It was really spicy, so it encourages tiny sips. The vanilla bourbon was a stand out in a bad way. I could taste the alcohol more than the vanilla. The other two, I THINK, were Dry Hop and Signature, although I ordered Dry Hop and Belgian. Signature was their standard cider. Pretty sweet, a little too much for me. But my favorite of all was the Dry Hop, a less sweet version of the Signature.
The bottles are a touch overpriced here if you’ve seen them elsewhere. But it’s a fun, unique place. I’ll probably be back here next time friends are in from out of town.

Delicious cider. Friendly staff. Cute and contemporary tasting room. There’s nothing to dislike about this place at all. I’m relieved they take cards and I appreciate their partnership with Slidin Dirty on Thursday evenings.

This is a beautifully decorated, simple yet classy little establishment. The only downside is that the bar is located in a way that the minute four people are sitting there, you have a hard time getting the bartender. There is seating all along the wall as well.
There was no food and I didn’t ask if you could bring any in.
You get 4 samples for 7 dollars… which is kinda pricey but oh so very delicious. All of the sames I got were great, my favorite was the blueberry, and I even liked the ginger which I didn’t expect too. It’s a great addition to the area.
The bartender was very polite, helpful and informative.
This is a must visit when doing an Albany tour of our local drink establishments. Also bring your growler to fill!