AN APPLE A DAY…
No longer just the tipple of teenagers, tramps and rural bumpkins, cider is cultivating a more sophisticated image with a vast array of individual styles…
Traditionally favoured by ruddy-faced farming types who lurked in the tap rooms of country pubs, always kept a box of Rennie to hand and added chopped lemon/onion to their tipple to “neutralise the acids,” cider has undergone an heroic transformation in recent years. Just as the rough scrumpy that paid harvesters wages made way for large plastic bottles of apple-light corn syrup, the bottles of white loony-juice and neutral pasteurised fizz are being superseded by distinguished, flavoursome drinks that aren’t just for summer.
Aficionados claim that real cider is the flat, cloudy brew pulled from a polypin in the sort of pubs that open their back doors at 7.30am – and whilst many of these are indeed worth swilling, their inconsistency, unavailability and (generally) unregulated preparation puts them out of reach of the casual drinker. Similarly, the draught cider market is pretty much tied up by just two manufacturers, which has resulted in market driven uniformity. Excise duty is not dependent on cider’s alcoholic strength and so the makers have flooded the pubs and corner shops with strong, pale pints in an effort to woo lager drinkers. However, the bottled ciders now found on pub (and increasingly, supermarket) shelves have reinvigorated the industry, with a broad sweep of quality drinks that encompass every branch of cider making.
- Henry Westons Special Vintage Reserve
– weighing in at 8.2% ABV, it’s a bruiser of a beverage, but don’t let that or the dull, muted nose put you off. The champagne-coloured drink is explosively flavourful, with a deep, hefty aftertaste. About as close as cider gets to being an acquired taste, but all the better for it. - Sheppy’s Kingston Black
– the Kingston Black is a rare and highly prized apple that garners just about the best cider that your Friday night folding can buy. The company have been pressing for two hundred years in the Cider County of Somerset and this clean, fruity, effervescent drink consistently excels in industry taste-offs. - Duché de Longueville Cidre de Recoltant
– the French (like the Spanish and, contrary to popular belief, the Americans) produce fine cider, as illustrated by this dark, sweet brew. More syrupy and appley than most of its British counterparts, it could be ordered in place of a desert wine by those that like to quaff, rather than sip. - Thatcher’s Spartan
– Thatcher’s produce a clutch of single varietals and this is the cleanest, sharpest and lightest of the lot. The fresh, crisp appley taste suits those turned off by the taste of Woodpecker in their teenage years, and it makes for a good lunchtime drink (5.2% ABV). - Aspall Organic Suffolk Cyder
ndash; “organic” to give a name to it, is what traditional cider making was all about before the unscrupulous corporations began using chemically bastardised apple concentrate. This bright, bubbly brew has a layered aftertaste and is the result of eight generations of brewing expertise.
END
View as PDF (400kb)
