Can I buy 'real' Cider in a supermarket? I'm confused!
Discussion
Cider is confusing me slightly... 
I thought it was all made using apples and wooden vats somewhere is Sussex... But apparently most of it is made out of horrible concentrated syrup and E numbers in large metal tanks...
I got into drinking cider instead of beer/lager about 2 years ago (I also enjoy various spirits, usually Vodka, and nice white wine) but the problem is that I really enjoy a draft cider in a pub, that has usually been produced by some small local brewer using local apples and some wooden fermenting vats, and then hasn't been carbonated much at all... But when I buy something from the supermarket that I perceive to be 'decent' like Magners or Westons, it really doesn't taste anything like the cider in the pub, and always tastes slightly like the metal vat it probably came out of.
I even did bought some of that Stella-Artois 'Cidre' recently, as I thought it might be a bit more 'premium'.. yet it still doesn't taste right at all.
So I did a bit of googling today and it turns out that I have been royally conned by marketing over the last year or so. Magners, Westons, Bulmers and the like have made me believe that they collected apples from an orchard and lovingly pressed and fermented them in a small barn somewhere... but surprise surprise, none of this really happens. Apparently syrup that once resembled 5% of an apple about 5 years ago, is chemically processed into something you drink and shoved into a can or bottle. horrible.
A friend lives near the historic Merrydown brewery in East Sussex, and I used to enjoy a pint of their delicious draft offerings in the pubs round that way.. but I learnt that in the last couple of years, they too have stopped making cider the traditional way and have 'gone commercial' on my ass and started knocking out mass produced syrup based rubbish!
There is even a list published by various websites of drinks that are firmly classed as 'not cider':
Aspall
Brothers
Bulmers
Diamond White
Dry Blackthorn
Gaymer’s
Jacques
K Cider
Kopparberg
Magners
Merrydown
Samuel Smith’s
Saxon
Scrumpy Jack
St Helier
Stowford Press
Strongbow
Thatchers Gold
Woodpecker
Now, a few on there are quite obvious such as Diamond White, Dry Blackthorn, Strongbow etc, but the rest quite shocked me... Thatchers and Aspall not real cider??
So, all this explains why I really enjoy my pint in the country pub, but find anything from the shop quite a let down.
Can anyone therefore recommend some decent ciders that I might find in a supermarket, off licence or even to buy of the internet please?
Cheers!
I thought it was all made using apples and wooden vats somewhere is Sussex... But apparently most of it is made out of horrible concentrated syrup and E numbers in large metal tanks...
I got into drinking cider instead of beer/lager about 2 years ago (I also enjoy various spirits, usually Vodka, and nice white wine) but the problem is that I really enjoy a draft cider in a pub, that has usually been produced by some small local brewer using local apples and some wooden fermenting vats, and then hasn't been carbonated much at all... But when I buy something from the supermarket that I perceive to be 'decent' like Magners or Westons, it really doesn't taste anything like the cider in the pub, and always tastes slightly like the metal vat it probably came out of.
I even did bought some of that Stella-Artois 'Cidre' recently, as I thought it might be a bit more 'premium'.. yet it still doesn't taste right at all.
So I did a bit of googling today and it turns out that I have been royally conned by marketing over the last year or so. Magners, Westons, Bulmers and the like have made me believe that they collected apples from an orchard and lovingly pressed and fermented them in a small barn somewhere... but surprise surprise, none of this really happens. Apparently syrup that once resembled 5% of an apple about 5 years ago, is chemically processed into something you drink and shoved into a can or bottle. horrible.
A friend lives near the historic Merrydown brewery in East Sussex, and I used to enjoy a pint of their delicious draft offerings in the pubs round that way.. but I learnt that in the last couple of years, they too have stopped making cider the traditional way and have 'gone commercial' on my ass and started knocking out mass produced syrup based rubbish!
There is even a list published by various websites of drinks that are firmly classed as 'not cider':
Aspall
Brothers
Bulmers
Diamond White
Dry Blackthorn
Gaymer’s
Jacques
K Cider
Kopparberg
Magners
Merrydown
Samuel Smith’s
Saxon
Scrumpy Jack
St Helier
Stowford Press
Strongbow
Thatchers Gold
Woodpecker
Now, a few on there are quite obvious such as Diamond White, Dry Blackthorn, Strongbow etc, but the rest quite shocked me... Thatchers and Aspall not real cider??
So, all this explains why I really enjoy my pint in the country pub, but find anything from the shop quite a let down.
Can anyone therefore recommend some decent ciders that I might find in a supermarket, off licence or even to buy of the internet please?
Cheers!
I actually buy the £1.35 for 2 litres stuff in the big plastic bottles. That's 25 pints for £10 which sounds like very good value to me. Who cares what it tastes like, it's a bargain and you will be the talk of the town with the 14 years at the bus stop .. you may even get to become a dad again 
If I want a nice taste I go for brandy or red wine, cider is just for getting you off your head for the smallest cost possible in my books.
Not that I do that of course.
Andy
If I want a nice taste I go for brandy or red wine, cider is just for getting you off your head for the smallest cost possible in my books.
Not that I do that of course.
Andy
Having been to the westons brewery I can confirm you have been slightly mislead.
This syrup you speak of, is infact the core brew, from which different ciders are made. all bottleing and kegging is done on site so the westons organic in the bottle is the same as the stuff on tap.
If you want wooden casks, then they still use them for vintage cider.
Granted, they do use this mix to make cider for other people ie m&s or main supermarkets, but the mix is altered slightly to make the right mix.
all available from sainsburys.
This syrup you speak of, is infact the core brew, from which different ciders are made. all bottleing and kegging is done on site so the westons organic in the bottle is the same as the stuff on tap.
If you want wooden casks, then they still use them for vintage cider.
Granted, they do use this mix to make cider for other people ie m&s or main supermarkets, but the mix is altered slightly to make the right mix.
all available from sainsburys.
Hmmm... sounds like a case of cider snobbery to me. Gnarly old chaps with beards and ruddy noses will tell you that this is what "real" cider looks like:
Personally I work on the basis that if it tastes good then that's all you need to worry about. I had some nice Thatchers special edition from Sainsburys, and Stowford Press is nice. No doubt it shows me to be a horrible heathen, but I like drinking cider from those pint glasses with a little pattern etched in the bottom that keep the bubbles coming. Each to their own I guess.
Personally I work on the basis that if it tastes good then that's all you need to worry about. I had some nice Thatchers special edition from Sainsburys, and Stowford Press is nice. No doubt it shows me to be a horrible heathen, but I like drinking cider from those pint glasses with a little pattern etched in the bottom that keep the bubbles coming. Each to their own I guess.
I suspect there may be a lot of people out there that appreciate a quality draft cider brewed in a traditional fashion... along the same lines as people appreciate a real ale rather than something cheap and nasty out of a can
As I mentioned in my post, I also enjoy spirits and white wines, and I'm really quite fussy about what I drink with regards to those, so I want to take my cider seriously as well!
As I mentioned in my post, I also enjoy spirits and white wines, and I'm really quite fussy about what I drink with regards to those, so I want to take my cider seriously as well!
miniman said:
Hmmm... sounds like a case of cider snobbery to me. Gnarly old chaps with beards and ruddy noses will tell you that this is what "real" cider looks like:
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a beardy old CAMRA member, I'm a 30 year old bloke that just found out he enjoys a pint of traditional cider! 
Perhaps there is some scaremongering going on with regards to drinks not being 'real ciders'?
Can get proper cider off here: http://www.thatcherscider.co.uk/the-cider.ashx
I do enjoy Aspall's, whatever CAMRA says. Nice and light but not artificially fizzy. I'm not too keen on Stowford Press though. Henney's is good (very much richer and darker than Aspall) and I've had some nice Herefordshire cider from the Co-op - and at about 3 quid for a 750ml bottle it's good value too.
Wrongbow, Stella, Bulmer's etc - not fit to be drunk!
Wrongbow, Stella, Bulmer's etc - not fit to be drunk!
i know it probably will still not be in the same as wood casts brewed with apple juice, but henry westons vintage (7.2%) is pretty damn good.
or you could google for some proper cider makers around your way, i know there are a few places around kent that do it in the original way, its still, and tastes top notch, some of it is even 11.5% and a few pints of that and your on your ass drunk.
dont know where your from but a few country pubs round here do different ciders every time they run out, sort of on a rotation so one week will be one place, the next a second type of cider and so on and so on, but they will always return to the same few after a while.
you should try a few country pubs out in the middle of no were and see if they do proper cider, and if they do, then ask what the name of the place they get it from is called, and then google it.
or you could google for some proper cider makers around your way, i know there are a few places around kent that do it in the original way, its still, and tastes top notch, some of it is even 11.5% and a few pints of that and your on your ass drunk.
dont know where your from but a few country pubs round here do different ciders every time they run out, sort of on a rotation so one week will be one place, the next a second type of cider and so on and so on, but they will always return to the same few after a while.
you should try a few country pubs out in the middle of no were and see if they do proper cider, and if they do, then ask what the name of the place they get it from is called, and then google it.
Get yourself down to Burley in the New Forest for a weekend, they have some great traditional cider. You can also order it online.
http://www.newforestcider.co.uk/
http://www.newforestcider.co.uk/
Go to your local pub and see how they get the cider in. My local pub gets some of the smaller batches in in plastic canteens. If you want a particularly cider, you can order one of the canteens to take home, and you return it once you're done. The way to get great, cloudy still cider at home!
Amazes me how the brewers/cider makers get away with their BS . Thatchers Gold as mentioned above is popular in the West Country , as is Ashton Press sold by Butcombe . Fact is they are the same product made in the same building , same equipment , but different labels on the kegs .
Reading Revues by so called experts on the "different " drinks is priceless ,the producers have been conning their customers for years and will continue to do so
Reading Revues by so called experts on the "different " drinks is priceless ,the producers have been conning their customers for years and will continue to do so
fttm said:
Amazes me how the brewers/cider makers get away with their BS . Thatchers Gold as mentioned above is popular in the West Country , as is Ashton Press sold by Butcombe . Fact is they are the same product made in the same building , same equipment , but different labels on the kegs .
Reading Revues by so called experts on the "different " drinks is priceless ,the producers have been conning their customers for years and will continue to do so
You should do a blind taste test, they are different. I used to think like you.Reading Revues by so called experts on the "different " drinks is priceless ,the producers have been conning their customers for years and will continue to do so
mattdaniels said:
Get yourself down to Burley in the New Forest for a weekend, they have some great traditional cider. You can also order it online.
http://www.newforestcider.co.uk/
They do everything from little half pint tasters up to drums of the bloody stuff, all ready to go http://www.newforestcider.co.uk/
George H said:
Can get proper cider off here: http://www.thatcherscider.co.uk/the-cider.ashx
Didn't realise you could mail order cider! Think I'm going to get myself a bottle of each and see which is best, then do a bit of a 'bulk buy'! Just need to decide whether getting a copious amount of cider delivered for my attention at work is a good idea or not....! 
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