Discussion
Having come to uni only ever knowing commercial ciders such as Strongbow and the slightly more upmarket Aspalls, a friend recently took me to a little place called the Bristol Cider Shop.
Now that is proper cider they sell there! Smooth and flat (no fizz), dry, strong and without the acrid burn of the above brands - I was blown away before we even got to the price! 4 normal size 440ml cans of Strongbow is normally £4 in the supermarket, or £2.27 per litre. I came away with a 10 litre bag-in-box of the above described infinitely better Black Dragon (made in the west country within 50 miles of Bristol) for £30 - a negligible price difference to have something I can quaff all night rather than making me feel full and bloated after 2 cans.
Ill never go back to supermarket cider again!
The moral of the story here is never to settle for the default rubbish! Is anyone else on here a cider connoisseur?
Now that is proper cider they sell there! Smooth and flat (no fizz), dry, strong and without the acrid burn of the above brands - I was blown away before we even got to the price! 4 normal size 440ml cans of Strongbow is normally £4 in the supermarket, or £2.27 per litre. I came away with a 10 litre bag-in-box of the above described infinitely better Black Dragon (made in the west country within 50 miles of Bristol) for £30 - a negligible price difference to have something I can quaff all night rather than making me feel full and bloated after 2 cans.
Ill never go back to supermarket cider again!
The moral of the story here is never to settle for the default rubbish! Is anyone else on here a cider connoisseur?
mat777 said:
Having come to uni only ever knowing commercial ciders such as Strongbow and the slightly more upmarket Aspalls, a friend recently took me to a little place called the Bristol Cider Shop.
Now that is proper cider they sell there! Smooth and flat (no fizz), dry, strong and without the acrid burn of the above brands - I was blown away before we even got to the price! 4 normal size 440ml cans of Strongbow is normally £4 in the supermarket, or £2.27 per litre. I came away with a 10 litre bag-in-box of the above described infinitely better Black Dragon (made in the west country within 50 miles of Bristol) for £30 - a negligible price difference to have something I can quaff all night rather than making me feel full and bloated after 2 cans.
Ill never go back to supermarket cider again!
The moral of the story here is never to settle for the default rubbish! Is anyone else on here a cider connoisseur?
Cider is definitly better from the real local suppliers. Mind you I quite like the Cidre brand nice clean drink IMO. But like many specialist shops the Cider in these specialist places is in a different league to Strongbow or similar.Now that is proper cider they sell there! Smooth and flat (no fizz), dry, strong and without the acrid burn of the above brands - I was blown away before we even got to the price! 4 normal size 440ml cans of Strongbow is normally £4 in the supermarket, or £2.27 per litre. I came away with a 10 litre bag-in-box of the above described infinitely better Black Dragon (made in the west country within 50 miles of Bristol) for £30 - a negligible price difference to have something I can quaff all night rather than making me feel full and bloated after 2 cans.
Ill never go back to supermarket cider again!
The moral of the story here is never to settle for the default rubbish! Is anyone else on here a cider connoisseur?
Not unlike specialist delicatessens as opposed to supermarkets. They both sell Cheese and Ham but it is NOT the same quality.
I like proper cider but tend to get wrecked a little sooner than expected.
Even mass produced stuff like Black Rat is a favourite, as is Katy's but both are north of 6-7% ABV. Four or five pints and I'm away.
ETA. When I were a lad, my Dad used to have Williams Bros cider delivered to home. He used to get two barrels of scrumpy a month and a case of sweet for my brother and me. We grew up drinking first the sweet then slowly mixed them going from 50/50 to finally 90% dry scrumpy + 10% sweet. Those were the days.
Even mass produced stuff like Black Rat is a favourite, as is Katy's but both are north of 6-7% ABV. Four or five pints and I'm away.
ETA. When I were a lad, my Dad used to have Williams Bros cider delivered to home. He used to get two barrels of scrumpy a month and a case of sweet for my brother and me. We grew up drinking first the sweet then slowly mixed them going from 50/50 to finally 90% dry scrumpy + 10% sweet. Those were the days.
Edited by LordGrover on Monday 16th April 14:54
I know it's quite a well known brand but I find Thathcher's ciders to be excellent and having visited the brewery (is that the right word?) last year it was nice to see the care they take over the product and the quality of the ingredients. Being from up north no doubt our friends in the South West class it as mass produced rubbish but its the best we can get up here.
mat777 said:
The moral of the story here is never to settle for the default rubbish! Is anyone else on here a cider connoisseur?
I come from Somerset, it's in the blood. And like many meths drinking tramps that probably means my blood has a lower freezing point than the average human. If you think the stuff from a specialist shop is good, it gets a whole level more exciting if you go and buy "dreckly" from the farm. If you've got a car, here's a map.
http://www.somersetmade.co.uk/oldscrump/ciderfarm-...
Well worth a trip on the weekend.
Another Somerset boy here - now exiled in Wiltshire :-)
My recommendation - located just outside Ilminster. I always stock up when I'm visiting family.
http://www.perryscider.co.uk/
My recommendation - located just outside Ilminster. I always stock up when I'm visiting family.
http://www.perryscider.co.uk/
Edited by MDJ on Monday 16th April 21:20
Thatchers isn't a "big brand", not really anyway. It was only about 10 years ago that you couldn't find their cider anywhere outside of the onsite shop (I know because I was working there 
). They've just been lucky enough to make the most of the market and do very well in the last 5 years or so. Katy s still one of the best ciders on the market and Thatchers gold is by some way the best value booze available in supermarkets (2 litres for £2.50 until recently), lovely in the summer.
And Black rat is made by thatchers too, that's why it's so good
If I'm ever near it I go here in Somerset, near Wedmore:
http://wilkinscider.com/
Or the place on the A370 near Puxton for something a bit rougher (though it gets you drunk far too easily)
I think there are a number of really quality ciders on tap in most decent pubs nowadays, which makes a massive change from just Blackthorn/Strongbow 10 years ago. Aspalls is cracking, as is addlestons, ashton press, thatchers traditional cloudy stuff etc.
Ps. if you're in Bristol, and haven't already, you must go to the Apple down at the end of King St. Possibly the best cider pub in the country, always something new and lovely sitting on the harbourside in the sun. Drink a few pints of cheddar valley and you'll actually die (fact).
). They've just been lucky enough to make the most of the market and do very well in the last 5 years or so. Katy s still one of the best ciders on the market and Thatchers gold is by some way the best value booze available in supermarkets (2 litres for £2.50 until recently), lovely in the summer.And Black rat is made by thatchers too, that's why it's so good
If I'm ever near it I go here in Somerset, near Wedmore:
http://wilkinscider.com/
Or the place on the A370 near Puxton for something a bit rougher (though it gets you drunk far too easily)
I think there are a number of really quality ciders on tap in most decent pubs nowadays, which makes a massive change from just Blackthorn/Strongbow 10 years ago. Aspalls is cracking, as is addlestons, ashton press, thatchers traditional cloudy stuff etc.
Ps. if you're in Bristol, and haven't already, you must go to the Apple down at the end of King St. Possibly the best cider pub in the country, always something new and lovely sitting on the harbourside in the sun. Drink a few pints of cheddar valley and you'll actually die (fact).
Japveesix said:
Ps. if you're in Bristol, and haven't already, you must go to the Apple down at the end of King St. Possibly the best cider pub in the country, always something new and lovely sitting on the harbourside in the sun. Drink a few pints of cheddar valley and you'll actually die (fact).
Probably just as well... you'll be blind and numb all over anyway. 
They do Cheddar Valley at my locals... to make it more demanding of attention, we sometimes pop a gin in the top.
LordGrover said:
Probably just as well... you'll be blind and numb all over anyway.
They do Cheddar Valley at my locals... to make it more demanding of attention, we sometimes pop a gin in the top.
Jesus, that sounds like a challenge (and fairly disgusting as well), may have to try it next time They do Cheddar Valley at my locals... to make it more demanding of attention, we sometimes pop a gin in the top.
Japveesix said:
LordGrover said:
Probably just as well... you'll be blind and numb all over anyway.
They do Cheddar Valley at my locals... to make it more demanding of attention, we sometimes pop a gin in the top.
Jesus, that sounds like a challenge (and fairly disgusting as well), may have to try it next time They do Cheddar Valley at my locals... to make it more demanding of attention, we sometimes pop a gin in the top.
MDJ said:
Another Somerset boy here - now exiled in Wiltshire :-)
My recommendation - located just outside Ilminster. I always stock up when I'm visiting family.
http://www.perryscider.co.uk/
And another Somerset boy, although exiled to the North WestMy recommendation - located just outside Ilminster. I always stock up when I'm visiting family.
http://www.perryscider.co.uk/
Edited by MDJ on Monday 16th April 21:20
Preference is for Wilkins' Farmhouse Cider
I'm nowhere near a cider farm, but I'm quite impressed with the selection available at my local Waitrose (Dorking), especially as it isn't a particularly large store.
I'll add 'Henney's still cider' to the ones already mentioned. It's got a bit of a prickle on the tongue and is just the thing to go with a pork pie. Om nom nom.
I'll add 'Henney's still cider' to the ones already mentioned. It's got a bit of a prickle on the tongue and is just the thing to go with a pork pie. Om nom nom.
I ran my first large scale cider batch back in Sept/Oct last year due to the apple glutch we seemed to be suffering from in Wilts at the time and managed to process around 40 litres which has an ABV of 6-7% (based on my crude 'hydrometer'check of 3 pints and I'm asleep).
A crude setup but worked
Next year we have CAD'd up a new and larger press in 316L!
A crude setup but worked
Next year we have CAD'd up a new and larger press in 316L!
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