Appledram Cider

Brewer:  Appledram Farm Products
Location: Near Chichester, West Sussex
Website: http://appledram-cider.co.uk/home.html

The Company:  Appledram Farm products was established in 1983, in the West Sussex Coastal plain.  According to the little history found on the back of the bottle, they produce ciders using centuries old methods.  Apparently, the West Sussex Coastal plain is considered to be one of the ancient orchard sites of England.  Well the ancestor's did like their ciders back then too! 


The Cider:  Jo purchased this cider while in Arundel and brought it back to London.  On our last night in London, we decided to open this puppy up.  Again, because of the lack of a fridge or ice, this cider was served at room temperature.  I feel this didn't do this cider justice.  This 500ml bottle packed 6.8% alc.  With the pour there was no carbonation.  As for the taste, it was dry.  The after taste had a wine like bite to it and for the fact I had tried a couple of different scrumpy ciders this reminded me of a scrumpy.  All I could gather from the brief history written on the label is that this product was a traditional draught cider.  I really would have liked to have tried this chilled or over ice.  Something to look forward too.

To quote Samuel Johnson " When a Man is tired of London, he is tired of life!"  So true!!  I hope you have enjoyed my reviews on all the different ciders I tried while in England. 

Cheers!

Laurie

1st Quality Cider by Westons

I tried this bevy at a Taylor Walker pub called  The Sussex in Leicester Square.  It was my second last day in England, and my buddies and myself were just walking around enjoying the beautiful city of London.  Stopped in for lunch and of course a pint.  To my surprise and shock I saw the posters for the Taylor Walker Cider Festival that was going to run from September 10-23 featuring 16 festival ciders. Great something I would have loved to participated in and I would be back in Canada.  I asked the server about it and she said that they actually had some of the ciders in stock.  I explained I loved trying different ciders so she went and asked if I would be able to try some as I wouldn't be in the country during the festival.  Sure enough, I was given the opportunity to do so.  Since it was a festival special, I was limited to a half a pint.  No matter, I was going to enjoy this.

Now they had 4 available at that time.  I asked the server (I wish I had gotten her name...I do know she was from Australia) if she had tried any of them.  She had and she described each cider and I asked her recommendation and she chose the 1st Quality for me to try.

The Cider:  I have to admit, I took this info off the card they gave me and from the server.  1st Quality is a well balanced, smooth and fruity in flavour.  It will leave behind a taste of bittersweet apples.  It is a medium still cider with an alcohol content of 5%.  The server said it was best served at room temperature so that is how I received it.

My Opinion:  My half pint arrived after just being poured from the tap and the colouring was very cloudy.  After it settled the colour became more apparent.  It was a deep golden colour. For me it had a nice apple taste and not a strong after bite. I really enjoyed it and it went well with my lunch.  It wasn't heavy and taste...very light.  I would give this cider a 8 out of 10 and the pub and server a 10 out of 10 as she was very friendly and knowledgeable and the pub was packed and lively on a weekday lunch break.  I hope the next time I make it over there, I will be able to try this one again.

Cheers!

Laurie

Jack Ratt Scrumpy Cider

Producer:  Lyme Bay Cider Co
6% alc
Website:  http://www.lymebaywinery.co.uk/pages/cider.php

History:  Who was Jack Rattenbury?  Born in 1778, this gentleman was known as Rob Roy of the West. From an early age he started life out on the boats.  After a while this fisherman became a smuggler and became involved in different activities including running a pub.  Jack called it a day in 1844.

The Company:  Lyme Bay Winery not only make wine but they also make ciders and other products.  They use locally grown cider apples to make their various ciders such as Dabinett, Kingston Black and Yarlington Mill, to produce a quality range of real, full flavoured ciders.  Lyme Bay is located in the West Country (Devon).

The Cider:  Jack Ratt Scrumpy cider was named after Jack Rattenbury....how appropriate. As you can tell by my picture, I had purchased the one ltr flagon. I was sharing this cider with my other cider buddy Jo.  We had purchased this while out on one of our day trips.  We brought it back to our room where Carol, Jo and myself realized not a fridge or ice was available.  I attempted to chill it by placing it in the sink filled with cold water but it really didn't help. In the end we just opened it up as our time in England was coming to a close.  We poured the cider and there was no carbonation.  The colour was a unique deep orange/gold/copper combination.  Really hard to describe.  Now with the taste this is where Jo and I differed.  Jo thought it had a smokey taste to it especially the after taste.  As for me, I thought it was unique.  I couldn't really get the smokey after taste, but I did notice that it didn't have a distinct apple taste.   The fact that it wasn't chilled or served over ice, it didn't do it justice.  So far that reason I will not rate this cider as I feel I did not get the full experience.  Note, to one's self.....either make sure you have access to ice or a fridge in the room. What I did gather from their website that it is a still, medium cider so if you ever get to England give it a try.  I will try it again and hopefully chilled or over ice.

Cheers!

Laurie

Biddenden Strong Kentish Cider Dry

The Story:  Well after being in England for over a week, my friends and myself decided a day trip to Dover was in order.  It was a beautiful day for September...warm and sunny....yes that's right sunny!  We hoped on the train and a way we went.  We arrived in Dover, and the first place of call (besides the tourist information centre) was Dover Castle. Well, let's just say whoever chose the location way back when picked a great spot.  Perched way up on the top of the cliffs stands this great castle.  There still stands a Roman light house and a church from the 1200's.  Well after huffing and puffing my way up the hill ( by the way, I still had a chest cold when I arrived), and cursing under my breath, we made it.  Spent a great day checking out the church, the Keep and grounds and some of the war time tunnels.  Then we hit the medieval tunnels....built way underground and under the Keep are these tunnels.  I was pumped as history is my favourite subject.  I went down the tunnels with great enthusiasm.....well remember what goes down must come up.  I didn't think I was going to make it out.  Fighting the last strands of a chest cold,walking for hours and being parched was a taking it's toll.  Well, I made it!  Next stop was the cafe.  I was thinking tea, maybe water to quench my thirst.  As I browsed the cooler to see what was available I came across....gold!!!! CIDER! Well I only had one choice.....I bought it to quench the thirst and to rejuvenate myself.

The Cider:  I purchased the cider, poured it into my glass and then decided to read the label....oh oh...8.4% alc. for a 330ml bottle. Well it was going to make walking along the pier interesting.  According to the bottle, it is made from a blend of desert and culinary apples.  The apples were grown in the Garden of England.  My picture doesn't do it justice but, the colour of the cider is very light.  Translucent almost.  With the pour there was no carbonation.  My friend Carol, who is wine drinker, said that it looked like a wine, than a cider.  I am not much a wine drinker, so Carol had a sip and in her opinion it tasted more like wine than a cider.  I have to say, it was very dry and it really had the taste of wine and not at all like cider.  But being said, I would say this was a very sophisticated cider.  If you like the idea of a "mature" cider then this is one to try.  It doesn't have a very strong apple taste or aroma.  My other advice, eat food! 

Rating:  I give this cider 7.9 out of 10 just for the fact it was something unique, but not your average cider to drink everyday.  I would call it my sophistication cider.  Worth to try if you make it over to England (Kent).  I have included their website: http://www.biddendenvineyards.com for further information.


Cheers!