Cider Festival - Which Cider Are You On?

The Victoria is hosting a two week Cider Festival this Summer from the 12th-25th July.

We have a great range of modern and traditional Ciders and Perrys available throughout the fortnight including: Dunkertons, Thatchers, Addlestones, Brothers, Hogans, Kopparberg, Westons, Aspalls and also barrelled cider from Moles Black Rat & Gwynt y Ddraig

In honour of this the manager, Julian Rose-Gibbs has composed a piece on the changes in cider popularity over the last few decades:

Which Cider you on?

I remember a long time ago I saw cider as a vessel with which to propel my self (and most of my friends) towards inebriation. We would search out the Woodpecker or Strongbow (because those were the only ciders available all that time ago) buy it in 2 litre bottles and mix them with 2 litre bottles of lager making snakebite. Hideous I know but it did the trick.

I am glad to say that 20 years on cider has come a long way and now is the time to celebrate that fact.

Not only has the production of cider increased but countries importing it and the styles of cider have exploded recently. There are still traditional ciders and scrumpy in production but now our market has been infiltrated by the fruit cider and everybody is at it.

Our own producers tend to divide themselves into East verses West of the mid to South parts of the UK such as Aspall, Thatchers, Westons, Gaymers, Bulmers and Brothers the list is endless, not to mention the Swiss invasion of Koppaberg taking over our beer fridges with Rekorderlig hot on it’s heels. The latest one I noticed from further a field is Savanna from South Africa a dry cider to combat all the sweeter fruit varieties around.

Now it is not surprising that with so many people over the bar asking for “cider and black” that the producers eventually cottoned on and decided to add their own berry flavours-these range from your usual pear and apple to ciders with all manner of berries added and lime infusions, blush ciders and I noticed the word ‘premium’ and ‘reserve’ creeping on to cider bottles just like the spirit market did years ago. So far I am just glad no one has produced a blue cider, when that happens we’ve gone too far.

On that note the marketing of cider has become more sophisticated from tradition and heritage of the Magners campaign to the all out music offensive of Gaymers-they even brought the Twang to the Victoria a while back.

One thing is certain, with all the new flavours, styles, packaging and marketing – cider is going places fast and I intend to keep up, responsibly of course.

Julian Rose-Gibbs

The Victoria

The Victoria and The Jekyll & Hyde will be hosting their Summer Cider Festivals 12^th-25^th July.