Cider

CAMRA was formed in 1971 to campaign against the growing mass-production of beer and homogenisation of British brewing at the time. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve been successful in these aims and although there is still plenty of work to do, the future of British real ale is secured. CAMRA’s aim to secure the long term future of real cider and perry however is a little more precarious, with a lot of work still to be done to protect these ancient British tipples.

Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Edd, your CAMRA Central Lancs Cider Officer, a position I’ve held for a little over two years now, over which time I’ve been learning about how cider is made, visiting the cider-selling pubs of Central Lancashire and dabbling in making cider and perry of my own. I took on the position of Cider Officer because I love drinking great cider (having studied at the University of Gloucestershire I was rather spoilt for choice), I’m fascinated by the history of cider making and most of all because I wanted to learn whatever I could about cider.

One of my biggest passions, and one of the things I find most frustrating about the northsouth divide of cider drinking, is what I perceive to be a vicious cycle of not enough Northerners appreciating and enjoying good cider because not enough northern pubs serve good cider or a varied range of cider. There are certainly many exceptions to this rule, with our Cumbrian neighbour Phil at the New Union in Kendal showing that the adage of ‘if you build it,

they will come’ can certainly come true when it comes to cider. Having won CAMRAs National Cider Pub of the Year 2019 the New Union has built a community of cider lovers around their excellent pub. The Manchester Cider Club, which meets monthly at the Crown and Kettle, is also a great example of how much love there is out there for cider as long as there’s places to enjoy a wide range of ciders and perrys. Excellent cider is really very easy to stock, needing no special equipment for bag-in-box, bottles or cans, all of which don’t diminish the quality of the drink, it has a relatively long shelf life (especially when compared to real ale) and is quick and easy to pour and serve. Cider is generally broken real cider down into three flavour categories; sweet, medium and dry, but the reality is the range of complex flavours and styles varies & perry as much as in real ale. I think one of the main reason many people don’t acquire a taste for cider is that when they started out drinking they probably only had a choice of a few frankly terrible mass-produced ciders, products that are often not much more than the minimum legal requirement of 35% apple juice. Imagine starting out drinking real ale and all that you could find locally was a lacklustre boring mass-produced product, it’s hardly an appealing prospect is it? Living in the south-west made it clear to me that real cider can be hugely popular provided an infrastructure exists, like with real ale, for people to find the styles they enjoy and try new things. I wholeheartedly believe that a few pubs championing excellent real cider in Lancashire could kick-start a local movement as exciting as we have seen with the revival of interest in real ale Pubs serving since the formation of CAMRA. The CAMRA campaign for real cider does somewhat suffer from the real cider difficulty for pub-goers to identify what ‘counts’ as real cider under CAMRA’s definition. Identifying real ale is mostly as simple as figuring out whether a beer is cask or not, real cider however is defined as a cider made without concentrate and without chaptalisation (i.e. sugar Bamber Bridge: Bamber Bridge FC, Beer Box, Brig N Barrel, added after pressing), making it essentially impossible to work out

Hospital, Olde Original Withy Trees, Walton Fox, Withy Arms. whether or not a cider is real without researching it or having a list Broughton: Broughton Inn. of real cider producers. Although I appreciate that CAMRA has set Chorley: Ale Station, Artisan Ale House, Bob Inn, Malt n Hops, Shepherds’ Hall Ale House, Sir Henry Tate. these definitions to try to protect traditional ways of cider production I think in practice the definition is totally unworkable for the average casual cider drinker (including myself). I would support anyone Clayton-le-Woods: Beaumont. drinking any kind of cider beyond the big mass-produced giants, I Croston: Black Horse, Crown. think the most important thing for us to do as CAMRA is to support people trying something new and celebrating British cider rather Euxton: Bay Horse. than creating a confusing and exclusionary atmosphere for people Goosnargh: Tap & T’Ales. trying to find good cider to drink. Haighton: Haighton Manor. For all my doom and gloom and general venting of my spleen I do honestly believe that the cider and perry world is in the strongest Heath Charnock: Bay Horse. position it’s been in a long time. The popularity of ‘craft beer’ has Higher Walton: Mill Tavern. increased drinkers and landlords adventurousness towards trying Hoghton: Royal Oak. new things and has created lots of bars that have fridge space for bottles and cans of great cider to sit alongside craft beers as well as Leyland: Golden Tap, Leyland Lion, Market Ale House. creating a drive for pubs and bars to have more extensive drinks Longridge: Hoppy Days Real Ale Room, Tap & Vent. menus. I’m sure many CAMRA members would debate the benefits of the popularity of craft beer on the beer world but I would certainly Longton: Dolphin, Longton VM Club. celebrate the positive impact it’s had on cider. Penwortham: Tap & Vine, Another relatively recent change that I think has helped push Preston: Ancient Oak (Cottam), Angel, Baker Street, Black Horse, Continental, Eldon, Ferret, Grey Friar, Guild Ale House, Niko, Orchard, Plau, Plug & Taps, Roper Hall, Wellington (Ashton), Winedown, Wings & Beer. forward the popularity of cider is the marketing of some ciders as a product closer to wine than to beer. These ‘fine ciders’, often sold in 75cl bottles with artfully designed labels and drunk from smaller glasses, have made cider a desirable product for many people whose previous impression of cider was as big jugs drunk

by farmers in the west country or plastic bottles drunk by people on the street. The process of producing cider is far closer to wine than beer, with many techniques of wine production used in cider making. Perhaps it will help new drinkers to think of cider as apple wine and to compare its flavours to the depth and character you find in different wines.

I hope this, my first article written for Ale Cry, hasn’t been too much of a rant, I’m just passionate about cider and what we can do as CAMRA members to support this ancient British tradition. My request for you, reader, is that if you find yourself in a pub that stocks a cider other than the mass-produced giants, and if the mood takes you, give it a try, talk to the landlord about their interest in cider, and open yourself up to the world of cider. I promise you there is great stuff out there and most people could find something to their liking. I would love to hear from anyone who finds a great cider in their local or tries cider for the first time and has any kind of opinion on it. I’m still relatively new to this Cider Officer position and I’m keen to be a voice for cider in our area so please do let me know if you have any thoughts at cider@centrallancs.camra.org.uk.

EDD FLETCHER

Editors comment: Perhaps part of the problem is that most CAMRA members joined because they drink real ale. Many of us rarely or never drink cider and so we don’t talk about it. Without that engagement with licensees, how are we going to see a marked change in the availability or choice of real cider? There are 48 outlets in our branch area listed on WhatPub that are recorded as selling real cider. We suspect in a number of cases they offer more mainstream products by the likes of Weston’s or Lilleys (which do not qualify as real cider under CAMRA’s new definition, but are far removed from the ‘lack-lustre, boring, mass-produced products’ – Edd’s words not mine), and it would be really helpful if our cider drinking readers could let us know what is going on in these and other pubs around the branch.

 10 craft beers and lagers  3 cask ales and real cider  Select Gins & quality spirits  Fine wines  Outdoor German style seating  Free Wifi  Background music

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CAMRA Members’ Weekend

Awarm welcome awaits you on the East Sussex coast!

CAMRA Members’ Weekend, AGM & Conference will be hosted by our Sussex branches at the WINTER

GARDEN IN EASTBOURNE

8–10 APRIL 2022.

After two years without a physical event, hundreds of members have already registered to attend – to see what Sussex has to offer by way of great beer, cider and perry. The weekend is a chance to meet friends, make new ones, go on organised brewery trips and take part in activities.

It’s free to attend and open to all CAMRA members.

The weekend is staffed by volunteers – with a range of opportunities to help on offer.

All the information is on the event page – where you can register to attend / sign up to help – go to www.camra.org.uk/membersweekend-agm-conference

Or email membersweekend@camra.org.uk