Lord P wouldn’t touch alcohol until we did a tour of Weston’s and we persuaded him to try Stowford Press. He was hooked!
We tend to do a detour when we go down to Wells and call in at Thatchers to stock up.
Darllenwr also likes Symonds, which is on tap at our favourite pub/restaurant in Hereford.
They used to have Doom Bar on tap, before it became so popular. At the moment, it’s been replaced by Jemima’s Pitchfork, a Welsh beer, which is more bitter than Doom, so whilst Darllenwr likes it, I’m not so keen.
I skipped breakfast one day and spent the morning walking on a trail. We returned to town about lunchtime, we stopped off for pizza and I noted they had added hard cider to their menu. Let's just say it has been a long time since I have felt that loopie that fast. Mr. Image had to drive the rest of the way home. Lesson learned to not drink down hard cider on an empty stomach on a hot day when you are thirsty. It did taste very nice.
@Priscilla there are few things more refreshing on a hot day IMHO than Thatcher's Dry, which as far as I'm aware only exists as a draught and isn't sold in bottles. Technically, though, it's keg and not real. It's also clear to look at.
I got some critically glares and mutterings from some of the toothless habitués of one local near here for ordering what they regarded as a poncey cider rather than the sour green cloudy stuff with bits floating in it that they were drinking.
Speaking from experience, sour green cloudy cider with bits floating in can be a very effective laxative.
I recall one of those "inside the factory" programs focused on Bulmer's. Absolutely nothing they showed me made me want to drink their product; indeed the opposite. They dilute the apple juice down with water, then add sugar (Wrong! Cider should be made from undiluted unadulterated apple juice. This is pure profiteering, putting a cheap product (sugar) in place of an expensive one (apple juice)). They capture the CO2 from the fermentation, carbon filter out the apple scent from it and then use it to artificially recarbonate the end product. (Wrong. Either do a secondary fermentation and keep the natural CO2 with the product, as is done with Champagne, or, as is actually traditional, leave it uncarbonated. And if you are going to do this bizarre capture and repressurise thing, why take the apple smell out of the CO2?!? Especially when the end result is going to be lacking apple character because you've cheated by using sugar water in place of part of your apple juice).
Gregg Wallace seemed impressed by the gleaming metal and bottle filling machines but I was left thinking (a) I won't bother with Bulmers (not that I think I would anyway) as it's cheaply made fizzy alcopop, not cider, and (b) what Gregg Wallace knows about cider could be written in 24 point type on the back of a postage stamp.
Gregg Wallace seemed impressed by the gleaming metal and bottle filling machines but I was left thinking (a) I won't bother with Bulmers (not that I think I would anyway) as it's cheaply made fizzy alcopop, not cider, and (b) what Gregg Wallace knows about cider could be written in 24 point type on the back of a postage stamp.
🤣
At Thatchers, you can take your own containers and buy draught cider. It amuses/horrifies me to see (presumably) locals turn up with gallon containers to be filled with cider which has a warning that it should be drunk within 7 days.
“DRUNK” is probably the word!
Gregg Wallace seemed impressed by the gleaming metal and bottle filling machines but I was left thinking (a) I won't bother with Bulmers (not that I think I would anyway) as it's cheaply made fizzy alcopop, not cider, and (b) what Gregg Wallace knows about cider could be written in 24 point type on the back of a postage stamp.
🤣
At Thatchers, you can take your own containers and buy draught cider. It amuses/horrifies me to see (presumably) locals turn up with gallon containers to be filled with cider which has a warning that it should be drunk within 7 days.
“DRUNK” is probably the word!
Gallon is only eight pints. That's easily got through in a couple of nights.
At Thatchers, you can take your own containers and buy draught cider. It amuses/horrifies me to see (presumably) locals turn up with gallon containers to be filled with cider which has a warning that it should be drunk within 7 days.
There is a place at Pontrilas (between Abergavenny and Hereford) where you can do that. Most Welsh cider has disappointed me, but theirs is wonderful!
My son got married in Devon about 10 years ago. The night before, a few of us went to the village inn for a drink. I asked for cider and was disappointed to be offered a standard branded product. I asked if they had anything local; the landlord said, "Yes", went to an unmarked cask I could see in the back room, and served me. It was possibly the best cider I've ever tasted and not expensive although, looking back, I do wonder about its legality!
Gregg Wallace seemed impressed by the gleaming metal and bottle filling machines but I was left thinking (a) I won't bother with Bulmers (not that I think I would anyway) as it's cheaply made fizzy alcopop, not cider, and (b) what Gregg Wallace knows about cider could be written in 24 point type on the back of a postage stamp.
Like a lot of companies (not just alcohol) the rot set in when the family started to take a back seat, then accelerated when they were taken over in 2003. It's been value engineered to within an inch of its life to make sure not a penny is wasted in the production.
What they (initially Scottish and Newcastle) were buying were the brands more than anything.
Thursdays tend to be cider'n'gammon night. Designated bottle is some Breton cider a friend gave us: looks still and cloudy.
The one holiday I spent in Brittany - some forty mumble years ago - I was too young and innocent to really appreciate the local product. Though I must have drunk some, since I came home with one of the traditional shallow earthenware cups.
Breton cider is lovely. There is (or was) a good restaurant in Richmond (London) which served excellent crepes and had a selection of Breton and Norman ciders.
[quote="betjemaniac;c-436734"
Like a lot of companies (not just alcohol) the rot set in when the family started to take a back seat, then accelerated when they were taken over in 2003. It's been value engineered to within an inch of its life to make sure not a penny is wasted in the production.
What they (initially Scottish and Newcastle) were buying were the brands more than anything.
[/quote] I fear that this may also be true of Aspall's cider (now owned by Coors). I used to love it when we lived in Suffolk and it was local ... haven't tried it recently, it may be OK!
Breton cider is lovely. There is (or was) a good restaurant in Richmond (London) which served excellent crepes and had a selection of Breton and Norman ciders.
My experience of cider in Brittany was that it was as thin as piss and about as worth drinking. It's possible that I was just unlucky in my choices of establishment, and that I kept finding the Breton equivalent of "pubs" that specialize in selling fizzy yellow drinks to teenagers, but I was not at all impressed.
When I did a chunk of the Camino I really got to enjoy Spanish cider. I like the yeastiness and dryness of it. I disliked the insistence of the bartenders on pouring for me, pouring in pharmaceutical increments, and pouring in their time. Yes, it's quite a show, explained as aerating the cider, but if you must pour for me, give me enough and more frequently. Amount and frequency were not enough for this thirsty pilgrim. (All that walking, all that praying, all that contemplation - thirsty work!)
Comments
We tend to do a detour when we go down to Wells and call in at Thatchers to stock up.
Darllenwr also likes Symonds, which is on tap at our favourite pub/restaurant in Hereford.
They used to have Doom Bar on tap, before it became so popular. At the moment, it’s been replaced by Jemima’s Pitchfork, a Welsh beer, which is more bitter than Doom, so whilst Darllenwr likes it, I’m not so keen.
I got some critically glares and mutterings from some of the toothless habitués of one local near here for ordering what they regarded as a poncey cider rather than the sour green cloudy stuff with bits floating in it that they were drinking.
Speaking from experience, sour green cloudy cider with bits floating in can be a very effective laxative.
Gregg Wallace seemed impressed by the gleaming metal and bottle filling machines but I was left thinking (a) I won't bother with Bulmers (not that I think I would anyway) as it's cheaply made fizzy alcopop, not cider, and (b) what Gregg Wallace knows about cider could be written in 24 point type on the back of a postage stamp.
🤣
At Thatchers, you can take your own containers and buy draught cider. It amuses/horrifies me to see (presumably) locals turn up with gallon containers to be filled with cider which has a warning that it should be drunk within 7 days.
“DRUNK” is probably the word!
Gallon is only eight pints. That's easily got through in a couple of nights.
My son got married in Devon about 10 years ago. The night before, a few of us went to the village inn for a drink. I asked for cider and was disappointed to be offered a standard branded product. I asked if they had anything local; the landlord said, "Yes", went to an unmarked cask I could see in the back room, and served me. It was possibly the best cider I've ever tasted and not expensive although, looking back, I do wonder about its legality!
Like a lot of companies (not just alcohol) the rot set in when the family started to take a back seat, then accelerated when they were taken over in 2003. It's been value engineered to within an inch of its life to make sure not a penny is wasted in the production.
What they (initially Scottish and Newcastle) were buying were the brands more than anything.
But yes, not on my list these days.
The one holiday I spent in Brittany - some forty mumble years ago - I was too young and innocent to really appreciate the local product. Though I must have drunk some, since I came home with one of the traditional shallow earthenware cups.
Like a lot of companies (not just alcohol) the rot set in when the family started to take a back seat, then accelerated when they were taken over in 2003. It's been value engineered to within an inch of its life to make sure not a penny is wasted in the production.
What they (initially Scottish and Newcastle) were buying were the brands more than anything.
[/quote] I fear that this may also be true of Aspall's cider (now owned by Coors). I used to love it when we lived in Suffolk and it was local ... haven't tried it recently, it may be OK!
My experience of cider in Brittany was that it was as thin as piss and about as worth drinking. It's possible that I was just unlucky in my choices of establishment, and that I kept finding the Breton equivalent of "pubs" that specialize in selling fizzy yellow drinks to teenagers, but I was not at all impressed.