Cider ‘new red’ for all seasons, insist makers

IT MAY conjure up memories of sunshine and meadows, but the classic summer drink of cider is fast becoming the “new red” to be consumed all year round.

By using different types of apples to exploit their tannins and more full-bodied flavours, cider makers are creating varieties which can be drunk during winter as much as spring and summer.

Advertising campaigns now promote cider as “not just for summer” as brewers tap into a new market for their product.

“The notion that cider is purely a summer drink is not only nonsensical but is actually damaging to cider, especially fine artisan cider,” said James Forbes, who cofounded the craft cider maker Little Pomona.

“It used to be the case that beaujolais was only drunk in November and rosé wines in the summer. That is until producers began to break ranks, then importers and distributors.”

Little Pomona’s Disco Nouveau cider is among the drinks being marketed as being ideal for the winter and autumn months too.

Susanna Forbes, the brewery’s co-founder, said: “The flavours can be so complex. It’s a direct correlation to the wonderful fruit. And these sorts of cider can be so food friendly. We’re daft if we limit ourselves to just the summer months.”

Little Pomona’s Disco Nouveau uses discovery apples, which are among the first to ripen in the UK and are sent to be pressed at the end of August. After the juice has fermented, foxwhelp is added to increase the acidity and red fruit elements of the cider, before bottling.

Mr Forbes added: “Good cider illustrates the season, and Disco Nouveau does just that. It’s very reflective of the 2022 vintage. It’s juicy and ripe. It could only have been made in that two-month period [right after harvest].”

“Ciderologist” Gabe Cook, who runs the Cider and Beer

‘Cider is so foodfriendly. We’re daft if we limit ourselves to just the summer’

Academy on the Gloucestershire-Herefordshire border, says the use of different varieties of British apples has widened the range of the traditional drink.

“Ciders from Western counties using these tannic apple varieties with a bold, rich structure, much like a red wine, could have appeal in the winter months,” he told The Grocer magazine.

Industry figures show an increase in the amount of cider drunk during autumn and winter.

Hinksman has reported that sales of its 8.2 per cent abv Henry Westons Vintage cider were 7.2 per cent higher in four weeks of autumn than in four weeks of spring.

Darryl Hinksman, of Westons, said: “It’s a popular misconception that cider is a drink solely for the warmer months.”