Cider!

[Jock Scot]

Yes indeed! I could never (still cant) understand how something as sour and dry tasting as a cider apple could produce something that was pleasantly drinkable. The problem with cider without chemicals in it was that the yeast never died and as the level dropped in the barrel the more oxygen was available for the yeast to start working again and often the cider was undrinkable for a while and sometimes it was quite a bit sweeter, rarely the same from week to week.

[Babyvett]

Charles occasionally picks up a 6 pack of Hornsby from time to time. Its not his normal choice of drink, he has to be in a certain mood for it, but he enjoys it when he gets it.. (He's more of a Sam Adam's man)..

[KenB]

A great quaff!

My local cider folks produce a very fine cider as well as a few other tipples,
Herewith, the URL : http://www.countycider.com/products.html

Cheers

[Cecil]

Try Magners I believe it's called Bummers in Ireland, pretty good stuff. I've had the Blackthorn while on the ferry to Mull. Not bad, I prefer the Magners. Or a Guinness.

[lesley]

Here on Vancouver Island, BC (the best island in the Pacific Ocean!) we have Merridale Cidery. They do a wonderful range of ciders from an extra strong and dry to a sparkling dessert cider. If you ever get to the Island its a great place to go for an afternoon of sitting in the sunshine, overlooking the orchards, and sampling all of the ciders along with local fare. Someone definately needs to be the designated driver though as the ciders are a lot stronger than you'd think a glass of fermented apple juice would be!

[Grizzly]

I will be on Vancouver island in late May, any recommendations along the road from Victoria to Ucluelet would be great, although second thoughts I will be driving darn it!!!!

[Dangerdean]

Here on Vancouver Island, BC (the best island in the Pacific Ocean!) we have Merridale Cidery. They do a wonderful range of ciders from an extra strong and dry to a sparkling dessert cider. If you ever get to the Island its a great place to go for an afternoon of sitting in the sunshine, overlooking the orchards, and sampling all of the ciders along with local fare. Someone definately needs to be the designated driver though as the ciders are a lot stronger than you'd think a glass of fermented apple juice would be!

I'm not even going to check to the end of the thread to see who resurrected it, I just have to agree about the wonderfulness of Merridale. Much better than the extra sweet ciders prevalent in BC, and had me tripping over curbs the first time I drank it. Their website says they make a scrumpy, so I'm going to have to hunt that down.

[AFS1970]

At the talk on cider history I wrote about he mentioned that the orchard that gave him the unpasteurized cider normally only sells that for a single weekend and only to home brewers that are already on their mailing lists. He did say you could brew a cider with the pasteurized kind as it still had sugar, but it did not come out as good.

One unintended benefit to the lecture being at a beer event was that most of the audience only tried the small samples politely and didn't even finish. Thus the staff was handing out additional samples throughout the lecture, of which I had many. Then at the end while talking to the lecturer about cider and his reenactment regiment he mentioned that he did not intend to bring home open kegs, so there was more pouring and enjoying.

If you want to learn about interesting brews and taste things you might never buy, festivals are the way to go.

[JohntheBiker]

A facinating thread with a lot of advice on making and drinking as well as a few options to potentially avoid. Since most pubs don't carry gluten free beer, cider, ideally on draft, has become a viable option for a beverage by the pint. In my neck of the woods, you can almost always get Magners or Strongbow.

[Joshua]

ACE Perry is awesome.