Industrial cider
From Ukcider
Most cider served in pubs and sold in supermarkets is made by one of the industrial cider producers, listed below. Please note that these drinks are not generally 'real cider'; a listing on this page doesn't imply any recommendation by ukcider. Forewarned is forearmed. ;)
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Aston Manor
Thimblemill Lane, Aston, Birmingham B7 5HS: 0121 328 4336
Birmingham based Aston Manor Brewery produces beer and industrial cider. It claims to be the UK's third largest producer of cider by sales value. Most appears to be sold as supermarket "own brand" product, though it does sell under a number of its own brands as well.
Bulmers (UK)
The Cider Mills, Plough Lane, Hereford HR4 0LE: 01432 352000
HP Bulmer is the world's largest cider producer, best known for Strongbow and Scrumpy Jack. Based in Herefordshire, it is now owned by brewing giant Scottish & Newcastle.
Magners Irish Cider
C&C Group plc, Kylemore Park, Dublin 10, Ireland: +353 1 616 1100
Irish cider-maker William Magner of Clonmel entered into a joint venture with HP Bulmer in 1937. Though the partnership was dissolved just 12 years later, Magner retained the right to the brand 'Bulmers' in the Republic of Ireland. The cider known as Bulmers in Ireland, where it commands 80% of the market, is known as Magners in the rest of the world.
Magners Irish Cider is now the subject of a high-profile introduction in the UK. Sports sponsorships and carefully-targeted regional launches, themed around the conceit of serving 'Magners over ice', are making it a major challenger to Strongbow. So far, it has successfully been launched in Scotland and Southern England.
Gaymers Cider Company
Kilver Street, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 5ND: 01749 334000
Formed from the merger of several large regional companies (Taunton Cider, Coates, Gaymers), the 'Matthew Clark Taunton' company has now been rebranded as part of the multinational Constellation Brands group.
Dry Blackthorn was once a serious challenger to Strongbow on the national stage, but its market share has seriously slipped back in recent years, not least due to heavy discounting by Bulmers during its latter years as an independent company. However, Blackthorn and its sister brands (e.g. Natch and Special Vat) are still popular in the south-west.
Brands are:
- Blackthorn (dry, carbonated)
- Addlestones (cloudy, still - the nearest to real draught cider made by any of the industrial manufacturers, though it contains artificial sweeteners)
- Gaymers Original (yet another bottled Magners clone)
- Taunton Traditional (cloudy)
- Diamond White (white)
- Olde English (dry, carbonated)
- Special Vat (medium dry, carbonated)
- Natch (traditionally popular in the Bristol area)
- K
- Red C
- Orchard Reserve (traditional, bottled cider)
- A new range of 'Single County' ciders includes Devon and Somerset varieties.
Intercontinental Brands
4 Sceptre House, Hornbeam Square, Hornbeam Business Park, Harrogate HG2 8PB: 01423 872747
Independent company that ships a lot of its "Ready-To-Drink" stuff through supermarkets.
- St Helier Pear Cider
- various dire-sounding 'perry' (Lamvino, Lamvino Blush, Lieberwein)
Kopparberg
UK distributor: B O Times1 Limited, 1 Kingfisher Close, Thamesmead, London SE28 8ES: 0870 777 7035
One of the largest breweries in Sweden, Kopparberg is now sending its industrial cider across to Britain (with extensive distribution through Wetherspoons) for us lucky, lucky people. The bottles are produced in apple, pear, strawberry and elderflower 'flavours'.
Merrydown
Castle Court, 41 London Rd, Reigate, Surrey RH2 9RJ: 01737 735007
Manufactures unusual, strong but heavily filtered cider from cooking and dessert apples. The company produced its ciders in Sussex for many years, but has now moved production to Belgium. It is currently owned by the SHS Group.
Merrydown's Vintage Cider is generally sold through supermarkets and off-licences, though they now produce a weaker, 5% bottled variant (website here) for pubs and clubs - "tastes best over ice".
Apart from cider, the company is also known for the Two Dogs alcopop, and the rather less offensive 'grown-up soft drink' Shloer.
Brands are:
- Merrydown Vintage Medium
- Merrydown Vintage Dry
- Merrydown 5%
Samuel Smith
Samuel Smith's Old Brewery, High Street, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire LS24 9SB: 01937 832225
Produces its own-label 'Cider Reserve', a dry keg cider which is the only cider available in its pubs. Perhaps a little more palatable than Strongbow or Dry Blackthorn. The pubs are well-known for selling beer at surprisingly cheap prices and the cider follows in this tradition.
Samuel Smiths also produce a bottled Organic Cider but I do not know if it is the same as their Cider reserve.
Saxon Cider
La Cantina, Unit 4B, Saxonmill, 218 Bradford Road, Batley Carr, Dewsbury WF17 6JF: 01924 457979
Though significantly smaller in scale than the major cidermakers listed above, Saxon Cider has made a name for itself producing distinctive ciders from apple concentrate. Saxon Cider is also often to be found at un-enlightened Beer Festivals including many run by CAMRA. Whenever you come across it at such places, please point out to the organisers it's origins. From experience, it would seem that the main reason for festivals stocking Saxon is a mixture of ignorance and the fact that it's very cheap when compared to more favourable cider.
