Wetherspoon
From Ukcider
J D Wetherspoon is a chain of large town centre pubs, all over the UK.
Current cider range
Their standard range in 2007 was:
- Westons Old Rosie, either in 30-litre bag-in-a-box or on draught
- Westons Organic Vintage, in bag-in-a-box or on draught as above
- Westons Organic bottles
- Westons Oak-Conditioned Bottles (extra dry, medium dry, medium sweet - red, white, blue labels)
- Westons Perry bottles (7.4%, sparkling)
You may also be lucky enough to find Sheppys Bullfinch and Goldfinch bottles (c. 5.5%). There is also various industrial cider from Magners, Bulmers and Kopparberg.
As of February 2008, some Wetherspoons staff were reporting low sales of real cider; consequently the Sheppys may no longer be available, and in the Lloyds bars (Wetherspoons' sister chain) you may not even find the Westons.
Ciders
The summer of 2005 saw a huge increase in the number of pubs serving some drinkable ciders, all due to this single chain deciding to have a big promotion. While the Organic Vintage and Old Rosie ciders are regular favourites, the Westons Perry (very sweet) and Oak Conditioned products are quite low in any kind of real flavour qualities. Note that the Perry is not the same as the Westons Herefordshire Country Perry commonly found elsewhere.
The bag-in-a-boxes are usually stored in the chiller cabinet. Some drinkers find that this makes the cider too cold for their tastes. You might consider ordering two pints at once and letting the second one warm up while you drink the first!
It is fairly common Wetherspoon practice to 'advertise' the Old Rosie by putting a pump-clip on an unused handpump, even when it is still served from a bag-in-a-box.
Note that individual pubs do sometimes have variations from the above: you might find draught Sheppy's in Exeter, different Westons in Victoria, or Black Rat in Gloucester.
Previously stocked:
- Sheppys Oakwood (medium), 1-litre flagons
- Thatchers Perry, 750-litre bottles
Seen in the past at 'beer and cider festivals':
- Thatchers Heritage or Traditional Dry Cider in polykeg, sometimes chilled.
- Westons 1880 (once known as Marcle Millennium)
- Breton champagne style 'brut' cider called "la Bollé des Korrigans". (Note that the Breton cider seems to be currently on offer at only £1.99 a bottle, even in central London which is an absolute bargain while it lasts. If the bar staff can't find it on their computer system, tell them it's under "guest beers". )
(Non-real cider is draught Strongbow, Kopparberg bottled cider and perry, and bottled Magners.)
Now isn't this a marvellous opportunity for thousands of people to have a first taste and develop a liking for more interesting ciders? There are some things about Wetherspoons formula pubs which can be exasperating but It strikes me that in some ways this is a one-off opportunity to raise the profile of decent cider on a national scale.
According to the self-promoting magazine they leave lying about in the pub sometimes "Cider is back and it's here to stay" which implies that the promotion could continue indefinitely, but presumably if the take up is miserable they'll take it off and then we won't get another such chance for a long time perhaps.
Supply seemed haphazard at first (and they've owned up to running out of Thatchers Perry very frequently) but seems to be improving.
So I just wanted to say I'm surprised more hasn't been made of this 'apples and pears' thing, and it might be an idea to go along to your local spoons, have a look at what's in the fridge, ask for the Old Rosie if that's what you like and you don't see it, and keep up the demand for a while.
http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/news/?CurrentPage=3&ID=77
"OUR RANGE OF CIDERS IS UNBEATABLE
Cider fans can now enjoy a fantastic range of drinks at Wetherspoon pubs and Lloyds bars.
All of the company’s outlets (with the exception of airport sites) are serving six ciders, many of which are not normally available outside of the areas in which they are produced.
The range features Westons organic vintage draught cider, Westons Old Rosie cloudy scrumpy draught cider and Westons bottled cider, as well as Thatchers Perry (bottled cider made from pears), Magners Irish cider and Sheppy’s Oakwood flagon."
Free WiFi
Wetherspoon’s customers can now use a free Wi-Fi connection service thanks to a partnership with ItBox. All customers with a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop will be able to connect to hi-speed Internet – free –for 30 minutes.
how
Order your drink or food from the bar and ask for a Wi-Fi voucher; this contains an access code for your computer. You will then connect to a network free for 30 minutes – order another drink and go on line for another 30 minutes.
http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/magazine/viewarticle.php?ID=23
The service is available throughout the day at all Wetherspoon pubs and Lloyds No.1 bars. Leaflets detailing the new service are available at the bar. Please note that JDW Wi-Fi is subject to availability. Excludes Northern Ireland pubs.
