Defining Real Cider and Perry

What is real cider? I think if you asked most CAMRA members they would say that it’s real so long as it’s served from a hand pump or maybe from a bag-in-a-box, or perhaps that it’s real as long as it’s still or cloudy. Unfortunately this isn’t the case and although CAMRA’s definition of real cider is relatively simple, the process of identifying one relies on consulting an ever-changing list of (at the time of writing) 448 UK-based cider and perry producers.

As of last year CAMRA defines real cider or perry as “Cider or Perry being fermented from the whole juice of fresh pressed apples or pears, without the use of concentrated or chaptalised juices”. Chaptalised juices refers to a process of fermenting juice to a high alcohol content by adding sugars and then diluting this down to your desired ABV. So essentially the definition means that real cider and perry must be made from the juice of fresh apples or pears with no concentrate used and without having to dilute the alcohol content.

I think this definition is spot on, it’s simple and concise and delivers what you want; real cider and perry must be made from fresh fruit juice with no messing around with concentrates. The difficulty with the definition is that unfortunately it is just about impossible to check these factors when picking out a cider in a pub or shop. You’d be hard pressed to find a pump-clip or box of cider that describes the process under which the drink was made, and although bottles or cans of cider might have a bit of a description you’re unlikely to be able to confirm for certain whether concentrates or chaptalised juices were used. Just to make things more confusing labels such as ‘100% Juice’ don’t necessarily mean no concentrate was used and many ciders that would otherwise be real are excluded by their use of fruit concentrates to flavour the finished product.

When we talk about real ale, the method of dispense is really important. However, with cider and perry this is less so, and the ‘real thing’ may be found dispensed via a traditional handpull, through a keg font, direct from a bag-in-a-box, from a glass container in a fridge behind the bar (having been drawn off earlier from a larger container) or even in cans or bottles. So unless you know who is making the real thing, it is very difficult to work out what is real and what is not.

Real Cider and Perry in our area

Earlier this year myself and a few other Central Lancs committee members surveyed a number of the pubs in our area that we previously had listed as stocking real cider. We recorded all ciders on offer at each venue we visited and I consulted CAMRA’s full list of real ciders and perrys. The outcome of this was that we have so far only been able to confirm that six pubs in Central Lancs are serving real cider or perry:

• Ale Station (Chorley) – Sandford Red • Ben’s Tap (Chorley) – Cornish Orchards plus 3 or 4 changing • Riley’s Taproom (Chorley) – Seacider • Continental (Preston) – one changing handpump • Niko (Preston) – various in bottles • Old Post Offfice (Adlington) – Hogan’s (handpump) on a recent visit, but likely to vary

We know of a couple more places in our area that are hoping to start serving real cider in the future so things are definitely looking positive but it would be good to see more pubs offering at least one.

Judging by our recent surveys and my own experience I’d say that the real ciders you’re most likely to come across in our area are: Seacider, Sandford, Snails Bank, Little Pomona (bottles only) and Hogan’s. I would also recommend keeping your eyes peeled for Oliver’s, Gregg’s Pit, Pilton and Nightingale; all popular ciders that are becoming more widely available.

You might at this point be wondering why I’ve made no mention of big names such Thatcher’s, Sheppy’s, Aspall which regularly appear on keg and even the likes of Lilley’s, Weston’s, Gwynt Y Ddraig, Thistley Cross and Broadoak which often appear served through handpumps. Unfortunately none of these brands are exclusively real cider producers (they may have some real ciders but the majority of their range is not real) and some of the big cider brands even contain as little as 35% apple juice (the UK legal minimum for a cider). There’s certainly plenty of good cider out there that doesn’t qualify as real cider but I would like to see licensees and drinkers trying to seek out real cider and appreciating that it is a quality product.

What’s the next step?

CAMRA HQ as well as many CAMRA members and volunteers across the country have already done a lot of the leg-work of working out which producers are making real cider or perry. CAMRA’s list, as I mentioned before, boasts an impressive 448 different producers, a clear sign that cider production is thriving. The next step, I believe, should be a CAMRA campaign to encourage these real cider producers to adopt a uniform label across their products to clearly identify CAMRAdefined real cider or perry. We should be working to make real cider and perry as obvious as possible to consumers and licensees so that everyone knows exactly where to get quality cider or perry.

Real cider under CAMRA’s definition shouldn’t be something you have to look up on a spreadsheet, it should be a mark of quality and tradition displayed proudly by cider producers. Think of ‘Award Winning Ale’ pump clips and little rosettes printed on wine bottle labels, I know these can certainly help me decide which drink to choose, it would be great to see something similar with real cider.

The other main thing I think is key in CAMRA’s campaign for real cider and perry is that as many members as possible start talking about real cider, with each other and with the landlords of the pubs they visit, whether or not they themselves drink cider. We should all be onboard with the push to champion quality cider in the same way that we support real ale. CAMRA has campaigned for cider and perry since 1985, and there is evidence that had it not been for our efforts perry would potentially have been under extreme threat of disappearing altogether. Cider and Perry bars are regular inclusions at real ale festivals up and down the country so there’s clearly an appreciation for the drinks within the community, I believe we just need to make it easier for everyone to identify what is real and what is not. Only then can we start to push for these products to be more widely available without having to point people in the direction of spreadsheets and lists.

If you think a pub you visit in the Central Lancs area might be stocking real cider or perry and we don’t know about it or if you think the landlord of your local might be interested in more information about real ciders and perrys please don’t hesitate to drop me an email at cider@ centrallancs.camra.org.uk to let me know.

real cider & perry