Category Archives: Cider

Cider review – Bridge Road

6 July 2016CiderChris Shanahan

Bridge Road Strong Scrumpy Cider (Beechworth, Victoria) 330ml $3.85
Sweet, bland, ciders dominate the popular market, but Ben Kraus gives us the real flavour of apples grown in the hills near Beechworth. He ferments the fresh-crushed juice with an English scrumpy yeast to delivery a 7.8 per-cent alcohol of suprising delicacy and purity, with a refreshing, dry finish.

Aussie cider consumption growing 20 per cent a year

24 June 2015CiderChris Shanahan

As declining overall beer consumption and rapidly increasing sales of craft beer catch the headlines, cider continues its even more rapid rise in popularity.

Based on ABS and IbisWorld figures, cider consumption appears to have grown at around 20 per cent by volume annually between 2009 and 2014, and by 13 per cent by value annually in the five years to 2015.

ABS says the volume of cider available for consumption, expressed as litres of pure alcohol, grew from 1.64 million litres in 2009 to 4.13 million litres in 2014. Assuming an average cider strength of five per-cent by volume, this equates to 32.88 million litres and 82.58 million litres of cider respectively – and an increase over the five years of 151 per cent.

IbisWord estimates total revenue from cider in 2015 at $268 million, spread over 120 businesses employing 736 people.

Batlow cider festival

13 May 2015CiderChris Shanahan

Australia’s rapidly growing cider industry knocks on Canberra’s back door this weekend. Batlow’s CiderFest includes a cider industry conference and happy hour on Friday 15 May, followed by a public street festival on Saturday.

Organisers say the conference – in its third year, and the only comparable event in Oceania – services apple and pear growers, juicing companies, cider makers and industry suppliers.

Delegates, led by the likes of keynote speaker Dr Andrew Lea (Harp Hill Cider UK) will consider the craft, science, business and politics of the industry.

However, the following day, Saturday 16 May, the cider theme opens up to all comers in Batlow’s CiderFest Street Festival. Throughout the day Pioneer Street offers ciders, local food and entertainment.

It’s only a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Batlow, so it could be a lovely outing for the weekend. See batlowciderfest.com.au for more info.

Beer review – 4 Pines Brewing Company and Hills Cider Company

12 November 2014Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

4 Pines Brewing Company Pale Ale 330ml 6-pack $20
“Pale ale” generally indicates a beer based either on the mild British style or the rich, malty–hoppy American style. However, 4 Pines goes its own way with its deep-amber coloured ale. Pungent, tropical-fruit-like hops aromas and flavours pair with a smooth, malty palate, lightened slightly by the use of wheat malt.

Hills Cider Company Apple and Ginger Cider 330 ml
Hills Cider Company describe this cider as a “hybrid”, made from “fresh Adelaide Hills apples with hand-selected Queensland ginger”. The combination delivers thrilling flavours of racy apple and piquant ginger, with a dry, refreshing finish. Owners Steve Dorman and Tobias Kline say they use no concentrate, sugar or water, just fresh ingredients.

11 November 2014 in goodfood.com.au
12 November 2014 in the Canberra Times

Beer and cider review – Konig Ludwig and Forbidden Fruit

22 October 2014Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

Konig Ludwig Weissbier 330ml $4.15
If we can believe the label, King Ludwig travelled from Bavaria to an importer in Cincinnati, Ohio, before landing in Canberra as fresh as can be. This is a very good example of the Bavarian wheat style: cloudy, pale golden colour; abundant white head; sweet, fruity aroma and rich, creamy palate with a zesty, ultra-fresh finish.

Forbidden Fruit Original Cider 330ml $3.92
Forbidden Fruit, from Otway, Victoria, bills itself as a semi-sweet cider, made alongside Otway Estate’s beers and wines. On the palate, however, the cider seems closer to dry than sweet, with pleasant, fresh, clean, apple-like flavours (not always present in ciders). The sweetness simply fleshes out the palate.

Beer joins wine and cider at Napoleone, Yarra Valley

1 October 2014Beer, CiderChris Shanahan

The Napoleone family planted orchards in the Yarra Valley in the 1940s and vineyards in 1987. In 1999 they built a winery and in 2001 released their first wines under the Punt Road label.

Owning 250-hectares of orchards no doubt helped the Napoleone family to produce apple and pear cider from 2008. Then in August this year, Joe and Michael Napoleone became brewers, too, following completion of the Napoleone Brewery and Ciderhouse at Coldstream.

In the facility (now open to the public) Behn Payten’s ciders have been joined by Ben Waymouth’s first two beers: Breakneck Porter and American Pale Ale.

In just a couple of decades the Napoleone enterprise moved decisively from primary production to vertically integrated manufacturing and sales, with a significant stake in Yarra Valley tourism.

Beer and cider review – Matso’s and Tilse’s

30 July 2014Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

Matso’s Lychee Beer 330ml $3.42
Matso’s brewery, Broome, describe this as a “mixed marriage” derived from the various long-term influences on local culture – “Chinese, Japanese, Koepangers and Ghans”. Slightly reminiscent of the Belgian wheat style, Lychee offers fresh, light, delicate flavours with a little sweet kiss, courtesy no doubt of the lychee and elderflower in the brew.

Tilse’s Pear Cider 500ml $6.45
Tilse’s cider comes from Beurre Bosc and Williams pears grown in the foothills of Barrington Tops, in the upper Hunter Valley NSW. The delicate and definitely pear-like aroma leads to a light bodied, delicate, similarly pear-like palate. The delicate acidity gives a freshness to the slightly sweet finish.

Beer and cider review — Australian Brewery and Samuel Smith

12 March 2014Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

Australian Brewery The Fresh Press Cider 4-pack 355ml cans $14.99
The Australian Brewery of Rouse Hill, Sydney, say they ferment their cider from freshly crushed apples. It’s a pale coloured, low-gas cider with a pleasing, clean, apple-like aroma and flavour and a slight sweetness just outweighing the acidity.

Samuel Smith’s India Pale Ale 550ml $8.50
Smith’s says it uses water from a well sunk in 1758 top ferments their beer in traditional Yorkshire stone fermenters. True to the traditional India Pale style, it’s intensely bitter, thanks to a mother load of hops (originally a 19th century preservative for the long voyage to India).

Coca-Cola Amatil prepares for 2014 beer and cider launch

13 November 2013Beer, CiderChris Shanahan

When Coca Cola Amatil sold its stake in Pacific Beverages to SAB Miller, it agreed to remain out of the Australia beer and cider markets for a couple of years. But CCA always intended to re-enter the market and is now on the brink of doing so on a considerable scale.

Initially, CCA acquired Foster’s Group Pacific Limited (renamed Paradise Beverages (Fiji) Limited, owner of a Fiji brewery; entered into a joint venture with the Casella family to brew beer in Griffith, NSW; and then agreed to distribute Rekorderlig cider in Australia from 1 January 2014.

Then in early November Managing Director Terry Davis added several more products to the list – Molson Coors and Samuel Adams beers from the USA, and its own Alehouse draught beer and Pressman’s Australian cider.

The January 2014 launch should have a considerable impact on the Australian beer and cider markets.

First published 13 November 2013 in the Canberra Times.

Cider and beer review — Apple Thiefand Little Brewing Company

11 September 2013Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

Apple Thief William Pear Cider 330ml $4.15
Apple Thief is a Batlow-based brand making apple and pear ciders from local fruit – in this instance William pears. The colour is pale and while the aroma’s light, the slightly sweet palate delivers delicate pear flavour and tart acidity. It’s all-natural, they say, and definitely tastes like pears.

The Little Brewing Company Mad Abbot Dubbel 330ml $8
From Port Macquarie comes this deep brown ale, modelled on a style developed by Belgium’s Trappist monks in the nineteenth century. It’s an opulent, malty, fruity, high-alcohol style (6.9 per cent), with fresh acidity and quite low on bittering.