Category Archives: Cider

Cider still small beer

1 August 2012CiderChris Shanahan

Cider consumption in Australia is growing at around 20 per cent a year. But it’s still small beer, so to speak, accounting for just two per cent of the total liquor market.

Australian brands continue to dominate, with over 70 per cent of the market. But imports, too, continue to grow rapidly – and any decent store or bar carries ciders from New Zealand (second to Australia), France, England and Sweden.

What was an apple cider market, with the occasional perry (or pear cider), now resembles a fruit bowl – generally a second fruit infused into a pear or cider base.

It’s turning out to be a field day for marketers as ever-inquisitive cider drinkers switch easily from one product to another. In many instances the appeal adds up to little more than sexy branding on a sweet and bland beverage. But among all the me-too concoctions is a steadily growing range of craft ciders.

Cider review — Bulmers

25 July 2012CiderChris Shanahan

Bulmers Blackcurrant 500ml $6
One sniff and I’m back decades, packing kids lunches, decanting Ribena to drink bottles. The sweet, slightly cloying aroma of blackcurrants is unmistakable, only this time it’s alcoholic (4 per cent) and dominating the apple cider in the blend. A crisp, acidic tartness cuts through the sweetness, but the sweetness lingers a little too much for my palate.

Beer and cider review — Mad Brewers and Old Mout

4 July 2012Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

Mad Brewers Ginger Chops Alcoholic Ginger Beer 330m 4-pack $16.99
Mad Brewers’ delicious ginger beer contrasts in style to the full-bodied, alcoholic, malty Kiuchi reviewed on 6 June. This is a lighter bodied version (4.2 per cent alcohol), tempered further by the use of malted wheat. It’s light, fresh and dry with the tangy bite of ginger adding a little heat to the finish.

Old Mout Boysencider 750ml $10
Boysencider, from Nelson New Zealand, combines apple cider with boysenberry wine, hitting a wine-like eight per cent alcohol. Juicy berry flavours and a good dose of sugar wrestle with the extreme eye-scrunching, mouth-puckering tartness of seemingly unripe fruit. It’s uniquely sweet and sour but really very appealing in small quantities.

French cider makers target Australia

2 May 2012CiderChris Shanahan

On 28 March, ubifrance.com – the French trade commission’s Australian website – highlighted the phenomenal growth of cider sales in Australia.

According to the site, Australia’s cider market totalled $300 million in 2011–12. The market grew at a compound growth rate averaging 19.1 per cent per annum over the previous five years and at an astonishing 35 per cent in 2011.

The article attributes much of the growth to the sheer diversity of cider styles, the growing number of brands and widespread advertising and event sponsorship.

The article points out the difference between “industrialised ciders with flavourings and added sugars to hide their defects” and suggests “real cider lovers ask for a real Australian legislation defining what cider actually is”.

The French take the opportunity to highlight the pure and natural traditional styles from Brittany and Normandy and the formation of Cider Australia to give a voice to Australian producers.

Grappling with cider

18 January 2012CiderChris Shanahan

Here’s something for would-be marketers to grapple with – what to call a drink made from grapes and apples? Grapple cider, of course, say the Scarpantoni brothers of McLaren Vale.

They’ve been making wine since 1979, but just before vintage in 2011 bought apples from a producer in the Adelaide Hills. The producer wanted them to make apple vinegar for him and the Scarpantonis agreed – but decided to produce something of their own as well.

With the apple supply lined up, they picked chardonnay and gamay grapes, extracted and chilled the juice and waited for the apple crop. A month later the orchardist shipped fresh, chilled apple juice to the winery.

The resulting white and red grapple ciders (70 per cent grape juice, 30 per cent apple juice) are available online.

Oxenberry McLaren Vale Adelaide Hills
White Grapple Cider 12X500ml $90
Oxenberry’s blend of early-picked McLaren Vale chardonnay and Adelaide Hills apples, offers a pleasantly tart flavour, reminiscent of a barely-ripe granny smith apple. Although there’s some sweetness underlying the flavour, the tangy tartness cuts through, leaving a fresh, dry finish. At eight per cent alcohol, it’s strong than beer, weaker than wine.

Oxenberry McLaren Vale Adelaide Hills Red Grapple Cider 12X500ml $90
The colour’s a vivid, light, bright pink rather than red and the aroma could easily pass for a rose wine. Those fresh, simple raspberry/strawberry aromas are challenged on the palate by apple-like flavours and a tangy, tart acidity – probably derived from both early picked gamay and the apples.

Cider and beer review — Comte Louis de Lauriston and Samuel Adams

21 December 2011Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

Comte Louis de Lauriston Poire 750ml $23
This Norman cider, made from 10 different pear varieties, provides dazzling acidity, pure, delicate pear flavours and pleasingly, teasingly, bone-dry finish. It has all the racy freshness of the just-ripe fruit itself. The maker captures the fruitiness through a cold fermentation, followed by a secondary fermentation in bottle to produce the bubbles.

Samuel Adams Noble Pils 355ml $3.70
This is a distinctive American interpretation of the classic Bohemian style pilsener, using Bohemian malted barley and hops originating in Bavaria and the Czech Republic. A pungent, seductive hops aroma lures us into the rich, smooth, malty palate, cut by the pungent flavours and lingering, clean bitterness of the hops.

Growlers seen in Fyshwick

30 November 2011Beer, Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

Plonk, at Fyshwick markets, now offers “growlers” – two-litre bottles filled on demand from 30-litre kegs. Growlers became a big part of America’s craft beer scene years ago, but made their Australian debut only last year in Melbourne.

Growlers give drinkers access to fresh, take-home draft beer from small brewers. For small brewers they mean a new route to market. Or, for those reluctant to take on the expense of bottling their product, growlers could be their only take-home offering.

Plonk owner, Anthony Young, says he sells the empty growlers for $10 each. Staff fill the bottles and buyers return with washed bottles for refills.

In late November, Plonk offered growlers of Bridge Road Brewers Galaxy IPA at $20 (compared to $4.90 for a 330-ml bottle – equivalent to $29.70 per two litres). Young intends to expand the range of beers available.

Bridge Road Brewers Galaxy Single Hop IPA 330ml $4.90
India Pale Ale (IPA) – originally a robust, generously hopped ale built for the journey, in cask, from England to India – remains a favourite and widely interpreted style. Brewer Ben Kraus’s version leads with the pleasantly pungent, resiny aroma of galaxy hops. The hops flavour cut through the smooth, rich, intensely palate.

Henney’s Vintage 2010 Still Cider 500ml $7.50
As cider’s popularity grows, we’re seeing many more high-quality versions made entirely from apples – in this case from cider varieties grown in Herefordshire, England. Made in autumn and stored over the winter, Henney’s delivers the full, ripe, mellow slightly rustic flavour of apples with a firm, dry finish.

Ciders go for glory

9 November 2011CiderChris Shanahan

Results of the Australian Cider Awards 2011 (www.cideroz.com) provide a glimpse of the diversity now available in our exploding market for apple and pear (perry) ciders.

The competition pits imports against local products, freely mixing perry and ciders from craft and large-scale producers. It even provides separate classes for products “using water and/or sugar in production”.

Surprisingly, the judges found but one gold medallist among the hundred-odd entrants. The gold medal winner, Henney’s Dry Cider (UK), just pipped its cellar mate, Henney’s Vintage Cider (silver medal) for top spot in its class.

The other silver medallists were: Henney’s Sweet Cider, Domaine Dupont bottle fermented Bouche Fermier and Reserve (Normandy, France), The Hills Cider Company Dry Perry (Adelaide Hills), Napoleone Pear Cider Traditionelle (Yarra Valley) and Matilda Bay Dirty Granny (Australia).

Phoenix Beers imports and distributes Henney’s and Domaine Dupont.

Cider review — Old Mout

2 November 2011CiderChris Shanahan

Old Mout Pear Scrumpy Cider 330ml $4.99
This is one of five imports from Old Mout Cider, Nelson, New Zealand. The range includes classic apple, apple scrumpy, feijoa and cider and boysenberry and cider. This full-bodied, high alcohol cider (eight per cent), though pale in colour, delivers full, ripe pear flavour and a delicate, fresh finish.

Cider and beer review — The Kingston Cider Company and Moa Brewing Company

25 May 2011Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

The Kingston Cider Company Hawkes Bay Perry 500ml $9.50
As a cider novice, I’ve sort of come to the belief that pear ciders aren’t as “peary” as apple ciders are “appley”, unless they’re from Normandy. Like the Norman versions, This New Zealand perry, starts delicate and clean with terrific, brisk acidity. The palate, though “pairy” thrills more for that vibrant acidity.

Moa Brewing Company Harvest Beer 2009 375ml $5.90
The subtitle reads, “A very rare beer from Aotearoa”. And what a wonderful beer it is, made from malted wheat, Nelson hops and cherries. The pale lemon colour and luxurious head are typical wheat ale, as is the heady, fruity aroma and zesty, fresh palate. The cherries add an exotic touch in the background.