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There’s been a
quiet change within Mansfield & Ashfield
CAMRA with the election of an APPLE
representative with the specific task of
promoting and reporting on anything
associated with real cider and perry.
APPLE is not separate to CAMRA, simply
the part that works with cider and
perry. Mansfield & Ashfield CAMRA has
committed itself to promoting real cider
and perry, in just the same way that the
branch is committed to promoting real
ale.
So as the person
elected to the position of APPLE rep.,
I’d better introduce myself. My names
Ray and I’ve lived and worked within the
Mansfield & Ashfield CAMRA branch region
for some 25 years. I’ve been a member of
CAMRA for about 15 years, but I’ve only
become an ‘active’ member since joining
this branch in May of 2005 – a late
starter! As well as real cider and
perry, I’m a long-time real ale drinker;
I’ll always drink real ale if there’s no
decent real cider available. Which means
within the branch area, I drink a lot of
beer! As well as drinking cider and
perry, I’m a cider maker… something that
surprises many folks - having a cider
maker alive and living in Ashfield!
The number of
people who don’t know what cider is made
from – never mind perry – always
surprises me. Cider is made from apples,
perry from pears; but not just any old
apple or pear. Varieties of apples known
as cider apples give flavour and body to
cider, the best-known varieties having
originated in the West Country of
England. Perry is made from perry pears,
which are hard, bitter-tasting little
bullets that bear no resemblance at all
to the pears that most people know, like
Conference.
So what is REAL
cider and perry? Basically, real cider
or perry should be made from pure juice,
pressed from the fresh apples or pears,
and fermented using the natural sugars
that are produced within the fruit
during ripening, using the natural
indigenous yeasts that survive on the
surface of the fruit or are to be found
on the cider or perry makers equipment.
My own slant on this is that it should
also be made from fresh British fruit.
Not because I’m a xenophobe (I’m not),
but because it saddens me to think of
the number of British orchards destroyed
and rich environments lost due to it
being a fraction cheaper to import apple
concentrate from Italy or China, rather
than buying fruit from our own farmers.
Madness? I think it is.
So next time you
fancy a drop of cider, look long and
hard at the pump on the bar dispensing
that fizzy, bland, tasteless
apple-flavoured drink – I can’t bear to
use the word ‘cider’ to describe it. Who
are you supporting when you ask for it?
British farmers and cider makers? People
with passion and belief? Or high-profit
motivated big businesses that don’t care
much where the apples and pears come
from, so long as they’re cheap?
It's also saddening to see that many
people are being duped by some very
clever, high-profile marketing to
believe that "Irish Cider"
is somehow real and traditional. Yeah,
right - about as traditional as the
glut of fake, themed "Irish
bars" that blighted nearly every
town centre up and down the country a
few years ago! Other UK
manufacturers are jumping on the
bandwagon too. I long for the day when
the 'manufacturers' of these
industrial, apple-flavoured and most likely artificially-coloured
beverages are legally required to
clearly list all of the ingredients
that go into these allegedly
"chemical soups".
The only positive spin-off from these
fake-ciders is that the heavy
advertising appears to be getting
more people to try ciders and from
there, to move onto fuller flavoured
and far more natural real
ciders and perries.
I need your help to
track down the good guys (and gals!),
landlords willing to try a craft cider
or perry or two on the bar. Makers like
Dunkertons, Westons, Gwatkin, Oliver,
Hecks, Sheppy’s, Rich’s, Wilkins, etc.
Email me
now, if you
find anyone worthy of a visit or a
mention.
Why not find out
where in the Mansfield & Ashfield CAMRA area you
can try Real Cider & Perry here
are the pubs which we know sell it.
Click
here to visit the Cider Forum on the
CAMRA HQ site
Here
are pictures of the Real Cider & Perry Bar at some
of our recent branch festivals. Click
here for further information on the
Award Winning Hucknall Cider Company.
Speak soon. Wassail!
Ray. |
