Cider is the focus of month-long celebrations for the Campaign for Real Ale which has designated this week as National Cider Week and encouraged local pubs to join the festival spirit.
The North East branch of CAMRA is switching attention away from beer to praise the merits of cider as it highlights pub festivals where customers can sample some of the best. Real cider actually has been seen as a key part of Newcastle’s beer festival for decades and CAMRA defines ' real cider' or perry as that which is fermented from the whole juice of fresh pressed apples or pears without the use of juices which are concentrated or chaptalised - which means adding sucrose before fermentation.
And it points out there are several Tyneside pubs which promote the good stuff, with The Bodega in Newcastle, for instance, currently holding its first cider festival. This features 20 ciders and perries from fruit based upon single varieties and rarities.
Read more: 10 independent Newcastle pubs for craft beer you need to try
Among those on sale there is a selection of barrel-conditioned and aged ciders and the pub is also holding ‘meet the cider maker’ events during its festival.
In Prudhoe, the Wor Local pub is offering more than 15 ciders: showcasing the likes of Somerset and especially the Somerset Cider Brandy Company. It is also matching cheeses to the cider.
The Station House in Durham, which is CAMRA’s North East regional Pub of the Year and promotes cider year-round, is also making cider a major part of this week’s beer festival, having established good links with cider makers, says a CAMRA spokesman.
The Monkey House Cider brewery in Berwick upon Tweed, which is a relatively new addition to the cider scene, won three medals at the International Cider Challenge within its first year of production so is one to look out for, adds the local CAMRA branch. Meanwhile, nationally, CAMRA is currently campaigning to ensure that tax and duty on cider helps support small, artisan cider-makers.
Gillian Hough, its real ale, cider and perry campaigns director, said the Government is to review the definition of cider for duty purposes and added: "Seeing Government respond to this with a commitment to ensure the tax system reflects and supports the industry is a timely and welcome step, and we’d like to see this review guarantee that cider must contain at least 50% freshly pressed juice for duty purposes."
Read Next
