Cider, and not-Cider

[CitTone]

Any cider drinkers out there?

If, like me, you like the occasional drop of the "local anaesthetic", have you noticed something about supermarket cider prices? Specifically, that the Irish bulk-tanker pi55 is consistently 20-25p a bottle more expensive than the small producers' niche, tasty, characterful stuff.

Does that mean that the economies of scale of Mugners' production are more than compensated for by their advertising spend? Who, with half a brain cell and a collection of vaguely operable taste-buds, would spend MORE on a mass-market pool of dribble?

[GeoffW]

Shifting across to pub pricing, why oh why would anyone pay nearly £4 for some imported tasteless dross (serve on ice! What's that all about apart from numbing down the taste buds) when you can get great tasting leg-wobbling stuff for £2.60!

OK, it might be a bit cloudy and dry for some but it's soooooooo much better.

I'm in North Somerset at the moment, but will be back home in Cornwall for the weekend where we have our own very good ciders as well.

[Petemate]

MMMmm. I well remember in the 50s, down in Devon, recuperating from a broken leg at RAF Collaton Cross, going down to the local in Newton Ferrers with my trusty banjo for a singalong nightly and imbibing the lovely cloudy scrumpy - 1/2 pint of that stuff and glassy-eyed. Quality.

[Max Headroom]

MMMmm. I well remember in the 50s, down in Devon, recuperating from a broken leg at RAF Collaton Cross, going down to the local in Newton Ferrers with my trusty banjo for a singalong nightly and imbibing the lovely cloudy scrumpy - 1/2 pint of that stuff and glassy-eyed. Quality.

I bet that's how you got the broken leg in the first place! 

Not a huge drinker of the cerebral-solvent myself, but have been known to quaff some of the 'real' stuff on the odd occasion when I was in Somerset. I think it was called Hecks or some such name - it's a bit hard to remember. I don't know why that would be?

[phoenix]

Old Rosie.

[sgould]

Ahhhhh! Devon Scrumpy!  We used to drive out of Plymouth to the Dartmoor Union at Holbeton in the early 60's.

The scrumpy was ladled from a dustin and sieved into the glass.  Pint of scrumpy and two bags of crisps - 1/8d all in.  About the price of 1.5 litres of petrol at the time.

I think the Dartmoor Union is a gastropub now.......

[Saabman]

Brewer and drinker of real ale myself  hick...

[sgould]

i only drink it!!

[Petemate]

MMMmm. I well remember in the 50s, down in Devon, recuperating from a broken leg at RAF Collaton Cross, going down to the local in Newton Ferrers with my trusty banjo for a singalong nightly and imbibing the lovely cloudy scrumpy - 1/2 pint of that stuff and glassy-eyed. Quality.

I bet that's how you got the broken leg in the first place! 

Nah - the broken leg was obtained stone cold sober, returning to RAF Gaydon from Birmingham one night in Aug '57, approaching a right hand bend near Kenilworth and a prat in a Triumph 1800 Roadster (Bergerac-type car) came round the bend on my side of the road on sidelights following his mate. Both vehicles written off, side view of the car showed the only part of the bike visible was from the gearbox back. Scrapyard man later told me he had to call for another truck and they had to winch the bike out to recover both car & bike. Police had calculated the combined speed was approx 100 - I remembered approaching the bend at around 35-40. The car engine was off its mountings and part-through the bulkhead. White paint from my crash hat along the bonnet, green paint from the car on the split crash hat. Nasty. The car screen frame was broken at the top where I somersaulted over it, bruising up my back. Some facial injuries, lucky to be alive. Still carried on riding the things up until 1993. Yes I know - some people never learn, two majors on bikes since the one in '57 plus several 'offs' in snow etc. All behind me now! Triumphs ('52 T-bird was the one in that prang), BSAs, Douglases, Ariels, Vincents, Hondas, Yamahas, I've had many and enjoyed them all!
Pete

[Max Headroom]

Strewth Pete - you were lucky!

You sound very much like me and a biker at heart. - I never had a prang but have had several near misses.
My dad used to race bikes in the early 50s, then met mum so thought he better do something more sensible and built and raced cars instead. I came along and cramped his style and he gave it up. but I can remember riding in one of his racing cars.

I pretty much gave up the bikes when my MG came along - girlfriends liked that better than the bikes.

My grandmother owned a string of pubs in Malvern - and there was one that had its own orchard. I was too young to partake of it but remember collecting the apples that went into making a homemade cider sold there!

[sgould]

I have been watching the Heritage Heroes programme on the Beeb this week. A couple of nights ago they showed a man who was distilling Cider Brsndy.  I think that I could find a home for some of that.

[CitTone]

Cider brandy? English calvados, then. I have a bottle of that just about a metre from this desk. I wonder if it goes with muesli.....?

[Norfolk Jim]

I have an Aunt who lives in zumerzet and when in my early 20's we visited a farmer/fruit grower friend of hers I had a nice glass of their cloudy stuff.

Having consumed it like you would basic Strongbow I will confess I have no idea where the place was and how they got me home.......................I could have been on the moon ......

That should have had a government health warning on it "this product can seriously affect your legs, memory, co-ordination...................".

I now enjoy the odd glass when down the West Country ensuring that a) I don't have an empty stomach and b) someone else is driving........

[Petemate]

Strewth Pete - you were lucky!

You sound very much like me and a biker at heart. - I never had a prang but have had several near misses.
My dad used to race bikes in the early 50s, then met mum so thought he better do something more sensible and built and raced cars instead. I came along and cramped his style and he gave it up. but I can remember riding in one of his racing cars.

I pretty much gave up the bikes when my MG came along - girlfriends liked that better than the bikes.

My grandmother owned a string of pubs in Malvern - and there was one that had its own orchard. I was too young to partake of it but remember collecting the apples that went into making a homemade cider sold there!

I MUST get over there and have a good nostalgic chat Mark. I promise to set this up in the not too distant future!
Pete

[phoenix]

Just found this- very tempting!

http://www.westons-cider.co.uk/Shop/Still-Ciders/Medium-Dry-Ciders/Old-Rosie-Scrumpy~~1x20L/