2019 festival cider list and tasting notes
Leave a commentAugust 13, 2019 by Swansea Camra
We have got 51 of the UK’s finest ciders and perries all lined up for you to try at the Swansea Bay Beer and Cider Festival from 22-24 August at the Brangwyn Hall.
Jo Bennett of the Pilot of Mumbles and her team on the cider bar have scoured the land to bring you the best tipples to be tasted.
The popularity of the cider bar at the annual festival has grown in recent years and this year’s choices aim to satisfy the discerning palates of Swansea’s real cider drinkers.
The beer list and tasting notes are here
You can read all about this year’s festival here
Please note, ciders and perries are subject to alteration at the last minute. Ciders are also subject to availability and when they’re gone, they’re gone!
Key:
S – sweet, M/S – medium sweet, M – medium, M/D – medium dry, D – dry.
Afal Y Graig : Cwmafan
Oakey Dokey 6.5% M/D
Oak whisky barrel matured cider from Welsh cider apples. WPCS Gold winner 2017. WPCS Gold winner 2018.
Pigswill 6.25% S
Award winning sweet Welsh Cider, blend of Browns, Ellis bitter and Dabinett cider apples. WPCS Bronze winner 2018.
Treehugger 6.4% M
Subtle blend of freshly prepared local cider apples. WPCS Silver winner 2018.
Brecon: Powys
All Gone Pear Shaped 5.5% D
Crisp dry perry
Beast of the Beacons 6.8% D
Farmhouse style dry cider
Black Mountains Beauty 6% M
Well balanced, fruity medium cider with a satisfying tannin finish
Rose Grant: Dorset
Cider by Rosie 6.0% M/D
One of the original and best, multi award winning small producers in Dorset, a traditional farmhouse cider, medium dry made from quality apples using the keeving method
Dee Ciders: Flintshire
Parai Perry 7% D
A naturally hazy Perry full of floral and pear flavour, soft with a dry finish and lasting finish
Richard’s Medium cider 6% M
Third place at the 2019 International cider competition the judges comments were ‘Floral and fruity nose, followed by a sharp freshness, mellowed by gentle, chewy tannins and light sweetness’.
Richard’s Sweet cider 6% S
Richard’s sweet cider uses the same base cider as our 2019 award winning medium cider. The extra sweetness softens the mouth whilst still keeping the flavour and finish
Garden Cider Co: Surrey
Elderflower 4.0% M
Medium clean crisp cider mixed with elderflower extract, floral and clean
Gower Heritage: Parkmill, Swansea
Mill Cider 6.5% M/D
Made in the traditional way fermented in oak casks using Dabinet apples providing a bittersweet juice.
Gower Flower Power 6.5% M/D
Apples and elderflower cider made in Gower bursting with floral freshness.
Gwynt-y-Ddraig: Llantwit Fardre, Pontypridd
Black Dragon cider 7.2% M/D
The legendary Black Dragon! This cider now has quite a following amongst the most discerning cider drinkers and rightly so. It is rich and full bodied with a fresh fruity aroma.
Celtic Warrior cider 5.5% S
This warrior of a cider is sweet but mighty on flavour. The result is a cider with a full depth of colour and a mature yet smooth finish.
Dog Dancer cider 6.5% M/D
We all have that one friend who thinks they can dance but really look just like a hyperactive dog! This smooth crisp cider is in admiration to all those friends out there. It is a light straw coloured medium cider with a nice refreshing crispiness to it.
Fiery Fox cider 6.5% M
This sneaky cider is as wily as a fox – one sip and it will creep up on you becoming your new favourite drink! Golden medium cider with a refreshing apple aroma. Smooth balanced flavour.
Haymaker cider 6.5% M
A fruity medium cider bursting with the flavour of apples. A true farmhouse cider with a smooth finish.
Happy Daze cider 4.5% M
Who can resist a light, bright, fruity glass of Happy Daze? It’s a smooth and fresh tasting cider which makes it easy drinking.
Pyder 6% M
An out of the ordinary blend of apple and pear juice blended to tantalise your taste buds.
Welsh Warrior cider 6% M
A mighty medium cider. Like a warrior, it is strong, powerful and proudly Welsh. This cider has good depth of colour and a rounded, balanced flavour.
Two Trees Perry 4.5% M
A pale, fruity perry with an aroma of fruit and a hint of honey on the palate, CAMRA’s 2013 silver award and Champion Perry of Britain 2015!
Hallets Cider: Crumlin, Caerphilly
Hallets Oak Cider 5.6% M
Oak conditioned, in Lowland whisky barrels.
Hallets Rum Cider 5.6% M/S
Special edition aged in rum casks and blended with this year’s juice
Heartbreaker 7% D
Classic dry cider, full fruit flavour finishing with a delicate sharpness
National Treasure cider 5% S
Sweet cider with delicate fruit flavour.
Px Sherry cider 6% M
Special edition finished in sherry barrels.
Llanblethian Orchards: Vale of Glamorgan
Mayday cider 6% S
A sharp, very sweet cider with good apple flavour – apple pie in a glass! Very popular on the festival circuit.
Orchard Blend 6% M/D
2014, 2016, and 2017 CAMRA Welsh champion medium dry cider, sharp and fruity with a well rounded flavour
Pixie Pear 6% S
A light fruity perry, perfect for people new to cider who enjoy a dry white wine
Summerfunshine 6% M/S
A light fruity cider with noticeable sweetness and a good sharp kick, perfect chilled on a warm summers day
Sunshine cider 6% M
A fruity medium cider with a pleasant appley sharpness balanced with a smooth sweetness.
Lulworth Skipper: Dorset
Chilli cider 6.5% M
Medium cider infused with twilight chillies and sweet peppers for a pleasant afterglow
Newton Court: Herefordshire
Gasping Goose 5.8% M
Organic medium, well balanced cider golden and full bodied
Panting Partridge Perry 5.8% M
Medium perry with a juicy pear finish from Herefordshire perry pears
Palmers Upland Cider : Newport
Cheeky Jackdaw 5.5% S
A full bodied sweet cyder with a tannic bite.
Made for the first time in 2009, December was really cold and the apples having been washed were sat frozen in baskets. Being short of food the local Jackdaw community took it upon themselves to raid my apple baskets and peck the heck out of the frozen fruit. The name Cheeky Jackdaw stuck and it became a favourite at festivals.
Chartist 7% M/D
A medium dry strong cyder aged in American white oak Rioja barrels. It has oaky vanilla notes with hints of dark berries from the red wine and a spicy finish. Named after John Frost the Chartist who led a 10,000 strong march past the top of our street to liberate a fellow Chartist imprisoned at Westgate Hotel, Newport.
Felin Fach 6% M/S
A lovely amber, easy drinking medium sweet cider with bags of fruity notes. Felin Fach being the orchard named after the Little Cider Mill the remains of which are still there.
Little Jenny Wren 6% M
A golden full-bodied medium cider with a nice sherbet bite. Named for a Little Jenny Wren trapped in the cider makers van as he was loading up the apples from the orchard used to make this cider
Johnny Anderson & Browns 5% S
Recently awarded first prize at the Yew Tree Cider challenge in Hereford, this beautifully sweet cider is made from two Devonshire Apples grown in an orchard on the side of The Sugarloaf Mountain
Ty Du 7% D
A bold cider, well balanced with a nice dry finish. It is made from an eclectic blend of apples and finished in American White Oak Barrel. It is bone dry, a cider drinkers’ proper dry cider. Named for the Ty Du Hotel in Rogerstone rumoured to have been a house of ill repute!
Shed head: Gower
Shed of heaven 7% M/D
New craft cider made with a variety of Welsh apples contributing to the deep intense flavour.
Skyborry: Powys
Medium Cider 6.5% M
A blend of Foxwhelp, Dabinett and Yarlington Mill. A traditional full juice cider made with wild yeast and no addition of sulphites. Good balance between the bittersweet tannins and the sharpness of the Foxwhelp.
Perry 6% M
A blend of Winnals Longdon and Judge Amphlett perry pears. A light and fresh perry full of flavour and floral aroma.
Thirsty Farmer : Nottingham
Blackcurrant 4% M
Sweet and juicy blackcurrants are blended with traditional cider to create a refreshing, thirst quenching drink with a depth of colour and a light floral aroma. Sharp apple works in harmony with ripe, flavoursome blackcurrants to produce a sweet, well balanced and delicately flavoured cider.
Lemonade & Lime 4% M
Traditional cider mixed with a flavoursome blend of sweet, citrus lemons and aromatic limes to create a wonderfully refreshing and thirst quenching cider.
Mango 4% M
The exotic taste of mango is fused with traditional cider to produce the perfect balance between sweetness and acidity. Slight orange in colour with a fragrant, citrusy aroma, this cider has a hint of mango that delivers a rounded flavour ending in a sweet and lemony after taste.
Orange & Pineapple 4% M
Juicy sweet oranges, exotic pineapples, crisp refreshing cider apples are bursting through this cider.
Strawberry 4% M
Traditional cider combined with delicious strawberries to create a craft cider with a hint of summer. Golden in colour with a slight red hue, this cider has a gentle soft fruit aroma, that delivers a delicate sweetness with a hint of strawberry flavour.
Ty Gwyn: Monmouthshire
Festival Ferret 6.5% M
Multi award wining craft cider from the Monnow Valley in Monmouthshire by cider apple grower and acclaimed fruit farmer James Mc Connel. A medium premium still natural golden cider made with Dabinett apples.
Westcroft: Somerset
Janet’s Jungle Juice 6% M/D
Medium dry golden cider, three times CAMRA champion cider. Traditional varieties of Somerset cider apples, eg Brown Snout and Sheeps Nose, used to produce pure juice craft cider.