Cider
and
PerryCider
and
Perry
Cider and perry (pear) have been made in this country probably longer than beer. We have a whole bar dedicated to these wonders. Be warned though we only sell traditional stuff so it may be stonger in alcoholic content than you might expect.
Popular belief has it that if you want to find a large variety of cider and perry, you head for the West Country.
From August 3 to 7 in London, lovers of traditional cider and perry will be heading West, too - to West London, Olympia and the Great British Beer Festival. For they will find a cider and perry bar bringing festival-goers a wide selection of drinks that were being quaffed in Britain before hops hopped across from the Low Countries to give us beer as we now know it.
Cider and perry's position in today's drinks market mirrors that of real ale some thirty years ago - the real thing in danger of being replaced by characterless fizz, with a number of traditional producers swimming against the keg tide, firm in their belief that quality would win through.
The delicious produce at the GBBF's cider and perry bar is proof that the small producers are right to stick to that belief (as if proof were needed).
The comparison with the real ale market goes perhaps further. If every click at the Olympia turnstiles is a call to resist those who say that real ale is in a terminal decline, the same is true for cider and perry.
Echoes of those calls should haunt cider's big boys who have flooded the market with over promoted (and overpriced) imitations of the real thing.
Chair of CAMRA's Apple and Pear Product Liaison Executive, Paula Waters, said: "It's true to say that cider is the wine of the English countryside. Encouraged by the boom in bottled beers, some of the small producers are bottling their drinks. They're aiming to compete with the wine market.
"Some of the best traditional cider and perries can be bought at the farm gate - if you can find the farm. With its cider and perry bar, the Great British Beer Festival is the biggest farm gate around!"
With increasing attendance at the GBBF's trade session, publicans will be able to find out just how good real cider and perry is, and if they are looking for something that will make their pub stand out from the crowd, they will find it at the cider and perry bar.
What they and everyone else will find at the GBBF is a group of people staffing the bar who know and care about what they drink, and will be happy to help those new to cider and perry find something to suit their taste. If you like what you try, ask your local pub to stock it.
You can do your bit to build the cider and perry revival by visiting the bar at Olympia, helping CAMRA to fly the flag for the real stuff.
And every sip you take will help to raise the flag a bit higher.
Menu Page ~ CAMRA Home Page ~ British Beer ~ Imported Beer ~ Cider & Perry ~ Entertainment ~ White Bar ~ Tasting Sessions ~ Food Range ~ Opening Times and Prices ~ Family Room ~ CAMRA Members Area ~ Festival Map ~ Other Attractions ~ CBOB ~ Corporate Hospitality ~ Other Information
The views expressed on this page are not necessarily those of the Campaign for Real Ale.
©The Campaign for Real Ale 1999.
E-mail the webmaster with your queries and comments.
