Ciders and Perries are very ancient and traditional drinks of the British Isles, as well as our European neighbours. As long as apples and pears have been grown in Britain, it is very likely that some form of alcoholic drink would have been made from them. The Romans certainly crushed and pressed apples to make an alcoholic drink from the juice and they also introduced a number of apple varieties into Britain during their conquests; however there is great evidence that the Celts, who were great traders and seafarers, also introduced apple varieties into these lands and islands.

Cider as we know it today - real cider at any rate - developed on the continent and migrated to Britain via the Spanish, Gauls and Normans. Prior to the Norman Conquest, the Spanish of the Asturias and Basque areas had developed the technologies of crushing and pressing apples to quite a high degree, and the Normans brought this technology to the Auge valley region of France. Here the technology was further refined and apple varieties selected and developed to produce higher quality ciders. Following the activities of William and his barons in 1066, it naturally follows that they would want to bring parts of their culture, including the quite highly developed wine and cider making practices, with them. Of course there is also a strong link between the Britons of south-west England and Wales, and the Bretons of north-west France, both having a long history of cider and perry making; however this is less well documented.

Cider and Perry

Cider is made from the fermented juice of apples.

All types of apples can be used but the choice of apple types and therefore style of cider, is often down to geographic and climatic conditions. It is highly probable that wherever apples grew, local folk would make cider from the available fruit.

West Country ciders (ie: Somerset, Herefordshire, etc) use a high proportion of - or uniquely - true cider apples which contain high amounts of tannins and sugars. They are usually unpleasant to eat, the tannins making them bitter tasting, but these properties of the fruit help produce richly flavoured and full-bodied ciders. The tannins also often produce lasting spicy flavours and mouth-drying bitterness on the palate.

Eastern Counties style ciders are made from a high proportion of - or uniquely - dessert and culinary fruit, of variable ratios. According to tradition, such ciders originated in Kent and Suffolk, but this is very questionable as some of the very early cider-makers who wrote about their craft lived and made cider around England, including the (sadly anonymous) author of “The Compleat Planter & Cyderist” (1683) who lived in or around Nottingham. However, “Kentish Cider” is a recognised style. Eastern Counties style ciders tend to be lighter, paler, sharper and crisper than West Country ciders as they are made using apples with much lower tannin content and higher acid content; they are often described as “wine-like”.

Perry is made from the fermented juice of pears

Just as with cider, perry has a long history within the British Isles and just as wild apples (‘crabs’ of ancient European or Siberian ancestry) grew around Britain, so did wild pears. However, it took until the links with and conquests by our near-continental neighbours for pear growing and perry to really get a foothold in Britain. Just like apples, pears have been bred and developed by orchardists, ancient and more recent, to have a range of characteristics suited to eating, cooking - or making perry. Just like apples and cider, perry can of course be made with all types of pears, but the true perry pear is the best choice for a full flavour and full-bodied drink.

Perry pears are usually best described as “bitter little bullets” - they seldom resemble the traditional pear-shape, often being round and looking like small apples. They are very rich in tannins, sugars and acids and this combination makes a truly different drink to cider, again the most used adjective being “wine-like”. The acknowledged centre for traditional perry making in Britain is the area of the “Three Counties”: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

“Pear Cider…”

‘Pear Cider’ developed as a marketing term and has quickly been adopted by the ad-men as a term to describe sweet, fizzy “perry”. While it certainly helps consumers understand the basic concept of perry (a drink made in the same way as cider but using pears), it has been abused and corrupted by the industrial drinks manufacturers. For example, “Pear Cider” can be used as a label on ‘cider’ flavoured with pear flavourings and aromas (natural or artificial); or used on drinks which have been refermented following the addition of pear juice to cider; or the very fizzy and sweet ‘alco-pops’ made with the imported concentrated juice of Conference pears.

The advice we would give is to think very carefully before parting with money for a “pear cider”. Always choose true perry and one made with fresh-pressed true perry pears. Unfortunately, until we can have compulsory quantitative ingredients labelling for alcoholic drinks, this is not going to be quite so easy to do. Buyer beware.

How Cider is made

Note that cider is made not brewed – brewing implies the use of heat, for example when making beer.

Real cider is made by gathering ripe apples and leaving them to soften and mature off the tree for anything from a few days to a few weeks. This harvesting usually takes place between the months of September through to December in the UK, depending upon the apple variety. When fully ready, the apples are washed and crushed or ‘milled’ to produce a fine pulp of porridge-like consistency called ‘pomace’. This pulp is wrapped in porous cloths which allow the juice to escape and then pressed under many tons of force.

The fresh-pressed juice is poured into containers where the natural yeasts present in and on the fruit begin the process of fermenting the sugars found within the juice. It is imperative that air is excluded but the carbon dioxide produced by the action of the yeasts is allowed to escape. Fermentation and maturation takes many months during which time the cider is racked to help it to clear and stabilise. Unless fermentation is artificially stopped by the addition of chemicals; by a process called ‘keeving’; or by heating, all ciders are naturally dry, as the all of the sugars contained in apples are fully fermentable - unlike beers.

Ciders are ‘back’ sweetened by using sugar, saccharin or sucralose. The problem with using sugar (although the most ‘natural’ sweetener) is that the cider will start to re-ferment, whereas saccharin has undesirable after-tastes. Sucralose is becoming more commonly used as a sweetener as it is non-fermentable and has no noticeable after-tastes.

How Perry is made

Real perry is made in virtually the same way as cider, with one or two slight changes; for example some perry pears need to be left to macerate after being milled for up to 24 hours before pressing. True perry pears can contain quite high amounts of Sorbitol, a naturally occurring non-fermentable sugar, often used as a sweetener in diabetic foods.

Definition of Real Draught Cider & Perry:

• Ingredients
1. The liquid content before fermentation must consist entirely of non-pasteurized apple (cider), or pear (perry) juice
2. No apple or pear juice concentrates to be used.
3. Normally, only the sugar naturally available in the fruit should be used to cause fermentation, but in years when the level of natural sugar in the fruit is low, the addition of extraneous sugar to aid fermentation is acceptable.
• Process
1. No pasteurization to take place during the production process in relation to the cask product.
2. No added colourings to be used.
3. No added flavourings to be used.
4. There must be no artificial carbonation for draught products.
5. Sweetener may be added to fully fermented Cider/Perry to make it sweet or medium.
6. The addition of water is permitted to bring the alcoholic content of the Cider/Perry down to the level required by the producer. Ideally, however the minimum juice content should not be lower than 90% volume.
7. No micro filtration allowed (this takes all the yeast, leaving a "dead" product).

Ciders not recognised as being Real

Below is a list of the most common ciders that CAMRA does not recognise as being real:
Please note that this list is not necessarily complete.

The most common reasons a cider or perry is not considered to be real are that it is carbonated, pasteurised, micro-filtered, or concentrate juice has been used.
• Addlestones
• Aspall
• Ashton Press
• Brothers
• Bulmer’s
• Diamond White
• Dry Blackthorn
• Gaymer's
• Jacques
• K Cider
• Kopparberg
• Magners
• Merrydown
• Rattler
• Rekorderlig
• Samuel Smith's
• Saxon
• Scrumpy Jack
• St Helier
• Weston’s Stowford Press
• Strongbow
• Taunton
• Thatchers Gold
• Thistly Cross Cider
• Weston’s Ice
• Woodpecker
• 'any cider with fruit flavour added'