Knights Cider Company Malvern Gold Cider

Starting 2013 with nothing less than a contradiction:-) To paraphrase the label; "The blend of apples captures the character and freshness that can only be attained when real apples and quality become the primary am of the cider maker ". I personally don't dislike that statement. In fact, I find it hard to disagree with - it captures the passion and spirit of traditional cider makers fairly well.

Knights Cider... rings a bell, though its not clear why on the bottle. This looks a wholesome and its even made on a farm judging by the address. Malvern also rings a bell. Given this I did a quick search on previous reviews and found two matches. Aston Manors Knights Cider and Aston Manors Malvern Press. Notice the common thread? I hate it when I have to dig around to find anything out about something like this, but a quick Google search took me to the 'Ratebeer' and then on to Knights Ciders own website which is... no, don't hold your breath... wholly owned by Aston Manor. In fact it is their 'exclusive range'.

It comes to something when a company has to hide its own identity for fear that someone like me will instantly judge the cider as 'commodity' (to put it politely)! However, I tried this cider already so if there is any damage its already been done... its already scored and I am not going to change that for this discovery!

I do have some issues with the way Aston Manor market themselves, but they are by no means the only ones that do it. I tend to refer to these companies as the 'Diageo's' of the cider world. After all, do you know how many brands Diageo own and sell? (For those who don't, I cannot provide an exhaustive list, but lets just mention Smirnoff, Gordons, Baileys, Guiness, Johnny Walker, Captain Morgan, Bells and about 15+ whiskys'). OK, cider makers are not to that scale, but it can be a challenge to find out who makes what sometimes and I personally find it a little annoying.

Anyway, lets get on with this cider. After all, it looks deep and golden in the bottle - if a little too polished and bright. However, how does this cider stack up against its own statement (which in hindsight comes across as mere marketing speak now I know who makes the stuff!)

It has a spritzig of fizz as it is poured out, which settles into a low sparkle that lifts the smell a bit. Its aroma is gently juicy and fruity - not a big smeller then. All in all it looks fairly pleasing, albeit it has been filtered to within an inch of its life. I suspect it is pasteurised too, as it is a medium cider and the maker states 'no sweeteners' - so they will have had to use either sugar or juice.

The taste itself is rather juicy and, to be honest, it is pretty watery too. For a cider at 6% I do wonder whether the alcohol content has been raised and cut back to 6% for it to be this watery. The fruit and complexities (tannin and acid) are very well balanced, albeit watered down and very mild. In all, its a cider which is eminently drinkable but leaves me feeling unchallenged and my taste-buds rather uninspired.

The aftertaste is pretty short on flavour too. My notes ask 'where did it go'?

So, in summary, this is a reasonably nice cider with a reasonable amount of fruit and tannin going on to make it 'west country'. But. Being pretty watery and light on flavour (and juicy) I doubt it is going to satisfy those seeking a real 'exclusive' taste - or simply the cider drinker of experience. Its one of those ciders that give more than just a commodity cider but not much more.

With a score of 67/100, Malvern Gold is respectable but misses an apple (and that could actually be quite a meaningful statement on more than one level:-)

Duchy Originals Organic Herefordshire Cider

They don't do names by half at Duchy Originals for Waitrose do they?  The full monika for this one is 'Organic Herefordshire Reserve Dry Cider'. And breathe:-)

I love the way that this cider is in a 750ml bottle. The idea of sharing a bottle of cider fits well with how I see the drink. Its also a clear bottle, so you can see the golden fluid before its even open. Very inviting and warming too. I think Duchy have the packaging side of things nailed - classy clear label. So its just the name that tries a little too hard to cover all possible bases!

It may come as a shock and surprise to realise that Aston Manor make this cider for Waitrose under the name of Duchy Originals. I am not sure whether this is Aston Manor making it for Duchy who then supply it to Waitrose. It would fit in with the name for it to be three or even four parts removed... makes it much longer:-)

OK. This cider is low carbonation, golden and very bright. It looks really good actually. There is little smell from it however - although what there is smells just about right for a Hereforshire cider made from bittersweet/sharp fruit.

And it is a really nice cider. A good taste of fruit with a moderate body and tannin to it. There is acid too; understated but nicely balanced. And the aftertaste is as the taste - balanced, if a little short.

I guess if there is one criticism I would make of this cider, it is that it follows the rules a little too closely. Sure, its got character - but its a fairly ubiquitous Herefordshire character that is competent. Mind you, that fits with its classic and high end bottle, label and price. Its a civilised cider.

It scores 74 and earns a bronze medal.

Aston Manor Malvern Press 81

Cider in a bottle or cider on draught. That's what I review on here. No cans. Anything that is deemed to be suitable for cans is generally of the Strongbow ilk - and I have to draw the line somewhere. Now, Press 81 is a bit of a challenge to that. Its a bottle shaped can... so, in that I try to keep an open mind I will let it pass and give them the benefit of the doubt. Mind you, its even got the 'chill till the thing-a-ma-jig turns blue' so really shouldn't have qualified!

And why is it called Press '81'? Well (and I have to take my hat off to the creativity of this) its the 81st recipe thought up by the cider maker. Now, I am probably recorded as having said that cider doesn't have a recipe, so I cannot hide from that. However, I can only figure that they went through a list of apple varieties, crossing 80 of their attempts out before having that eureka moment.

Being produced by Aston Manor, I am not surprised by the can and the fippery. However, I don't hate their ciders - well, not all of them. So when it pours out nice and golden with a bittersweet aroma (and quite a thick one) I am pleased.

This doesn't last unfortunately. The drink is quite watery to the taste, and the thickness of the bittersweet is not backed up by the drink itself. The aftertaste is equally short on flavour, due to the wateriness of it all. There is little acid, and quite a sweetness that is a bit confuddling to me - they say on the bottle that there are no colours, flavourings or sweeteners. I can believe this, although it has been sweetened somehow - probably by apple juice and pasteurisation (it does have that juicy taste to it).

On the whole, its not a terrible cider - I would say that it is one of Aston Manor's better ciders in fact. However, I think its one of those that I would encourage my cider friend to move on from rather than to.

A score of 61 is fair; for me that is anyway. It has got fruit in it, but it is in a can still - a bottle shaped one:-)

Aston Manor Knights Cider

Another Aston Manor for tonight. It doesnt say whether it is dry, sweet etc. It does say, however, that there are no added sweeteners, colours or added flavours. Also says its made from apples from their Crumpton Oaks Farm... could Ston Manor be getting a bad press generally. Mind, seeing their operation in Aston, Birmingham (which looks like a small chemical works) there is definitely no chance of an orchard next door!!


So its back to the old philosophy: don't judge before you have tried. And this seems to be the right approach - at pouring it has a light scent/aroma to it. Also a light golden colour - looks appetising enough.

Moderate cider taste - a bit watery though. Nothing really odd about this cider at all. It has a little tannin to it, although this is washed away fairly quickly. There is a very light acid behind it too, although again, its quite faint and disappates pretty fast.

Aftertaste is really short, and while I can accept that this cider hasn't had too much added, I do wonder if its been cut a bit too far. Having said that, its not a terrible cider at all, and does have some character to it. It doesn't taste particularly dry, although I suspect that if it hasn't been sweetened then the reduction in tannins (and I must say I am hazarding a guess about it being cut!) is due to the wateriness of the cider - hence it doesn't particularly feel that dry.

Not a bad cider from Aston Manor. As I found it in a Morrisons (where variety of cider is often fairly limited) I would probably go for this over many of the other offerings. It scored 64/100. So not the best, but definitely not the worst! If I had to write a list of 10 ciders for a WKD drinker to try in order to move them to a more traditional apple based drink, I am still unsure whether I would include it - it just isn't 'heritage' enough for me.

Aston Manor Kingstone Press

I believe that Kingstone Press is Aston Manor's main cider blend. For those who are unfamiliar with them, Aston Manor is a cider producer based in Aston, Birmingham. Well, no one said that all cider producers had to be on a farm, did they?

I think I ought to cut to the chase with this one (having tried it last night and already having a score for it). I am sure there must be people out there who think that this is what cider ought to taste like. For me though, it starts off with a strange smell. I have noted 'chemically', but there is some apple to it as well. There is a moderate fizz to it as well, and on tasting I understood the odd smell.

Its is very sweet - and syruppy. The cider I think of immediately is the Stella Cidre. Its a lot of apple juice with a moderate (but balanced) cider flavour added in. Its pretty sickly though. I can't imagine why its advertised as being a dry cider - there isn't much dry about it (although often 'dry' means the finishing gravity rather than the taste).

There isn't a whole lot of aftertaste either, which is lost in the overall sweetness of the cider. And with a 660ml bottle of the stuff, there was plenty of chance to find an distinctive aftertaste.

So, sorry Aston Manor, but this one is not a great one (do bear in mind it is my opinion only). A score of 46.