Henneys Apple Sweet Cider

Now here is a strange thing. I have been trying French cidres for a month or so now - deliberately as I got 'em all from France!! OK, that isn't strange... but its that in the midst of all of this I encounter Henney's 'Apple Sweet' - which is almost exactly like a number of French cidres...

The smell of it is sweet, appley and full. Bittersweet notes ring out from the bubbles! Very French you mught say. Actually, I quite like it and have to say I am becoming a Henney's convert. It is only moderately sparkling too - and that is great! (I suspect Mike Henney is a man after my own heart on the sparkling count...)

So, to the taste. Bear in mind I have scored some ciders down for being too sweet (and I have even tried very hard to be reasonable with sweet ciders!!). This one is nice... and only moderately too sweet. What the sweetness doesn't do in this cider is to drown out its character - deep tannins with a mild acidity behind it. However, its floral in flavour too, which could be due to its sweetness.

Satisfying, even if it is too sweet for me...

Oooh. just got a big sweet hit. I have to say that the aftertaste is a little too sickly sweet and in this respect it does kill the apple flavour a bit too much.

Overall, this cider clearly wasnt made with someone like me in mind. However, it is a pretty good cider despite this and made with care enough to ensure that its character comes before its sweetness.

Very good 78/100 for an English cider that is as good as many French cidres!

Henneys Englands Pride Medium Cider

This bottle of Henney's 'Englands Pride' is a little ironic. Having been on Henney's website I knew to expect to find it at some point - although I am not a medium person. However, I found it whilst on business in Glasgow... at a Tesco as well. I was impressed but slightly embarrassed to be buying something called 'Englands Pride' in Scotland!

Anyway, this is a medium cider from Henney's and, like all the other Henney's I have tried is in a smart bottle - I think the St Georges appearance may need an explanation at some point, although I don't know at the moment. Its not my favourite Henney's label if I am honest... but you don't drink the bottle eh!

Its lightly sparkling, not intrusive and a nice golden colour. Its smell is gentle - sweet and bittersweet come to mind. And on the first taste its also a very mild and mellow flavour, with the tannin coming through at the end and in the aftertaste. This is not to say that there isn't much tannin, but it is overpowered by the sweetness of the cider. Well, it is a sweet cider!

What I find with ciders that are sweet is that the character and flavour suffer as a result. Having said that, the taste does linger, so while I may not be the biggest fan of the inital sweetness, I can get a real sense of the cider beneath it from the aftertaste. Very nice.

On the whole I would probably not choose this drink if I had other Henney's available to me. I guess that is why cider producers make ciders of different sweetness.

It scored 74/100. OK, so its the lowest of the Henney's so far for me, but very not bad! Another Bronze Apple... Henney's are safe hands!

Henney's Vintage Cider

 

When you don't live in Ciderland, the main source of any kind of cider is the off licence or supermarket. Its not as simple as trundling down the A303 or M5 and finding a cider maker off every junction (though I am sure its not that simple, even in the cider making counties!). So, where do you find really good cider? Online... festivals... by getting in the car/on the train. It is possible. However there are plenty to review just from the supermarkets; which is why there are few artisan producers reviewed here yet.

I think Henney's probably comes as close as you can get for a producer that supplies nationwide. Sure, there are others, but not so widely available.

Once again, I like the use of bottle and label - a darker look for the Vintage style. I really hope that these vitage ciders, with the year named on the label are truly that - its going to be interesting reviewing the next years vintage against the current one.

When its poured, I notice two things: Its a flat cider (i.e. no carbonation). Also, its a good deep colour - golden is a pretty good description. At 6.5% its unlikely to have been cut with water too much (going by Henney's own website, they only cut to get to a desired level - unless I am misreading it!). As a flat cider (i.e. no carbonation) its not going to appeal to everyone. But its not a bone dry cider either. This was a bit of a surprise to me at first, although its not made from just cider fruit, so there is some residual desert sweetness about it too.

I like this cider - I like it a lot. More so because I can go back to Sainsbury's tomorrow and buy a lot more to share with friends! First off, it has a nice cidery nose to it - not just apple arome, but a real cider smell. Then it is a rich mouthful, with tannins coming through, but also sweetness too which balances it out. Finally, there is a lasting taste - a good taste too. The cider I made last year had a similar aftertaste. My cider was full juice, I have no problems with this one at all.

So, why does it only get a silver then? Well, for one, only my absolute favourites should get a gold - its not meant to be easy! Second, whilst I like this one a lot, I do have a question mark about its character which is reflected in the score. It does so much well; its a good Herefordshire cider. But its still lacking something that I have found in the very best ciders. Its a little bit sweet beyond the sweet/bittersweet apples and is pasteurised too, which (and I never thought I would be able to tell) leaves it a bit too.. well... stable I suppose.

With a score of 80, its the first to get a silver apple from this cider fan! Well done and thanks, Mike Henney.

Henney's Dry Cider

Mike Henney started his cider making life as a hobby cider maker some 15 years or so ago. However, the fact that his cider can now be found in many supermarkets is surely a testament to hard work (and a lot of cider making!)

Henney's make a fair bit of the fact that they don't chaptalise or add sugar to their cider. And in nice clear writing on the label it says "Made from 100% fresh pressed apples". This is something that is impressive indeed - it does away with the idea that, to be a large producer, you need to adopt certain methods. However, a small word of caution... not long ago there was a case of an entirely different beverage which advertised 'made with 100% pears' which actually meant that the juice portion of the beverage was 100% pears, NOT that the drink itself was 100% pears. Doh! However, that is a digression. I have heard nothing to counter Henney's claim and I am very happy to accept it as a full juice product.

First things first though... and it is a bit sad - I like the bottle and label. Not being one especially taken with pictures of 'Olde England', this is a nice clean bottle with a clean and professional label. Not that appearance makes a difference of course?!

Its a golden coloured cider, with a light carbonation that could almost be in bottle fermentation rather than force carbonation. It also smells of apples - very lightly too.

Lightly is a word that could be used to describe this one. It a dry cider but this isn't through the tannin, which is in the background. Tannin in cider can really give it a puckering dryness; this isn't like that. Its a gentle cider with a gentle taste. It does feel a little watery, and I am sure that it must have been cut in order to get it to the 6%, which is slightly low for a full juice cider. Don't let this detract from it though, it has an almost home made sense to it which is very pleasing (it may be that I have been drinking mass produced cider for the last week and this is different?!).

Henney's Dry almost suffers with being such a slight and gentle cider. The acid almost gets the better of the tannin. But it doesn't. This cider certainly is testament to Mike Henney's aim of not using industrial methods in making his cider.

A good bronze apple with a score of 76.