Before one comments on something, one must try it. Not only that, one must try to be as objective as possible about it. Whilst there are many who would find this a bridge too far, I have to say that I have tried to live by it - though the WKD nearly put me off.
One of the important things to note about this particular cider is that it is like Magners - its everywhere! Its also quoted as a favourite quite a lot. Admittedly, its usually the berry variety that gets the vote and to be honest I was surprised to find an actual apple version (and I am not going to be drawn into the 'what is cider' argument again, especially as I am in an objective frame of mind:-)
Genuine Swedish Cider... that's what it says on the bottle. It also says that it is made to an old swedish recipe. Okay (slight swipe alert!!) what recipe is that then... shurely its apples???!!! One thing I have learnt about cider is that the recipe is pretty simple (although not all apples make good cider!)
Its quite frothy, but not excessive. Its insanely pale too. Not water colour, but a very light straw. My guess is that there is little cider apples in it. The smell is boiled sweets (surprise) and very sweet. Its not completely artificial though, with an apple juice smell too. Neither are particularly characteristic of cider, but there you go.
Now, the taste. Bloody hell its sweet. More boiled sweets, fizz and well, sweetness. It drowns just about everything else out. Think of a popular sparkling apple juice brand (with 'ize' in the name), add about a kilogram of sugar and you are just about there.
Nothing overpowers this. Not in the smell, taste or aftertaste. Its all sweets and a bit of juice. Maybe the 'old recipe' is to make cider out of boiled apple sweets... I am sure it could be done
OK, I have tried it now. There is an awful lot more interesting and exciting ciders to choose from - even on the most basic of supermarket shelves I am sure. It does beat WKD though.
I've tried the pear version of it (I didn't find the apple one so I went for the nearest) last year and after a a sipp or two I've pour it down the sink. Awful, yuck, horrible! Why it's even called "cider" in the first place? I don't have the courage to buy the apple version now. I think I know all about it.
ReplyDeleteYes... I couldn't agree more and was just going to reply with a great big smiley face!
ReplyDeleteHowever, more kudos to you for trying it... but no, I doubt you will be surprised by the apple version. I just wanted to try as broader range of ciders (in bottles) as I can.
Cheers
I think they released recently the "naked apple" cider whatever that means. Surely it's just as terrible as the other ones. It's a good thing, that I'm not the one who has to drink it for review purposes:)
ReplyDeleteI think Rekorderlig, another swedish cider is just as bad. I don't mind fizzy, sweet and fruity alcohol drinks, but ciders they ain't.
I don't think Reorderlig produce an apple version otherwise I would have to have a go. They remind me of a drink of my youth... 'Hooch'. It is a shame that they can be calling themselves cider though!
ReplyDeleteI understand that Naked Apple is just this one rebranded. At least that is my excuse not to have to try it!
Oh no, you are wrong:) Rekorderlig has an apple cider! Well, at least it's called "apple" :) I have seen one in Lidl in Edinburgh so I guess you could try in your local Lidl. But you know, I won't be suprsied if you don't run to the store right away:)
ReplyDeleteOh well, I always said I would approach any apple based cider with an open mind. Sometimes is harder to do than others!
ReplyDeleteOh, when I say apple based - I should have added; even if the apple is only in the name:-)
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteFirstly: I really like your blog! To a person like me who has quite recently started to discover the wonderful world of real cider, reading your well written reviews, comments and advice is both useful and educational. :)
Secondly: I'm from Sweden and I agree with you completely about the crappiness an un-cideriness of Kopparberg(the name means Coppermountain btw). The parallell to Hooch is also spot on since the swedish definition of what can be called a cider and what can't is about the same as that of Hooch I can imagine. According to the Swedish government a cider is a beverage that has to originate from fermented apples or pears and has to have a fruit juice content of at least 15% (and that can come from fruit concentrate). As for additives and such, anything goes: sweeteners, diluting,artificial flavouring, you name it.
So swedish cider is basically nothing more than a rather cynical attempt from large brewers to reach the not so small group that don't drink beer or wine, but still want to get drunk and want their alcohol to taste as much as lemonade as possible, ie teenage girls and young women. Of course there are others who also drink Kopparberg, but I can bet quite a lot that this demographic group is the primary one for the ones in charge of the company.
The "Naked Apple" is a different cider, supposedly it's a dry, more britishly styled variety. I haven't tried it though, so I can't verify their claims...:)
There are also extra strong versions of both the apple and the pear (7,2%) here in Sweden, not sure if you have those in the UK. In fact, I didn't know Kopparberg existed outside Sweden, but since the text on the cans is in english I should have known...:)
Anyway, I've ranted enough know!
Keep up the good work! :D
Twice now I've been at the supermarket cider shelves and seen students buying case-loads of this stuff.
ReplyDeleteI try to tell them, "That isn't real cider."
They answer, "We don't want to get drunk. We just want something that tastes nice."
Is Koppaberg the alco-pop of ciders?
Yes, I think it is 'one of them' - although really any cider with added fruit (or any cider that uses said added fruit as its main marketing idea) can be described as an alcopop in disguise.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting observation about Koppaberg, However, is that they do not hide from this or pretend it is anything other than an alcopop. So, to a degree they are *more* honest about it than some 'traditional' manufacturers... and they use the cider monika because the regulations in this country allow them to.
Saying all that - even though their honesty is there I still wouldn't choose to drink it:-)