Olivers Cider and Perry Co., Classic Perry

What to follow the Magners Pear Cider then? Well, with a name like 'Classic Perry' and made by arguably one of the foremost perry makers in the world, this should be an excellent example (and one that sets the bar fairly high for this style of drink).

Scavenging information from the bottle, I can see that it is both carbonated and pasteurised. OK, I do have some issues with these processes although the proof itself is in the drinking. Pears are a difficult and unpredictable fruit - I have heard that it can remain hazy following fermentation. So some form of filtration is probably almost inevitable if you want to guarantee something clear. As for pasteurisation; well, it depends on whether/how the perry is sweetened. So, without wishing to undo things I have said in the past about both processes it really does depend on how they are done. Let's get on with it then.

Oh, one more thing. I confess to knowing a little about Olivers and the description of the production fits nicely with that - ripe fruit being pressed and fermented in barrels before bottling... simple yet seemingly so difficult for many producers!

This perry is moderately carbonated - it has been sat on my shelf for some months and still is clear and not excessively sparkling... it hasn't developed further on my shelf (the result of both filtration and pasteurisation). It is a light golden colour and has a strong aroma - almost cidery. It has citrus notes and wet hedge too... ok, nettles and berries. I am not getting a heavy pear smell from it - well, not pears I am familiar with.

Wow. This is as different from Magners as you can get. It is a full smooth taste with floral notes as well as a slightly lemon note too. The pears have developed during fermentation - in the same way that cider doesn't really taste of apples (if you are drinking a cider that just tastes of apple juice... not mentioning Westons:-) then it is worth considering this fact). I am getting some tannin too and yet there is very little acid to balance against it.

This is quite complex - and I am not an expert on perry. However, it is really very good. Taking a few more gulps I am starting to get more of the pears in the taste... this is a bit of a quaffing perry. Very nice.

There is a moderate length aftertaste which is a touch warming yet also satisfying. There is still no real acid but it does taste more juicy in the mouth as an aftertaste.

OK, this was exactly the comparison I was hoping for as a second perry. A score of 87/100 and a silver apple for Olivers!

Olivers Cider and Perry Gold Rush Cider

I am sure I have used this phrase several times during these reviews, and it is no less fitting for this next cider - now for something completely different!

What I have in front of me now is a bottle of 'Gold Rush', a collaboration between UK cider producer Oliver's and an American producer, Virtue Cider - it says on the bottle that it is the first transatlantic collaboration. Well, who can argue with that??:-) Why is it different? Well, it is a good old fashioned cider to start with, which has been put through a second fermentation (yup, sugar added and fermentation restarted) using Lambic yeasts. The label says that this adds alcohol and complexity. Let us see!

Using things like hops in a cider is a bit of an American thing going on at the moment. I am not familiar enough with their market to suggest it is a fad, though I am not so sure I would want it to take off over here. Not least of all for all the moaning certain 'beery' groups would do about the abuse of their beloved hops... or the equally vocal moans of the cider purists. Actually, I am just not that sure I would like it - though would be happy to try it just the once for the sake of testing:-) Lambic yeasts, to my untrained ale mind, remind me of Belgian beers or Trappist ale... rich and fruity (and highly alcoholic). It is going to be an interesting journey, this one!

OK, this cider looks fairly bright through the bottle, so I wonder if it has seen a filter. On pouring it has a moderate sparkle, which allows me to smell it even as it hits the glass... quite strong, alcoholic and rough in a tannic way. Oddly, it even smells beery too - quite distinctively. I think Olivers have made a cider with a duel personality!!

The taste is really very interesting. This is a nice deep and full bodied cider. Contrary to being rough around the edges, the tannins feel nicely rounded and there is a complex acidic taste too that balanced the drink out well. A touch of sweetening helps this, though unlike many ciders there is no dumbing down of the flavour. As for flavour, think spicy, farmy and at the same time a lighter note of fairly low level acid taking things up a notch or two.

Underlying all this (really nice) cider that is going on, there is a hint of ale. It isn't at all hoppy - that isn't what this cider is about - but it is there. Granted, I find it mostly in the smell and now that the mouthful is finished it is there again in the aftertaste: almost a lagery finish but with a bit more meat so I guess ale. The aftertaste itself is medium to long and quite fruit. A touch drying right at the end to remind you what you are drinking!

I am very happy to say that the cider wins in terms of bold flavours and overtone of the cider. However, the Lambic yeast has worked really very well with the cider - which is perhaps testament to the quality of the cider base. It is definitely the most interesting 'played around with' cider I have tried in quite some time. I wasn't sure about it to start with, but clearly it has impressed, with a big fat 89/100 and a silver apple from me:-)

Olivers Cider and Perry Yarlington Mill Cider

To make a change from Broome Farm, moving a little northwards from Ross on Wye, I came across this bottle of Olivers single variety Yarlington Mill cider and have been waiting for a good opportunity to crack it open. So, representing Yarlies in this little exercise of mine, I give you Olivers.

Now, Yarlington Mill is one of my favourite apples. I am not expecting to learn a whole heap from this (except perhaps how to make the most of it!) but it is a useful exercise in comparison of this bitter sweet fruit to others already reviewed. It is also fair to say that there are many Yarlington Mill ciders out there, from Wales to Wells (etc. etc.) This is just one that I feel shouldn't have been adjusted too much.

The one thing that should be mentioned about this version (I only just noticed it) is that it has been matured in a rum barrel. OK, so lets see if I can separate the rum from the Yarlie?!

To look at, this is an orangy golden colour - typical of Yarlington Mill - and has a modicum of yeast at the bottom of the bottle. It is also 'quite' clear. On opening, it is flat - just as I like it:-) The aroma is quite pungent (in a good way). Again, Yarlington Mill is an intensely aromatic apple; if you get the change, just smell them on the tree! This reminds me a lot of that smell as they come to fully ripe and start to drop. So I get a lot of fruit, but also a reasonable 'other' smell too which to me must be the
rum casks used.

The taste on this cider is beautiful. it is mellow with very little acid (as is expected from a bitter sweet apple, but the tannin is moderate and not too drying. It is also very fruity and earthy - another flavour component of Yarlington Mill (although the wood might play a part in this too). If anything, the rum gets in the way a bit of the fruit for my purposes, but in itself (as a cider) it complements the taste nicely.

A bit about Yarlies. These are a fruity and generous bitter sweet apple, classed as 'medium' or 'moderate' bittersweets. A very brief search shows that they hail from Somerset. Harvesting mid-late October, they are a vintage variety (and very popular too, due to the excellent flavour and heavy cropping). Oh, and I note that the RHS reckons Yarlies are good for nectar collecting bugs, like bees, so if you want just one cider tree - this would be where my money would go.

Back to the cider. The aftertaste is long on fruit and tannins, dying away gently. Overall, this is a real competitor to Kingston Black in terms of flavour, complexity and balance, although for me its a bit too shy on the acid to make the perfect cider on its own. A score of 87/100 puts this one right up there with the best SV's for me. Silver apple for Mr Oliver.

Olivers Shezam Cider

One of the things that I immediately like about this Olivers cider is that it has the process neatly described out on the back of the bottle. Knowing what I do about Mr Oliver and his people, I have absolutely no doubts in my head that this is what they do. Sure, describing the 'angels share' from a wooden barrel has more to do with whisky than cider - it doesn't really sit in the barrel long enough to lose that much (so they would have to be very thirsty angels!) but there is some poetic licence to be granted on this - I guess those hardened whisky angels would have to 'walk 500 miles' to get hold of Tom's cider:-) Apologies - an intended pun to reference the fact that Tom Oliver is also a road manager for the Proclaimers:-)

And so we come to Shezam. Why its called Shezam exactly, well I hope I find out one day - maybe its just that good that they all took a sip and shouted "shezam"?? (or maybe its magic cider?) Who knows... it doesn't work backwards (mazehs) and I can't really get any useful anagram from it (he'z sam?).

As is becoming a common touch for Herefordshire producers, this bottle displays the 'Herefordshire PGI'. I need to research this a little, but I think the sole purpose of this PGI is that you can only call it Herefordshire Cider if it is made in Herefordshire with Herefordshire apples. That may be a little strict interpretation, but its main aim is to stop others from producing what they would call Herefordshire Cider with any old muck. I can't see many Somerset producers bothering though with any kind of heritage PGI though - albeit I can think of one or two from other parts of the UK that might. In any case, it doesn't appear are restrictive as the French rules so that is probably a good thing.

On pouring this cider is beautifully golden, with low carbonation and is brightly clear... what? brightly clear??!! Oh, I seem to be coming across this far too much currently. Mind you, that is how the public will buy it. As a nation we are not interested in natural stuff, we want bright, crunchy and sweet. Well done marketeers and conglomerate foodco's for persuading us all that what we really want is not the best that a product can be, but some sanitised version of said products. OK, I like my ciders unfiltered or at most gently filtered... cider shouldn't require filtering as it drops clear. It does not drop polished, however.

Shezam smells fruity and gently tannic - in fact, the aroma is very gentle (when I say that I mean gentle, not faint). Clearly its going to be a full cider variety west country style cider - I recall my last outing with Olivers cider, and this smells from the start more balanced and measured. To taste... wow, there is a lovely blend of fruit in here. True enough the tannin and acidity are controlled - probably by the filtering - and its all rather complex yet gentle. Shezam really is well done - I would have said that it isn't missing anything but thats not quite true. Once again, heavy filtering has limited the cider a touch - and I do wonder if this isn't the full juice answer to what the big companies offer - they dilute, smaller companies filter...

The aftertaste is pretty long despite the filtering and its at this point I realise that I dont feel or taste any sweetening in this cider. It doesn't feel excessively dry, but it certainly doesn't feel sweetened either. Delicious!

So, to the score. Well, despite the filtering being an issue once again for me Shezam magics itself a silver apple from me with a score of 84/100. Its a wonderfully well put together cider even if it has been limited.

Olivers Traditional Cider

Back to cider from the Bristol Cider Shop.

Now, I hear all about Olivers Perries, which seem to win so many competitions that I think they must just have an honorary position. Oliver's ciders though... these are equally respected (and win competitions too) but I just haven't seen them around so much.

Oliver's as a company have a great rap. Tom Oliver is one of the key figures in the resurgence of perry as a quality, artisan product. In fact, this could be why his cider is overlooked in favour of his perry (well, thats my take on it). He is also another cracking cider bloke. Most cider people are nice enough - this should encourage consumers to meet them more. Travelling and visiting a cider company must surely be the best way to buy cider!

This cider pours with a very low sparkle - pretty much flat (but with a few bubbles) at the start. It also has a low fruity aroma, which smells slightly sharp smelling which is odd for a Herefordshire Cider (but then, am I just getting the whole county style wrong?).

Oooh - it has an extremely bittersharp taste to it. Sure there are plenty of tannins in here... but there is a very fruity acid to it too. Now, this cannot  be desert fruit, as the tannin is high and the cider is full and dry. However, its also leaning away towards the sharp side. So that must makes the fruit bittersharp.

I have to say that the acids do rule this cider a tiny bit too much. The aftertaste is all acid - the tannins fall away fairly quickly but the acid is biting to the end.

Sure its unbalanced - but it stands out from the other Herefordshire ciders really well. Do I think my trainee cider drinker would like it though? I think they may need to think about it!

It scored 79/100, so it a bronze apple. I think it really ought to have nudged just into silver. But I don't like to nudge scores just 'cos I think so. I do try to be objective!!

Oh, and apologies for the awful photo that goes with this post... I will just have to buy another bottle to photograph it properly:-)