Rawlins, Moons, Bollhayes, Blackmore Vale and Dowdings

I've now tried 99 ciders thanks in part to the 31 that I tried on my trip to Europe in 2023 (16 of those in England). The British Cider Championship was held at the Royal Bath & West Show in Somerset. Besides the professional judging for the championship there was a public judging of a flight of 5. You merely picked your favourite cider, you didn't rank them. These were Rawlins, Moons, Bollhayes, Blackmore Vale, and Dowdings.

I voted for Rawlins as my favourite of the five. Dry with a light flavour but very good. 7.5/10

Rawlins

Moons

Bollhayes

Blackmore Vale

Dowdings

Moons - this was not too bad but had little flavour. 6/10
Bollhayes - just an average cider, nothing special. 6.5/10
Blackmore Vale - this was good quality but far too sweet for me. 6/10
Dowdings - this was too light with little flavour. 5/10

Hecks Blended Perry

From this well known perry maker, Hecks makes this nice dry but with very light pear flavour. More astringent than most perries but it grows on you. 7/10

Orchard Thieves

I tried this at a restaurant in the Bristol Airport.
Orchard Thieves is part of the Heineken Group who claim they are the biggest cider producer in the world, producing ciders in the UK, Belgium and Ireland!
This cider is made in Ireland and has a medium weight — off-dry with a nice, even drier finish. Very good light apple flavour. Excellent! 8.5/10

Elbler Flut Premium

From Hamburg (Elbler refers to the Elbe River that flows through Hamburg) comes the Elbler Flut (meaning "dry") cider. Amber coloured with a light bouquet, I was told it was the drier of the two on offer, but it is still on the slightly sweet side. Medium apple flavour that finishes off dry and has 5% alcohol. A little sweeter than I usually like but good for its type. 6.5/10

Pilton Somerset Keeved Cider

From Somerset comes Pilton's keeved cider. "Keeving" means to make a cider naturally sweet without adding sugar by stopping the fermentation process. It is popular in England and France. The cider is fermented in cooler weather, and pectin from the apples slowly forms on the surface. The layer of pectin forms a barrier which slows the fermentation process by trapping nitrogen, and thus some of the natural sugars in the juice remain unfermented.
This cider is full flavoured, off-dry and smooth with a nice apple flavour. Initially slightly sweet but finishes drier. 7/10

Ad Astra Tornado

Had this while in Somerset, England. Ad Astra is a nice run-of-the-mill off-dry cider. Good. 6.5/10

Aspall Draught Cyder

I had tried their Suffolk cider. I tried this one at the Wetherspoon at Gatwick Airport. Aspall Draught is a standard commercial brand with a smooth flavour like Strongbow. Okay. 7/10

Perry's Farm

I visited Perry's Farm in Somerset and tried a few of their ciders: Vintage, Barn Owl, Grey Heron, Redstreak and Dabinett. I did this on their "flight" of 5 samples, though I did have a half of Vintage.

• Vintage – strong apple-skin/tannin nose. Initial slight sweetness followed by light astringent dryness. Very good. 7/10
• Barn Owl – called medium but more off-dry to me, but quite dry on the finish. Full flavour, dry but not astringent. 7/10
• Grey Heron – fruity and off-dry that they call sweet!? Has that fresh apple skin flavour. Dry but not astringent finish. 6.5/10
• Redstreak – fruit forward but light on second taste. Don’t notice champagne yeast they mention. Light astringent aftertaste, 6.5/10
• Dabinett – semi-sweet up front with a very dry finish. Made from the Dabinett apple. Light fruit taste but slightly old-apple taste – not for me. 5.5/10

Liesl Steirischer

This Austrian apple cider is light in taste and in alcohol - 3%. Its is made from the Steirischer (or Styrian) apple and has a lightly sweet taste (despite being called "trocken") with a smooth finish. Made by the drinks manufacturer Rauschend Feine Weine. 6.5/10

Goldkehlchen

A couple of interesting Austrian ciders from Vienna. One was an apple pear blend (65%/35%). Off-dry, the pear taste is quite subtle but makes for an interesting flavour. A nice light but lingering flavour. 7.5/10

The other was a type I usually never try: a flavoured cider. This one with cherry (13%), but because it was call "sauerkirsche" I thought it might not be too sweet. It wasn't and it tasted great. It is like a diluted cherry brandy or a light and more sour cherry liqueur. 9/10

Apple & Pear  

Sauerkirsche

Stibitzer

I'm not sure if this would be called and Austrian or Belgian cider. I tried it in Austria but it is actually made in Belgium, but made (according to their website) from 100% Austrian apples. They also make an apple-pear blend cider. It is off-dry to slightly sweet, has a good apple flavour that lingers and has a very nice finish, though slightly sweeter than I like. 7/10

Elegast

The first Dutch cider I tasted was the very good and strong offering by Elegast. At 7.2% it is the strongest cider I have tasted. It doesn't taste strong, but the dryness gives it a bite. Has a very good initial and aftertaste. This is made in farmhouse style so it is a little cloudy and mine had a tiny amount of must at the bottom. 7.5/10

Bear cider

Bear cider from Beerzepoort, The Netherlands is an off-dry cider with a nice apple flavour that continues to a long finish that is drier. I had the original "cloudy" unfiltered farmhouse style (but no must). Quite good. 7/10

Ruwet

Ruwet is from Geraardsbergen, Belgium. I tried both the regular and brut versions of their ciders. Both are made from 100% Jonagold apples. The brut was quite dry (but not insanely dry)—just right for me. After 3-4 sips it seemed less dry. It has a light apple flavour initially but the fruit lingers, and it has a nice foam head.9/10

The regular cider is off-dry with a light apple flavour that starts sweeter and finishes off-dry. Has a very faint allspice nose barely noticeable in the taste. 6.5/10

Brut

Regular

Wignac (75)

From France comes Wignac, a very French style full-bodied organic cider. Located in the Ardennes, they also make a rosé and a non-alcoholic cider. It is amber coloured with a distinct apple bouquet. A full apple flavour, just off-dry, finishes with a slight astringency. Now my favourite cider. 9.5/10

Bridge Farm Sparkling Pear Cider

I tried these at the Royal Bath & West Show at their booth: a medium cider, a perry and a sparkling perry. The medium apple cider was very good with medium flavour strength and smooth - 7/10. The sparkling perry was good - 6.5/10. The still perry was slightly sweet (as most perries are) with a very slight astringency on the finish - just right to help cut the sweetness. Now my favourite perry! 9.5/10

Lilley's Mango cider

I tried this at Coopers Mill pub in Yeovil, Somerset, England. From nearby Frome comes this full flavoured cider from Lilley's with a hint of mango. It is sweeter than I like, but is excellent. 7.5/10