Somerset farmhouse cider
Photo: ChuckDabs · CC BY 3.0

History

Cider is the West Country's oldest industry and Bristol has always been its city tap. Somerset orchards supplied the port for centuries, and the tradition never gentrified away: The Coronation Tap has poured cider in Clifton for generations, The Apple turned a Dutch barge into a floating cider bar, and a new wave of makers now ferments in the city itself at arch taprooms like The Cider Box.

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Common allergens: Sulphites

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 10 minTotal 25 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 litre still, dry farmhouse cider
  • 2 strips of orange peel
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 thumb of fresh ginger, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons honey or soft brown sugar, to taste

Method

  1. Pour the cider into a pan with the orange peel, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.
  2. Warm gently over a low heat for 15 to 20 minutes without letting it boil, which would drive off the alcohol and dull the apple flavour.
  3. Stir in honey or sugar a spoon at a time, tasting as you go; farmhouse cider is drier than supermarket versions and needs less than you think.
  4. Strain into mugs and serve hot.

Tip from the editors. Use a proper still cider rather than a fizzy commercial one; carbonation turns bitter when heated and the mull loses its orchard character.

Where to eat somerset farmhouse cider

Somerset farmhouse cider in Bristol

The Apple ★ 4.5

£ Cocktail barCider barOld City

The Apple pours dozens of farmhouse ciders from a converted Dutch barge on Welsh Back, the floating heart of Bristol's cider drinking culture.

DrinkA pint of still farmhouse cider on the top deck

FoodBar snacks and sharing boards

TipStart with a half of something still and cloudy rather than a fizzy pint; deck seats go first on sunny evenings.

Directions

The Coronation Tap ★ 4.4

£ Cocktail barCider houseClifton Village

The Coronation Tap is Clifton's centuries-old cider house near the Suspension Bridge, pouring its exclusive Exhibition cider by the half in Bristol.

DrinkExhibition cider, served in halves only

FoodBar snacks

TipExhibition is strong enough that the house serves it only in halves; treat that as a warning, not a challenge.

Directions

The Orchard Inn ★ 4.2

£ Cocktail barHarbourside

The Orchard Inn pours a wall of boxed farmhouse ciders in a Spike Island backstreet local, a few minutes from Bristol's SS Great Britain and its crowds.

Why locals goA Spike Island backstreet cider pub the harbour crowds never find, five minutes from the SS Great Britain.

TipOrder a filled roll and a cloudy half, then drink it on the pavement bench with the shipyard crowd.

Directions

The Cider Box ★ 4.2

££ Cocktail barCider taproomSt Philips

The Cider Box ferments and pours craft cider under a railway arch on Silverthorne Lane in Bristol, the weekend-only taproom for the orchard-curious.

DrinkA tasting flight of craft and traditional ciders

FoodCheese pairings and events

TipIt only opens Friday and Saturday; book a tasting flight or cheese pairing session rather than just turning up thirsty.

Directions

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