Cider On the Rise: Paddy O'Shea's Hosts its First Cider Tasting With Sweet Results
Since childhood we've been told, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." But now that we're fully grown and in need of something stronger than a straight apple, we've strayed into the world of a strong drink after a stressful workday, and what could be better than a potent bottle of cider?
The apple-based booze is certainly rising in popularity here in Beijing. Proof of such can be found and any of your go-to brewpubs, taprooms, bottle shops, and even cafés, all of which are likely to have at least one cider variety on tap or in the fridge. To that end, some of the best cider brewers in Mainland China include Cider Republic, iBrew, JJ Crafters, and even local microbreweries such as Beersmith and Peiping Machine have started to add cider to their repertoires.
All that being said, Beijing's biggest cider haven may very well be the ever-reliable Irish sports bar Paddy O'Shea's, who have 28 cider options on their menu, and that already impressive total is soon to expand. Recently, we were lucky enough to join an exclusive cider tasting at the Dongzhimen-adjacent pub with cider expert and a pommelier-to-be (a cider enthusiast, if you will), Michael Kessler, best known for distributing wares from famed English cider maker Orchard Pig.
Before we got to talking to Kessler, we had an opportunity to try and few of Paddy's ciders. Below we'll list some of our favorites and why. If you're new to cider, you'll want to start off with a few of these:
1. Truffler – Orchard Pig (6 percent ABV) was one of the early highlights during our tasting. Compared to its sweeter sibling, Reveller, the Truffler has an underlying bitter taste that is paired with an initially fruity aroma. It finishes out with a dry finish and a round body.
2. Reveller – Orchard Pig (4.5 percent ABV) is quite smooth throughout thanks to its lighter body and subtle sparkling bubbles.
3. Vintage 2015 – Henry Westons (8.2 percent ABV) is matured in old oak barrels for up to six months and brewed using apples from three British counties: Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire. This all makes for a relatively dry and rich flavor, and with a smooth body that belies its hefty ABV.
4. Apple and Cranberry Ciders – JJ Crafters (7 percent ABV). JJ Crafters' apple cider is very dry, sparkly, and featured a nice head to counteract the bready and mild body. The cranberry rendition featured a pretty pomegranate color and we found it to be slightly more balanced than its apple-based brethren.
5. Old Rosie Cloudy Cider Westons Cider (7.3 percent ABV) was cloudy and flat, sour, savory, and boozy all once. This variety is brewed using apples that have fallen to the ground and matured in oak vats. A surefire way to start seeing double.
6. Hopped Cider – Zeffer (5 percent ABV) was a clear departure on account that it is dry-hopped, making for a dry cider that doesn't sacrifice any of its floral notes.
7. Moa Cider (4 percent ABV) Having not been particularly impressed by any of the sweetened ciders offered up, we found a true gem in New Zealand's Moa Cider, made outstanding by the notes of sugary date and refreshing green apple finish.
The others we sampled smacked of artificiality or were poorly balanced. Among the worst, in my opinion, was the Stowford Press (4.5 percent ABV), which was light and flavorless; the Brothers’ Wild Fruit (4 percent ABV) with its too sweet combination of toffee, apple, and blackberry, and an appealing pink hue that couldn’t save it; and the worst, the Tempt 9 by Royal Unibrew (4.5 percent ABV), which tasted more akin to Jell-O or Kool Aid.
After the tasting we had a chat with Michael Kessler, who is from Somerset, UK making him “always a cider drinker first.” He’s currently in his final year of study to become a pommelier at The Beer and Cider Academy in London, founded in 2003, and plays a key part in the renowned Institute of Brewing and Distilling.
How did Orchard Pig get started?
Like most craft brewing stories, it started about 10 years ago, when Andrew Quinlan [founder of Orchard Pig] started brewing in his garden shed. He soon found a home at West Bradley Orchards near Glastonbury in Somerset, England. They have been making cider there for over 150 years. Somerset is widely accepted as the center of quality cider production in the same way people perceive Bordeaux for wine. It's famed for its "West Country" style cider which is a wider region of Southwest England, and includes Somerset, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, and Wiltshire. There's a long tradition of cider production in that region and this is important, because without a long tradition, and more importantly an uninterrupted history of cider production, the apples used can vary too much.
We were told that there are over 300 varieties of apples used to brew ciders, could you tell us more about that?
If you use an apple that is grown for fruit or for juice and make cider with it, the cider will just taste like fermented juice. Meanwhile, there are about 365 different kinds of cider apples. Most of those apples are crab apples, or cooking apples. They're too bitter for eating or for juice but if they are cooked or fermented, the sweetness and complexities of other flavors are released. So a long uninterrupted history of cider production in a particular region means that there is also a history of growing cider apples.
What’s your favorite cider from Orchard Pig? What makes it special?
I hadn't thought about it. It's probably the Hog Father Strong Cider, which is 7.4 percent ABV. Traditional ciders tend to be stronger in flavor and alcohol, so it's probably not a cider for first timers, but as you become a cider drinker you will enjoy it more and more.
What should a great cider be like?
A great cider has several qualities, and these vary between cider styles. The taste should be clean, crisp, and refreshing. Some great ciders have a stronger flavor, but a sour or bitter aftertaste is a bad sign. A cloudy darker color is a common characteristic of a "scrumpy" cider and often a sign of quality, but many great ciders are not scrumpies.
Of course, you don’t have to be a pommelier or hail from Somerset to appreciate cider. Ciders are so easy to drink (especially in the day time), so we predict a cider storm heading for Beijing's bar scene. Paddy's will soon provide ciders by the flight so that you can try a range to get to grips with which you prefer. Kessler also plans to host a monthly public cider tasting at the pub on the last Thursday of every month. For more information, visit Paddy O'Shea's website.
More stories by this author here.
Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tracy Wang
