Cider Pub of the Year 2025
What is Real Cider?
What is Real Cider?Did you know that in the UK by law cider only has to contain 35% apple juice. That means many mass produced ciders can have all kinds of things added to produce the final product. They commonly have a large part of their content (and alcohol) derived from diluted fermented sugar syrup. They then have other things added to make it smell and taste as it finally does. Imagine buying a bottle of wine to then find that the main ingredient is water and that only 35% of it was made from grape juice, which has itself been watered back down from juice concentrate. You’d be right in thinking it wouldn’t be a great wine (and also illegal in the UK)
CAMRA defines real cider or perry as being fermented from the whole juice of fresh pressed apples or pears, without the use of concentrated or chaptalised juices. In other words where the alcohol level in a cider or perry is increased by the addition of sugar to an unnatural level for storage, before it is diluted with water to the desired alcohol content for sale. In order to be real, cider and perry should never be concentrated then diluted – either in terms of the juice used, or the alcohol content.
CAMRA runs a National Cider & Perry Pub of the Year competition to recognise the best pub or club that promotes and encourages the sale of quality real cider and perry across the country. There are 4 stages to the competition and the winner is normally announced in October as part of CAMRA’s October Cider & Perry Month. The branch Cider & Perry Pub of the Year competition is the first of these 4 stages.
Within our branch we currently shortlist all pubs in our area that regularly sell real cider and/or perry. The St Helens and Districts CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year can be voted for by all CAMRA members registered with the branch and we encourage as many as possible to take part.
Those shortlisted for CIDER PUB OF THE YEAR are:
- Beer EnGin (Whiston)
- Cricketers Arms (St Helens)
- Firkin (Newton-le-Willows)
- Skew Bridge Alehouse (Rainhill)
- Turks Head (St Helens
How to vote:
Download a scoring form and visit each pub on the shortlist and score it out of 10 for eight areas:
- quality and condition of real cider/perry
- Promotion and knowledge of real cider/perry
- Cleanliness and staff hygiene
- Service, welcome and offering
- Style, décor and furnishings
- Community focus and atmosphere
- Sympathy with CAMRA’s aims
- Overall impression and value
The quality of real cider/perry score is weighted so that it counts as ‘double’. These are then all counted and compiled to decide the Cider Pub of the Year for St Helens and Districts CAMRA area. Once all venues have been visited and scored people can drop their form into the box provided at the final pub they visit. Alternatively, they can return it via email (poty@sthelens.camra.org.uk) or hand in in person at the committee meeting on 12th March.