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New Somerset cider for Glastonbury Festival


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Not sure what this means for Thatchers Cider as in 2016 they signed a 5 year deal with Glastonbury Festival to be "official cider supplier". Below article does say that Mallets would be "the event's principal cider brand" whatever that means!

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CIDER lovers will be enjoying a new taste at next year's Glastonbury Festival.

Mallets, a new brand from the Showerings Cider Mill in Somerset, will be on offer at 110 bars across the site at Worthy Farm, Pilton, at next year's festival.

The cider is produced using apples grown just miles from the festival site and will be on offer for the next four years of the festival as the event's principal cider brand.

Matthew Showering, managing director, said: “We are honoured to return to Glastonbury once again with our ‘Cider for Gods’, Mallets.

"We have been part of the festival for more than 20 years, having introduced Brothers cider to Glastonbury back in 1995, so the festival holds a special place in our hearts.

"We have worked extremely hard perfecting Mallets and this latest deal is testament to its quality; we can’t wait for the Glastonbury community to try it.”

Michael Eavis, founder of the festival, said: “We feel it’s very important to have a local producer of cider at the festival, showcasing some of the best cider Somerset has to offer.

"Mallets is produced just a stone’s throw from the festival and we’re really looking forward to working with them.

"It tastes great and I’m sure our cider drinkers will love it. It’s already going down very well in the village Working Men’s Club.”

The Glastonbury Festival will take place between June 26 and 30 at Worthy Farm, Pilton.

 

SOURCE: https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/17298140.new-somerset-cider-signed-up-for-glastonbury-festival-drinkers/

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3 minutes ago, pilton digger said:

It is meant to be 5 percent. It would be ok cold but only one really. I like dry cider so too sweet for me but it is no where near as good as Thatchers Gold. 

At least it isn't feckin Sommersby or shite like that.

Thatchers Gold isn't much better than Strongbow anyway.

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19 hours ago, Dukeicon said:

Not sure what this means for Thatchers Cider as in 2016 they signed a 5 year deal with Glastonbury Festival to be "official cider supplier". Below article does say that Mallets would be "the event's principal cider brand" whatever that means!

I'm hoping that means that the Thatchers Cider stalls selling Cheddar Valley will still be there.  If the Showerings have got the main bars and the Brothers bar, can't imagine they'll have a problem with the "craft" cider stalls.  Looking at the Mallets Cider website, they do a dark fruit as well, so firmly going after the strongbow market

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14 hours ago, pilton digger said:

Fizzy pop. Sweeter than Thatchers. Kids will love it. Not for me chef.

:huh: This is very unacceptable.

I'm still not over the fact that many of the good pubs in Sheffield that do Scumpy have recently started selling a Fruit Scrumpy as their ONLY option. The Brothers Arms used to always have a great scrumpy on and a few times of late I've been in and they've tried to offer me a "tropical" variety, with the assurance that "it's really nice and sweet". No, no, no....if I wanted my cider to not taste like bitter old man cider I would drink fucking Rekorderlig now wouldn't I? 

Is this what they're going to be selling in every bar, or have I got the wrong end of the stick? Cider is exceedingly important to me! 

12 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

No heartburn with Thatchers, Strongbow's a killer after a days.

Agreed. I only touch the stuff out of sheer desperation and....

1 hour ago, Greenelk said:

Looking at the Mallets Cider website, they do a dark fruit as well, so firmly going after the strongbow market

....Blurrrrrgh. Not sure I can even face Strongbow Dark Fruits after Boomtown, where it was mostly all they had (!)

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2 hours ago, Greenelk said:

I'm hoping that means that the Thatchers Cider stalls selling Cheddar Valley will still be there.  If the Showerings have got the main bars and the Brothers bar, can't imagine they'll have a problem with the "craft" cider stalls.  Looking at the Mallets Cider website, they do a dark fruit as well, so firmly going after the strongbow market

And The Big Apple - that was a pretty decent cider for a mass produced drink.

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Cider anecdote time:

Thatchers always was (and still is) my go to pint with a 'spoons meal deal.

In 2016 I found myself working at one of the Thatcher's stalls at the festival and met Martin Thatcher himself.

The bloke's a proper trooper. Though possibly profit motivated, he wasn't afraid to really get his hands dirty at the front end when things were going totally tits up because of the weather that year. I'm sure he could've got a minion to do said job.

Whenever I tell the "I met Martin Thatcher once", story over a pint, I'm nearly always met with replies along the lines of, "What? The arms dealing, coup plotting, ex Prime Ministers son?".

Anecdote two:

Many years ago I was sitting on one of the stone benches in West Holts at the tail end of one festival (so it must have been the Monday morning as the Brothers Bar was shut) and got chatting to somebody who had been working there. They informed me that Brothers Cider is just rebranded Babycham. Exactly the same drink and same generations old family business and all that. I still have no idea how true this is, but I like the story.

So, just another rebrand is it then?

And yeah. I'll bet Thatchers are a bit pissed off at this. I've worked at a couple of their craft bars now. We possibly turned away more people who were looking for beer than we actually served a cider. I can't believe how quiet they were compared to the Brothers constant four deep, like serving a 70's football terrace, queue/scrummage scenario.

Thatchers (of any description) is surely the superior and classier drink right?

"I'll have a pint of Babycham plus a shot of flavoured sugar syrup please". Really? Well aren't you all grown up and cultured ;).

I think it's a bang for bucks thing. That "festival strength" is what sells it.

 

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27 minutes ago, MrZigster said:

Cider anecdote time:

Thatchers always was (and still is) my go to pint with a 'spoons meal deal.

In 2016 I found myself working at one of the Thatcher's stalls at the festival and met Martin Thatcher himself.

The bloke's a proper trooper. Though possibly profit motivated, he wasn't afraid to really get his hands dirty at the front end when things were going totally tits up because of the weather that year. I'm sure he could've got a minion to do said job.

Whenever I tell the "I met Martin Thatcher once", story over a pint, I'm nearly always met with replies along the lines of, "What? The arms dealing, coup plotting, ex Prime Ministers son?".

Anecdote two:

Many years ago I was sitting on one of the stone benches in West Holts at the tail end of one festival (so it must have been the Monday morning as the Brothers Bar was shut) and got chatting to somebody who had been working there. They informed me that Brothers Cider is just rebranded Babycham. Exactly the same drink and same generations old family business and all that. I still have no idea how true this is, but I like the story.

So, just another rebrand is it then?

And yeah. I'll bet Thatchers are a bit pissed off at this. I've worked at a couple of their craft bars now. We possibly turned away more people who were looking for beer than we actually served a cider. I can't believe how quiet they were compared to the Brothers constant four deep, like serving a 70's football terrace, queue/scrummage scenario.

Thatchers (of any description) is surely the superior and classier drink right?

"I'll have a pint of Babycham plus a shot of flavoured sugar syrup please". Really? Well aren't you all grown up and cultured ;).

I think it's a bang for bucks thing. That "festival strength" is what sells it.

 

As far as I'm aware, Brothers is a new venture, at least technically, but the parents of the Brothers were involved in Babycham - it was invented by their father's uncle, and he was apparently involved in Brothers, although to what extent I'm not sure. The two drinks do taste similar, but I don't think they're identical.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Showering

"Francis Showering became vice-chairman of Allied Breweries in 1982, after his nephew's sudden death. He failed to buy back Showerings in 1991, and joined with the four sons of Sir Keith Showering to set up Brothers Drinks, with a new drink, Straight 8, a full-strength perry with 8 per cent alcohol."

 

Anyway, the cider bus is the only proper cider on site.

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7 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

As far as I'm aware...

Anyway, the cider bus is the only proper cider on site.

Thanks for the enlightenment Mr. Hats. At festival strength Brothers is 1% proof stronger than Babycham, so maybe not the same.

Agree about the Cider Bus. First drink on site for me always has to be a Hot & Spicy as a matter of tradition. When they have it ready for opening that is. Which often they don't.

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2 hours ago, MrZigster said:

Thanks for the enlightenment Mr. Hats. At festival strength Brothers is 1% proof stronger than Babycham, so maybe not the same.

Agree about the Cider Bus. First drink on site for me always has to be a Hot & Spicy as a matter of tradition. When they have it ready for opening that is. Which often they don't.

From my Wikipedia research, it's not the same drink. The family sold the rights to Babycham and then the next next generation started a new company with the help of the original Perry man. Still shit though.

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42 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

From my Wikipedia research, it's not the same drink. The family sold the rights to Babycham and then the next next generation started a new company with the help of the original Perry man. Still shit though.

My mates in the area tell me the Brothers factory (distillery?) is the old Babycham site, so if they haven't cleaned it out particularly carefully there could still be homeopathic traces of the 'cham in Brothers' perry

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9 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

From my Wikipedia research, it's not the same drink. The family sold the rights to Babycham and then the next next generation started a new company with the help of the original Perry man. Still shit though.

Again Mr. Hats, thanks for doing the research that I couldn't be arsed to do.

I think I'm still going to tell that Babycham story though. It's one of those that, even if false, has enough credibility to sound true.

I mean, from what you've taught me today...

Family starts what becomes a famous drink. Sells it to someone else. Then proceed to start a new company with an extremely similar drink that becomes simarlarly massive? What? Surely the buyers lawyers would've put a "no competition within x" boundary type clause on the sellers?

Billum has replied whilst typing this.

This gets curiouser and curiouser.

So then.

Thatchers, Brothers or Burrows? We should start a poll ;)

(Disclaimer: Other peoples ciders are also probably available on site).

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1 hour ago, MrZigster said:

Again Mr. Hats, thanks for doing the research that I couldn't be arsed to do.

I think I'm still going to tell that Babycham story though. It's one of those that, even if false, has enough credibility to sound true.

I mean, from what you've taught me today...

Family starts what becomes a famous drink. Sells it to someone else. Then proceed to start a new company with an extremely similar drink that becomes simarlarly massive? What? Surely the buyers lawyers would've put a "no competition within x" boundary type clause on the sellers?

Billum has replied whilst typing this.

This gets curiouser and curiouser.

So then.

Thatchers, Brothers or Burrows? We should start a poll ;)

(Disclaimer: Other peoples ciders are also probably available on site).

To be fair, it's Wikipedia research. If it's on the same site then it seems like it's pretty strongly linked.

And the answer is Burrows.

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