Scrumpy Jack

Brewed by Bulmers Cider (S&N, Heineken)
Style: Cider
Hereford, England

Probably my favorite cider. Sampled many times when over in the UK. It is unfiltered and when from draught it has a nice thin head and cloudy appearance. Flavor it great and full of apples. Well worth a try when you are over. As always, Draught before bottle. Three liters are a little flat.

440 ml can. Crystal clear golden colour. Almost no head at all, only some whiteish bubbles at the edges.Some bubbles rising towards the surface. Slightly sweet, almost malty, apple aroma. Sparkling. Quite light-bodied and dry. Not really much character to talk about. In a way it reminds me much of Strongbow. Slightly dry finish with no aftertaste.

canned. golden with a decent white head. industrial apple aroma, quite sweet but with enough tartness to be drinkanle

Clear orange gold with a little fizz. A bit of reconstituted apple juice in the aroma, along with some sulphur and lots of rubber coming through on tasting. Not as much of the tartness I was expecting in a cider, with the sweet flavour being a little dominant. Fairly weak in body, with the fizz a little much and it all being sulphur in the aftertaste. This one makes the Magners I had recently appear a lot more desirable.

This is certainly a nice cider to drink on a train. Has enough alcohol to make an effect quickly. Frankly, the flavour was not too great, but it was drinkable enough to finish a four pack. Go for it.

There was a time in my pimply youth when I thought this was the dog’s bollocks. I also thought Joe Strummer should be Prime Minister, comedy had peaked with "The Young Ones" and wearing white socks with black trousers was very cool. All of which demonstrates why teenagers shouldn’t be allowed to vote or procreate. Tugging the ring-pull on one of these cans 25 years later brought a flood of memories, mainly involving vomiting. This was a popular component in Snakebites - 50/50 blends of lager and cider that generally led to fist fights, regurgitation and loss of consciousness. I have no idea how closely this modern version matches the early 1980s version but if anyone feels like a fight and a puke, this is still your go-to drink. This cider managed the unique feat in my experience of being a gusher. Huh? Got the glass under the foaming can just before it flooded the computer keyboard. For a cider, it retained a solid corona of foam throughout. Odd. Sulphur dioxide is used as a preservative and it was hard to get beyond that in the aroma. I seem to have a particularly low tolerance for it. All I could smell was burning rubber and faint apple acids. It’s thin-going-on-medium bodied with a slick mouthfeel. Tastes much better than it smells. Nice bitter-sweet balance and a paper-dry finish. At least they haven’t taken the easy road to commercial cider success by pumping it full of sugar. Tart and drying. Anyone got a can of Tennents Lager I can mix this with? Aye, and bring a bucket. (500ml can from Dan Murphys, Kingsford. Best before 30/6/07)

Bottle. Golden active cider with a dulled fruity aroma and a quite dry and sparkling wine like flavour. Overall a nice cider.

Tap in London. Light pale golden cider. Kinda fresh with a surprisingly full mouthfeel.