Blackthorn Cider

Brewed by Matthew Clark Cider (C&C Group)
Style: Cider
Bristol, England

Serve in Flute, Lager glass

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Golden color with a fizzy diminishing white head. Simple burnt matches and apple rind aromas. The sulfur diminishes with time but not nearly quick enough. Sweet simple candi apples. The feel is not as spritzy as the pour suggests. Dries out slightly in the finish and linger, but still simple. Still smells like a pack of burnt and extinguished matches.

bottled, clear orange rusty color with sweet apple aroma and woody, dry fruit flavor, pretty nondescript overall

Draught. At the Charlotte Room. Poured like light oily ginger ale, no head at all. Aroma of sour white wine, overripe apples and cores, a touch of alcohol. Taste follows the nose, but incredibly *weak* - acidic, finishes slightly sweeter than it starts - mouthfeel watery and slightly acidic. This was flat and unappealing - cider should have a lively mouthfeel, this was like distilled water. Maybe not tapped right?

I got a one liter bottle of this in Kansas City. The body was dark gold with no head or visible carbonation. The aroma was sweet apple cobbler with some perfume and flowers. The taste was dry apricots with some vineous character. There was also some apple core. This was decent for a middle of the road cider for sweetness.

Musty apple aroma is pretty simple. Deeper golden than most commercial ciders and shows nice signs of fizzy carbonation. Dry, sharp, apple-skin flavour is not altogether pleasant and somewhat astringent. Carbonation is engaging on the tongue but the body isn’t very inspiring. Can.

Can courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours a clear golden-orange with a spare diminishing white head. Slightly mild aroma with not much apple, some light wood, sugary sweetness and cheap white wine. Watery flavour of a bland, mild, boring Cider -- not even worth drinking. If you were to have a Cider on ice (and I’m not sure why anyone would), after drinking the Cider and the ice melts, it would taste like this.

12 oz bottle. This sample near-flat (sigh); deep gold, very clear, no bubbling. Simple, light apple juice nose...flavor flat, boring, rather sour at the end. Lack of carbonation is certainly hurting this, but it tastes artificial and rather sulfurous/metallic and I doubt fizz would help that much. Drain pour; gross.

Bottle. Pours a clear straw yellow with wisps of a white head on the edges of the glass. Smells a bit like cooking wine and champagne yeast, with some sweet apple notes in the background. A bit thin, sweet and empty. Just a bit of apple. Sweet finish, more apple notes. Seems like something I would have drank a ton of in college before I knew that ciders could be good.

[061-20061014] 500mL. Light plastic aroma with strong wafts of Pork and old cask. Deep yellow body with a quick foamy white head and a few lazy bubbles. Light wooden apple flavour, reminds me of gunpowder or maybe two notches shy of light car oil. Medium body with a subtle long aftertaste. Borderline pungent on the tongue then mellows nicely.

On tap at the Rustic Vine, Bristol 13/09/10. This was the version that replaced the 4.7% sweetened one that was so unpleasant it led to Blackthorn being removed from dozens of pubs in the Bristol area, and a campaign by disappointed drinkers. If this is an improved cider, then that one must have been truly awful.........Orange and very fizzy. Mushy, still sweetish apple pulp, with not much character and a sugary finish. I’m now mounting my own boycott of this product.