Somerset cider toasts CAMRA top prize win
Hecks Kingston Black, produced by Street-based Hecks Farmhouse Cider, has been named by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) as the best real cider in the UK.
Assessors picked out the drink from more than 120 others during judging at the Reading Beer & Cider Festival over the May Day Bank Holiday Weekend.
Hecks Kingston Black was praised for having a "ripe fruity aroma matured in oak casks providing a complex rich experience". Judges said the cider "lingers on the tongue and makes it burst into flower".
Seidr Dai, from the Cardiff producer of the same name, was the best perry, while Steve Hughes of Llandegla, Wrexham in North Wales was named national bottled cider champion for his Rosie's Triple "D" cider.
Gillian Williams, CAMRA's director of cider and perry campaigning, said it should not be forgotten that exceptionally high quality real cider is still being made all over the UK.
"Just squeeze the juice out of the fruit and leave to ferment naturally. At its best it is a wonderful drink allowing the true fruit flavour to come through to the full," she said.
"Nowhere is this more evident than in the high quality premium products that have won this year's competition. CAMRA is delighted consumers will be rewarded with a cider and a perry which are testament to the skill, experience and craftsmanship of their producers."
- Enter your pub for CAMRA's Cider and Perry Pub of the Year competition before May 31. Details are available on www.camra.org.uk
