Thoughts* about Australian Strongbow

September 26, 2012 by loxyisme 2 Comments

*I’ve entitled this post as “Thoughts” because I didn’t write anything down. Without accurate notes, there’s no way to really say how I felt about these ciders, but at least I can reminisce.

Those pictures show two of the Australian Strongbow flavours. That’s right, there are two. In fact, according to Wikipedia, there are five:

It was launched into the Australian market in 1970, and today still remains as Australia’s most popular cider.^[15] Strongbow is available in five varieties in Australia: Dry, Sweet, Original (formerly sold as “Draught”), Clear (a low carbohydrate variety) and Pear.^[15]Foster’s Group purchased the Strongbow brand in Australia in 2003, and continues to produce, distribute & market the brand.^[15] They were themselves purchased by SABMiller in 2011.

(I’m somewhat surprised I’m not able to quote the Australian Strongbow on this, but all I get when I go to the website is a video.  Maybe I need to open it in another browser – or another country – but one try is all a simple booze site gets.)

I tried the two Strongbows (Original and Dry) on my first full day in Australia. It was a beautiful low 20s day in Brisbane. I was meeting all of Orgle’s family and having a barbecue on the deck. We would be off to an AFL game later in the afternoon. It was the kind of day you expect in Australia, but have to be there to have.

I’ve talked about Strongbow on the blog before. I don’t generally talk about it in a favourable way. But here’s the thing.

I like Strongbow.  I think if it weren’t for the popularity of Strongbow, cider wouldn’t have the market it does have. If the choice is some terrible mass produced beer or a mass produced cider, guess which one I’ll be going for.

I’m actually curious as to what I think about (Canadian) Strongbow vs. other standard dry ciders here in BC. I’m gathering up a few choices (Dukes, Rock Creek, Lonetree, etc.) and putting them to a blind taste test – among a bunch of my friends.  That’s happening in a couple of weeks and should be up here soon afterwards.

From Wikipedia:

In the United Kingdom, Strongbow is a blend of bitter-sweet cider and culinary apples, with 50 different varieties of apple used.^[10] The apples are grown in England and France. It is mass-produced using modern methods, and contains apple concentrate and sugar. It is fermented with a controlled yeast strain, and at least some varieties are flavoured with artificial sweeteners. The Bulmers Strongbow vat is the largest alcoholic container in the world, with a capacity of 15 million gallons (68 million litres).^[11]

There is one quote that bothers me about the above description: “apple concentrate and sugar”.

(Oh yeah, don’t get me started on “artificial sweeteners”.)

Give me real apples. Crush ’em. And make cider out of them.

Anyways, back to the two Strongbow versions I had in Australia.

The review: Most ciders > Strongbow Dry > Strongbow Original

They were too sweet for my liking.

But not every Australian cider I tried was…. Stay tuned!