Background:
Strongbow was the most common cider I saw in Australia, but this showed up several times. We picked up a 4-pack on one of the first few nights there. We ended up at a “British-style” pub as we tried to escape the wind (seriously, that news story tells you what the weather was like when we were there), and that’s what was on tap.
Kind: Monteith’s Crushed Apple Cider
Size: 330mL bottle or on tap
Strength: 4.5%
Australian website description: MONTETIH’S NEW CRUSHED APPLE CIDER is crafted from sun-ripened Nelson fruit that gravitate from the province’s many thousands of apple trees before journeying to our Monteith’s master brewers here in Greymouth who spend three months carefully nurturing the freshly crushed apple juice.
(Yep, they failed to spell the company name right in the description! And that wasn’t the only mistake! Yikes!)
However, that was from the Australian website! And this is a cider from New Zealand. The NZ website is prettier and lacks as many spelling and grammar mistakes. 🙂
New Zealand website description: A light, refreshing French-style cider made from 100% sun-ripened Nelson apples which have been freshly crushed to retain their natural flavour. Not from a syrup concentrate. Perfect for the moment you feel the sun on your back.
Orgle’s thoughts:
I didn’t write any down, but I just asked him, “what do you remember about Monteith’s Crushed Apple Cider?”
His response: “I just remember it being okay, kind of normal cider.”
My thoughts:
It had a lot of apple flavour. However it also was quite sweet. Too sweet for me. But I ended up drinking all four bottles and the pint. So it can’t be that bad!
However, I liked it better than the Australian Original Strongbow.
And it gave me hope for what the rest of the ciders I would end up seeing on Australian store shelves would offer.
Note to self:
This would be the first of a few ciders from New Zealand. This would prove to be a recurring theme.
I wonder how long it will be until we see New Zealand ciders here. I’m a big fan of NZ brewer 8 Wired which is showing up in all the liquor stores in BC known for decent craft brewing selections. Hopefully some of the cider producers can get that distribution connection as well!
Where to buy:
Australia and New Zealand.
The West Cider 