From Orchard to Glass: Sustainable Vegan Cider

Cider is simply made from fermented apple or pear juice, but some brands filter through isinglass (fish bladder), gelatine (bones) or casein (milk). There are better brands.

Before recycling cans, rinse then remove lids (pop ring-pulls over holes). Then use your fingers/thumb to ‘pinch’ inner rims together, to avoid wildlife getting trapped. Never buy drinks wrapped in plastic rings, they harm wildlife (if you see any, rip the holes and securely bin).

Dunkertons organic vegan ciders

Dunkertons Organic Cider has been making cider for nearly 40 years using traditional skills. The fruit is pressed and fermented for up to a year, using apples from Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The range includes sweet and fresh ciders, Perry (made with pears) and canned and draught ciders.

Dunkertons Organic Breakwells Seedling Cider is made with the historic apple, which first was discovered over 100 years ago in Monmouth. These small colourful apples give a lovely bitter-sharp flavour ideal for making cider. Ideal for summer evenings.

Hogan’s raspberry cider

Hogan’s Cider is made from a blend of bitter sweet and bitter sharp cider apples (and Perry pears), sourced locally from the ‘three cider counties’ of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

There are many flavours, a ‘high sobriety’ no/alcohol  version and a bag-in-a-box that will last up to 6 weeks, once opened. Plus still cider if you don’t like fizz.

Two Farmers cider

Two Farmers Cider is a fruity cider made from locally-harvested strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrant, plus there is a no-alcohol version. Lovely to enjoy with tins of salt and vinegar crisps.

Cider  is to Hereford, what wine is to Bordeaux. Pickers go out early morning to harvest baskets of fruits, before being pressed and fermented into cider.

There are even towns that celebrate apples, with orchard walks, barn dances and sampling of cloudy juice. Cider is sold alongside chutney, jam and fresh bread in markets. And there are even cider competitions, with entertainment from local Morris dancers.

This brand also makes vegan crisps in tins, for sharing. There are two vegan flavours, you can’t get better than that! Sold wholesale to pubs, you’ll be the most popular place around!

This is a great idea to show how local farmers can diversify. Instead of lamenting the ‘old days’, these farmers have created vegan crisps in tins and vegan cider, and are thriving in both local communities and nationwide with many wholesale orders to local pubs and restaurants.

Dorset Nectar cider

Dorset Nectar is an organic brand of cider (all bar the Honey Bubble is vegan). It also sells boxes of mulled cider, and can supply trade buyers. All crafted on a local orchard.

Shandy Shack (low-alcohol cider and shandy)

Shandy Shack is a brand of low-alcohol cider from Hampshire, founded by young men who were still young, but not young enough to no longer be able to recover from heavy nights out!

The range includes a raspberry cider. Plus a range of low-alcohol shandies:

• IPA
• Lager Top
• Raspberry
• Elderflower
• Ginger Beer

Many people prefer shandy, simply because it’s fizzy and also because it means lower alcohol. You can of course just mix a vegan artisan beer with a good lemonade like Fentiman’s to make your own. But if you want ready-made ones, this is the best brand to choose!

Bignose and Beardy (cider from Sussex waste apples)

Big Nose Beardy turns waste apples in Sussex into a refreshing cider, that’s also vegan-friendly. The solar-powered brewery produces crisp ciders with strong floral notes, with everything fermented slowly for great taste.

Cider is simply made from fermented apple or pear juice, but some brands filter through isinglass (fish bladder), gelatine (bones) or casein (milk). There are better brands.

Wasted apple (cider from donated fruit)

Wasted Apple sells a nice range of vegan ciders, all made from donated apples. Choose from:

• Wasted Captain (medium cider)
• Wasted Maid (apple blackberry cider)
• Wasted Saint (low alcohol medium cider)

Plus fruit juices:

• Braeburn apple juice
• Cornish cloudy apple juice

Donate Apples (get free cider in return!)

There are quite a few projects nationwide, where you can donate windfallen apples (leave some for wildlife!) or apples that you are not going to be eating up, and get free cider in return!

How does this work? It’s simple, really. Just locate your local lovely turn-apples-into-cider maker, then contact to arrange donation. It’s away of preventing food waste. As a thank you, you then usually get a few bottles of quality cider, and the rest is turned into other products like jelly, jam or even more cider to sell!

Locate your local peeps in the Orchard Project’s fruit donation directory. Or visit Wasted Apple to find more communities accepted apples to make into cider.

Here’s a guide from The Orchard Project on how to press your own cider.

Avoid unpasteurised juice for pregnancy/nursing, children and weak immunity.

Urban Harvest (Leeds) also takes wasted apples, but this time turns them into fruit juice, plus a little cider. Why drink Tropicana (one version contains fish?) when you can drink locally-sourced fruit juice for breakfast?

Each year, thousands of city trees go unused, profits are reinvested back into this wonderful project.