Aspall Draught Suffolk Cyder

The Chevalier family, owners of Aspall Cyders are now on there 8th generation of cider makers or, as they call it cyder.

Aspall is a very small village (population of 30) in Suffolk, England just north of Ipswich .................. south of Norwich! Still none the wiser? OK if you look at a map of the England it is in the middle of that lump of land that hangs of the edge of east England just above London. It was first recorded as a village in 1078 by William the Conqueror.

Aspall Hall, the family home was first purchased in 1702 and has a moat! Nice eh!

Their website promises to tell us why they still use the olde worlde spelling of Cyder, however, I could not find their explanation. Nor, their connection to the FA Cup or craters on the moon. Hmmm, not sure what that is all about!

So, to the cider, or cyder. I bought it in Kemenys on Bondi Road, yes I am here in sunny, well actually wet Bondi, Sydney. It is a grey, wet Saturday morning. It is imported by Little World Beverages, who are part of the growing Little Creatures empire.

I am convinced that cider is a great match to sushi and sushimi. The best Japanesse in Sydney has to be Ten Japanesse on Bondi Road. I always feel my order has been "Lost in translation", however, every time it turns up it is fantastic. Beautiful vibrant coloured salmon and tuna that just melt in the mouth.

Aspall Draught Cyder, does tick all the boxes. It is crisp and clean. It has a bigger mouthfeel than the Punt Road and this can be expected as it is slightly darker in colour. The thing that I was not so keen on was the sweetness of the cyder. Now it is certainly not a sweet cider, compared to those sickly sweet commercial styles, however, it is there. Am i getting my y's and i's mixed up? Overall, a good cider in beautiful packaging.

Aspall ciders are, as the label says multi award winners. Their Dry Premier Cru Cider picked up "Best Cider in the World" by Beers of the World Magazine in 2008. No mean feat. I am not sure if it is available over here in Australia.

However, I have to say I prefered the Punt Road cider I had last week, especially the Pear Cider.

So how does it score out of 10?

Aspall Draught Suffolk Cyder - 8 apples.