Let's praise proper drinks

Beer gets ahead as tiny brewers find holy grail

I can't drink lager or other fizzy drinks in any sort of quantity. For example, in Berlin a couple of years back, I tried some German beers and while I liked the taste in my mouth, I couldn't deal with the fizziness. And that was proper quality controlled stuff without the ghastly chemicals that pollute many British lagers. Similarly I can't drink most fizzy drinks, with the exception of D&G's Ginger Beer and an occasional Orangina. So it stands to reason that I much prefer Real Ale to lager.

One thing that has been bugging me for a couple of years now is cider.

Cider got a bad reputation as being the drink of choice of, er, winos. I like cider a lot although I don't drink it too often, largely because I believe, rightly or wrongly, that it is impossible to follow it with anything else, so any drinking of cider must be followed only by more cider.

A few years ago I discovered that Sainsburys - for example - sell quite a range of organic cider from small producers generally in the West Country or East Anglia, also Normandy and Brittany.

Then the abomination that is Magners burst onto the market and became extremely popular. One of those classic examples of people being fooled that a lavish advertising campaign is the intellectual equivalent of objective critical recommendation. One day I sat in Wetherspoons and perused the card showing available products and their prices.

And I questioned the popularity of Magners. I did a comparison with the offered organic cider, Westons, I think, and discovered that Westons was larger in volume and more potent by percentage alcohol than Magners. And cheaper. Which is why, obviously people opt for the chemical crap over something half-decent (admittedly not quite the same as the obscure makes that taste particularly gorgeous in my back garden). And it seems that the people most likely to obey the siren call of advertisers are those who would otherwise claim to be obeisant to nobody. Jimmy was once reprimanded for buying an organic Polish cider rather than Magners because 'Magners is Irish and so are you'. As if Ireland has ever been renowned as maker of cider.

And my other major quibble is ice. Now, I fully accept that everyone is perfectly entitled to take their drink however they like it. Those who know me will attest to my general dislike of ice, and I fully acknowledge that my preference for an iceless gin-and-bitter lemon (assuming the bitter lemon is chilled, which in most badly run bars, it isn't) is an individual quirk and doesn't make that drink right, just right for me. Conversely, I am a bit odd in that I rather like a dry sherry with ice.

But cider with ice? How ridiculous. Hundreds of thousands of people are drinking cider with ice because the advertisers are telling them to. I went to a pub a few months ago and ordered a cider, nothing exciting, one of the long-established mass produced brands. It came with ice. It was actually a rip-off, in the sense that it was illegal. The advertised price was for a pint - I ordered a half and would have been charged half the price. However, it was a significantly short measure, because it was served in a crown-marked half pint glass. I rejected it, and the barstaff had to tip it. She was disgruntled. I pointed out that I had not asked for ice and she had not given me the option. I implied - without being direct - that the fault was entirely hers.

While Jimmy was pub manager - home now, finished yesterday lunchtime - he has had two presentations from Drinks Giant, Diageo. This has focused on presentation of the product, and has basically been, fill the glass with ice to fool the customer into thinking they are getting a long drink. Obviously, with a drink like, say gin-and-tonic, it is possible to serve it with lots of ice and still comply with Weights and Measures (or whatever the relevant legislation is). And certainly, I want to stress that Diageo did not come near suggesting short measures. However, if you have a glass almost full of ice, how can you tell, especially in a busy bar, whether you are being short-measured? Many a unscrupulous landlord will deliberately short-measure, many an inexperienced barstaff will not know it is necessary to wait until the optic is full until pouring a second measure. Jimmy did mention that his girlfriend won't drink most things with ice added. Diageo's reaction - she's wrong. My reaction, no, I'm not. It's me that paying. It's me that decides.

As I say, however an individual chooses to drink a drink is fine by me (as long as it's legal!) and I do accept that adverts can plant an idea that, once tried, seem right. But I don't see the point of drinking expensive chemical shit plus added ice to remove the taste when there are some really gorgeous natural and cheaper products available. Just don't get it. It's like when Fosters became the drink of choice for a generation, because it was advertised.

Comments

[Paul Garrard (aka the Ale Fan)]

Gert, cider is a fantastic drink, unfortunately not always easy to find the good stuff. Beer festivals often have decent selections of real cider, so do a number of top real ale pubs. I share your horror of ice with cider; when in a chain restaurant last year where the only serious option was Magners I got a very strange look from the waitress when I declined ice. Like even a poor beer it tastes better when it's not ice cold.

[Mr.D.]

Hiya Gert

I believe I'm right in saying that Mangiers is only available in bottles/cans. Therefore - as long as the whole bottle/can is poured out- the quantity of ice is irrelevant (other than serving to chill/dilute what you paid for)? So there shouldn't be a Weights and Measures issue.

May be different if/when it goes draught?