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Cider Digest #1379
Subject: Cider Digest #1379, 13 April 2007
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1379 13 April 2007
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Chris Horn and cider museum in France (warwick)
any ID of Fauxwhelp, non-Tremlett's? (Dick Dunn)
Brewer SABMiller may acquire rival Scottish & Newcastle ("Gary Awdey")
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Subject: Chris Horn and cider museum in France
From: warwick <tokolosh@penalvagold.net>
Date: Sun, 08 Apr 2007 13:54:31 +0930
Chris asked about the Cidre Frottier museum.
I went there a couple of years ago, not such a lot to see, but depends
where you are coming from, is a pretty small family business, in the old
school, the museum is sort of about showing how it used to be done, but not
about showing all the options, more what the family used to use. But a
great unexpected pleasure to discover a whole sub-region of cider (Cidre de
Pays de Othe), that tends to get overlooked due to the pre-dominance of
Normandy and Brittany.
The Frottier's were charming, and their daughter who is/was an English
teacher was visiting and explained a fair bit to me in detail.
There are maybe 8-12 producers in the region, which is easy to access from
Paris and they have a cider route and map that you can get from tourist
offices. I visited another family on the route, whose name escapes me, who
used exclusively Chestnut barrels, and made some very good cider, very
pleased to discuss at length what they were up to.
Enjoy.
Warwick
Renmark, South Australia
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Subject: any ID of Fauxwhelp, non-Tremlett's?
From: Dick Dunn <rcd@talisman.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 19:49:39 -0600
One of the annoying bits of knowledge for US cidermakers is that trees
available in the US under the names "Foxwhelp" and "Tremlett's Bitter"
aren't the true varieties from the UK. The ones we can get in the US
are not terrible apples, but neither are they wonderful vintage types...
(I made the tradeoff decision a couple years ago that they were good enough
I didn't need to grub out the trees I had, but certainly not so good as
to graft any more of them.)
But I was thinking today, during my thoroughly mindless task of mowing,
that it's odd we know what these varieties *aren't*, but not what they
are! Anybody have history on them, or has there been any recent testing
that would tell? Are they perhaps sports of the real cider varieties?
nursery cross-up? something entirely unrelated?
There is one other major mislabeling in the US--trees sold as Herefordshire
Redstreak, although I think that practice has mostly been resolved and
quit, since Herefordshire Redstreak doesn't exist ANYwhere any more. We
know the US variety couldn't be right, but in that case afaik it sorted out
that what was being sold was actually Somerset Redstreak. (No?)
- --
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
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Subject: Brewer SABMiller may acquire rival Scottish & Newcastle
From: "Gary Awdey" <gawdey@att.net>
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 16:56:17 -0400
Here's something that Ben Watson pointed out a few days ago after it
surfaced in business news. Details are sketchy but it reeks of hostile
takeover.
Brewer SABMiller may acquire rival Scottish & Newcastle in a $12.8 billion
deal. If successful, SABMiller plans to sell the company's British and
French business interests to Diageo PLC , reported The Associated Press.
The source for a similar story elsewhere said SABMiller would seek to sell
on -- to spirits group Diageo PLC -- S&N's UK brewing arm that makes
Foster's, John Smith's bitter and Strongbow cider.
For anyone who does not follow who owns the largest chunks of the rapidly
consolidating world cider market, Strongbow is owned by Scottish &
Newcastle's HP Bulmer. According to a list from Wikipedia
HP Bulmer's principal brands include:
- - Strongbow
- - Strongbow Sirrus
- - Bulmers Original
- - Scrumpy Jack
- - Woodpecker
- - GL (sweet, sold in the Gloucestershire/Herefordshire area only)
- - White Lightning
- - Inch's Harvest Dry
- - Symonds Original
Diageo's brands can be found by category at
http://www.diageo.com/en-row/ourbrands/allourbrandsa-z/. Conspicuously
absent from the list of categories (for now) is cider.
There is more information (but not much) at
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/04/08/afx3592252.html.
In the cider forum UKCider Andrew Lea has pointed out that this story has
been around for a while. More recent news stories cite doubtful analysts
who see little likelihood that a takeover will occur.
Adjustments of stock prices reflect this doubt. However, UK's Sunday
Express reports that JPMorgan Chase is advising SABMiller on the
approach. Current speculation is on whether such a takeover will occur,
not on whether it is being explored.
The other major English cider maker, Matthew Clark, was purchased in 1998 by
Canandaigua Brands (now Constellation Brands). Huge in its own right,
Consellation Brands owns such well known brands as the St. Pauli Girl and
Corona beers, Black Velvet Special Reserve and Paul Masson spirits, Paul
Masson, Almaden and Arbor Mist wine, and many, many others.
Constellation's cider brands include Addlestones, Blackthorn, Cidermaster,
Diamond White, Gaymer's Original Cider, Gaymer's Olde English, Ice Dragon, K
Cider, Natch, Old Somerset, Red C, Special Vat, Taunton Traditional, and
White Star.
Gary Awdey
Eden, New York
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End of Cider Digest #1379
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