It's All About West

Page 38 It’s All About West Swindon
Quick Crossword
Across
7. Digniﬁ ed and sombre in manner (6)
8. A very ﬁ ne strand of material (6)
9. A passenger vehicle for hire (4)
1 2 3 4 5 6 10. The middle of the night (8)
11. Moving fast (7)
7 8
13. Fruit-ﬂ avoured dessert (5)
15. Weapon with a handle and
blade(5)
17. Legal permit (7)
9 10
20. Strong drive for success (8)
21. Tyre inﬂ ator (4)
23. Cloth covering for the arm (6)
24. Observed, viewed (6)
11 12 13
Down
14
1. An upholstered seat for more than
one person (4)
15 16 17 18
2. Feeling that comes after a burden
is removed (6)
19 3. Horses, bears, tigers, dogs, etc (7)
4. Learn by reading books (5)
20 21 22 5. Express approval of (6)
6. Broad-minded, liberal (8)
12. Air powered grain grinder
14. Railway indicators (7)
23 24
16. Unsuccessful in exam (6)
18. Use, put into service (6)
19. Cycles (5)
22. Come together (4)
Beer of the Month – August
Weston’s Scrumpy Cider
designed it to be completely still, with nary a bubble in
Not a beer at all, actually, but a cider, and an
sight. So forget your Magners – you're in God's hands
uncompromising one at that: Weston's Scrumpy
now; and the fizz in commercial cider is put there by the
Cider from lovely Much Marcle in Herefordshire,
hand of man. Cider is, after all, no more than wine made
and at 7.5% alcohol one to handle with a degree
from apples, and you don't expect your Australian
of caution. But try this instead of beer on a
Chardonnay to be fizzy, do you?
baking day in August, and you won't regret
The nose isn't that strong, although by dint of much
making the change.
swirling and sniffing you can discern a faint aroma of ...
Weston's is an old family firm and still uses
well, apples, actually. I mean, what did you expect? The
huge oak vats to mature its ciders, but it's
flavour is even more apple-y, mellow but with an
anything but hidebound and has brought out
undertow of dry bitterness from the tannin with which
many innovative products to add to its core
cider apples are naturally endowed (just try biting one and
range of more traditional ciders and perries
you'll know what I mean!). The bite is balanced by a very
(that's cider made from special perry
slight sweetness which dies in the finish, leaving a long,
pears, rather than the newfangled “pear
quenching dryness on the tongue.
ciders”, which are apple cider flavoured
Many people regard old-fashioned farm cider as rotgut
with a dose of pear juice). Its Scrumpy is
rocket fuel to get tanked up on while camping in Devon.
one its most traditional products – and
And some of it is. But Weston's, although an
looks it! Apple juice is naturally cloudy
old-established family firm, is a mite more sophisticated
thanks to the pectin in the fruit. If you
than some of the earthier West Country cidermakers; and
really have to have it clear, you can filter
provided you don't drink its ciders by the pint you needn't
it and lose some of the flavour, or you can
get drunk on them. Just remember that it's 7.5% alcohol,
treat it with an enzyme that clears the
not 4.2%! In fact, you can drink it by the wine-glass and
haze. But why bother? The cider tastes
reflect smugly that while you're getting all the flavour of
just as good the way God designed it; and
your wine-drinking chums, you're also only getting half the
in this case He designed it a completely
alcohol... and half the calories!
opaque dark lemon yellow. He also Ted Bruning – The Beer Hound
To Advertise please call 01793 859604 or e-mail info@itsallabout.org.uk
Issue 5 West.indd 38 30/07/2009 17:04
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