CAMRA and Cider

Real cider is a traditional drink produced naturally from apples. It is neither carbonated nor pasteurised, and is very different from the cold, fizzy ciders served in the vast majority of pubs.

Put simply, real cider is made from pressed apples with nothing added and nothing taken away; hence the slogan once used on a CAMRA t-shirt: "Real apples, real cider, nothing else needed, nothing else wanted." CAMRA has an exacting list describing requirements for real cider and perry (see the CAMRA web site) but, in short, it should be made from pressed apples, should not be artificially carbonated, nor should it have the fermentation stopped by the addition of chemicals.

Unfortunately, even in the West Country, traditionally the home of real cider, the number of outlets serving this unique beverage is diminishing. The situation with perry (cider made from pears instead of apples) is even worse, and this drink is rarely available in pubs at all.

Cider has long been an integral part of CAMRA. It is as important to CAMRA as any other of its campaigns, such as licensing reform, beer duty, or the guest beer laws. CAMRA continues to offer its considerable backing to this traditional British drink.