Hunts Andsome Bay is labelled as a Medium Sweet Cider from Devon that can trace its roots back through 8 generations of cider makers in the county.

For those of you who aren’t fluent in the Devonshire dialect, Andsome Bay means a handsome boy, a ‘Misty Maid’ is a dreamy girl and most important to know ‘Bull Walloper’ is a cattle dealer. All of the Hunts ciders borrow their names from the Devonshire dialect.

Hunts grow 20 acres (~8 hectares) of traditional cider-making apples which means they can normally expect between 30-50 tonnes of apples. This isn’t enough to keep up with demand, so they do buy in other apples. None of the apples are from outside of the county and they don’t use any concentrated juice.

These apples are grown on red soil. The colour comes from the red sandstone of the area. They say that this is key to a separate taste from other well-known cider-making regions of the UK. Hunts Orchard is also home to a mob of sheep that graze over the winter through to early summer before the apples get too big. Grazing in orchards can have positive knock-on effects, lawn mowing, and fertilizing are the first that spring to mind.

Rear Label of Hunt Andsome Bay cider

The Nose

There is almost nothing to speak about here. Maybe a hint of fresh-cut apple flesh and straw hay. It is so minimal, that hunting for it might see you drinking through your nose.

The Taste

Andsome Bay is coming in on the sweeter end of medium with cherry and brown sugar-coated baked apples. The bitter-sweet apples give a little tail end tannin but the bitter sharp apples don’t seem to lend much sharpness to the experience. The low amount of fizz lets the flavour really soak in.

Final Thoughts on Hunts Andsome Bay

Somehow together this all meshes together to make the Hunts Andsome Bay very approachable and easy-to-drink cider that isn’t so sweet that a few of them wouldn’t become overbearing in a pub situation. Again, at the pub, I reckon this would pretty well with a works burger and some salty chips.

Product Andsome Bay
Company Hunts Cider
Sweetness Medium Sweet
ALC/VOL 4.8%
Website huntscider.co.uk
Country of Origin England
Region Devonshire

 

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