Good quality cider still comes via imports from the West with brands like Magner’s from Ireland and Strongbow from England. One of UK’s premium craft cider brands with a 200-year-old history, Sheppy’s has over 16 varieties of cider in their portfolio, ranging from dry to sweet. “We were a traditional farming family that always made cider and somehow, over the generations, the cider business expanded and the farming reduced,” says David Sheppy, the sixth generation cider master and managing director of Sheppy’s Cider, who was in Mumbai recently. He says that while many farmers gave up making cider, the 50-100 farmers that continued together contributed to the growth of craft cider as a significant industry in the UK. Among the apples, the culinary apples began to take precedence as a more viable commercial crop over the acidic cider apples.

Source: Mint December 16, 2018 03:00 UTC