Millennial pink cider

Every year, there’s a race to determine which drink will be the drink of the summer. And that race starts as early as March. It’s clear that the summer drink of 2018 will be NOLO – ‘no or low alcohol’. And pink is still very much in the running, too. Just like bubbles. Rosé cider? It could well be.

Following the success of rosé wine and ubiquitous millennial pink in hospitality, fashion and design, every drink is trying to claim the pink colour for the summer. From rosé beer to rosé port. Even Bros, who call it brosé.

Indie

For years, cider has also been trying to fight its way onto the summer drinks hit list. With increasing success. Although, for now, this is mainly true of mainstream mass-market brands. Craft natural ciders may do well in indie restaurants, but they have not yet broken through into the average hospitality venue.

Rosé cider. The terrace drink of the year?

Small producers are now bringing out rosé cider, just like major brands such as Strongbow. Unlike many mass-market brands, craft ciders are coloured pink naturally. There are various methods for this, resulting in major differences in colour and flavour.

Pétillant

At Cidre du Bocage, for example, elderberries and blackberries from the hedges around the orchards are used, as they were in the past, to enrich the flavour, with a festive pink colour and a fine mousse as a bonus. Some brands also allow grape skins to infuse for colour and greater depth of flavour, or use hibiscus leaves, for example.

At Eric Doré, the flesh of one of the cider apple varieties used in Cidre Rosé is red. The same is true of Angry Orchard (before they became commercial) and Pomar rosé cider (pink since 1967), about which the importer notes: ‘Will it be the trend of 2018? This one from Viuda de Angelón in Asturias is made from a local dark-red cider apple that produces pink juice. After maturation, this results in a cider that leans towards a fresh, fruity wine (not too sweet), with pétillant, while still retaining the necessary cider characteristics.’

Gen Z yellow

The importers are all convinced of both the terrace appeal and hit potential of their craft rosé ciders. First and foremost thanks to the colour, but also the low alcohol content, the Champagne-like mousse and fresh, fruity flavour. Could it succeed, just as in the US where pink cider is already very popular, in claiming the title of ‘the summer drink of the year’? Or will the colour ‘Gen Z yellow’, which experts say has by now ousted millennial pink, spoil the party?

Many craft rosé ciders are available from cider specialists Cidercider (including cidre du Bocage), Pomme d’Or Cider (Cidre rosé) and Ciderwinkel (Pomar rosé).