4 min readThe cliché is true – Bristolians love their cider. So, of course, there’s a smashing selection of pubs where you can stop for everything from super strength scrumpy to refreshing perry.
We’ve rounded up five of the best places serving top-quality ciders in Bristol, to make your search for pints of the city’s favourite beverage easy.
Thatchers Cider
Now the most popular cider in the UK with their Thatchers Gold cider, did you know that the Thatchers Cider orchards and farm are based just outside Bristol in Sandford, North Somerset? The farm has its own shop and organises regular tours and tastings, or you can pop next door to their pub The Railway Inn to try a range of their ciders and some proper pub grub.
Wild West Cider
Based in a secluded valley just outside Bristol this is a family business dedicated to making fine ciders and wines, staying as close to nature as possible. Fruit is harvested by hand from their organically certified orchards and vineyard (and other carefully selected untreated orchards).
Image - Wild West Cider
The Cider Box
Browse shelves of modern craft cider from the finest international and local producers at the tap room in St Phillips, which also plays host to events throughout the week, from cider and cheese tastings to music nights, live sport and quizzes. Dan from The Cider Box also runs regular cider tours around the harbour, which you can book via Yuup Bristol.
Image - The Bristol Cider Your, via Yuup
The Apple
You can’t get a much more typically Bristol experience than sipping cider on a boat. That’s exactly what The Apple, a floating bar on the Welsh Back, offers. As their name suggests, there is a heavy cider focus here and it has to be included in any cider lover’s visit to the city.
Their huge list of ciders is up there with the very best in Bristol and includes the famously strong Old Bristolian (it’s a hangover-inducing 8.4%!). Take a seat aboard the restored Dutch barge or if the sun is shining, fight it out for a spot on the quayside terrace.
Image - The Apple
The Orchard, Spike Island
Another historic cider house is The Orchard Inn down by the Marina. Bristol’s original cider pub, it dates back to 1834 and has been awarded ‘CAMRA Regional Cider Pub of the Year’many times in recent years.
They always have 20 plus ciders on offer, including ones from some of the West Country’s most renowned producers. Cider connoisseurs they may be but The Orchard remains completely unpretentious and a favourite of locals.
Image - The Orchard Inn. Credit: Brunel's SS Great Britain.
The Coronation Tap, Clifton Village
Clifton’s only cider house is a long-running institution - it opened 30 years before the Clifton Suspension Bridge did! Known to locals as ‘The Cori’, it’s made quite a name for itself as a live music venue as well as being a hotspot for stand-out ciders.
The real big draw is a chance to try the notorious Exhibition cider. Like The Apple’s Old Bristolian, it’s a potent 8.4% and restricted to half-pint servings. From students and holidaymakers to long-time locals, sampling it is a rite of passage for any cider drinker passing through Clifton. Once you have enjoyed an Exhibition and a night out here, you can officially say you've been 'corried'.
Image - Barrels of cider at The Coronation Tap
Bristol Cider Shop
For in-depth cider discoveries from the team, book onto one of their cider tasting sessions, or purchase a selection of local ciders from their online shop.
The Stable
With a prime place right on the Harbourside, it’s not just cider The Stable does brilliantly - their pizzas are also award-winning. Soak up any of the 60 plus varieties of cider on offer with a freshly made sourdough pizza, topped with ingredients from local producers. The tasting board of five ciders is a good starting point for working your way through their hefty selection.
Image credit: The Stable
For more inspiration on the city’s finest watering holes, check these out:
