Some cider inside 'er inside (Kopparberg Pear Cider)

Member Name: PyrettaBlaze

Product:	Kopparberg Pear Cider
Date:	13/01/08 (780 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gorgeous fruity refreshing taste, not too strong

Disadvantages: Not too strong, pricey, not very widely available

No longer the stereotypical drink of chavs on street corners and farmers, cider has been given a classy image overhaul thanks to the likes of Magners and Bulmers. Kopparberg used to be a little known brand in the UK but it seems to have benefited from the image change and is now reasonably easy to find, and even easier to drink.


Where to get it

Kopparberg used to be hard to find and may not be stocked in your local offies however Tesco and Asda certainly stock it, Wetherspoons bars and an increasing number of pubs and clubs are waking up to its pear-shaped charms.


The packaging

Kopparberg comes in fairly chunky pint size bottles, looking more like beer bottles than the tapered Magners and Bulmers one. It has classy gold writing on a black label with a pear, just in case you are too hammered to read that it is, indeed, pear cider. The label is quite upmarket and sophisticated looking.


The taste

Cracking open the bottle, you will immediately be overpowered by the incredibly sweet smell of the brew, and it does taste as sweet as it smells. Apple cider never seems to taste like apples but that this certainly tastes like pears...it has a delicious sweet and fruity taste. Its also wonderfully refreshing...the kind of drink that would be nice in a beer garden on a summers day. Its also good when you're absolutely hammered and going off the taste of whatever you're drinking...a pint of Kopparberg towards the end of the night is a great way to wake you up and prepare you for the long journey home to your bed, and wash the foul beer/vodka taste out of your mouth. Kopparberg doesnt taste particuarly alcoholic at all, just lovely and fruity.


Alcohol content

At 4.5%, Kopparberg isnt the strongest of ciders...Magners is 5% as is Strongbow, Bulmers is the same as Kopparberg. A pint of Kopparberg provides about 2.5 units...don't quote me on that, I'm getting those facts from the web, which also tells me that George Bush orchestrated 9/11 and that there is now a religion of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. For the teetotallers, Kopparberg also do non-alcoholic pear cider, which I will definitely be trying when I can find it!


The price

Expect to pay upwards of £2.95 for this baby in bars. Its certainly a pricey option to get hammered on. Asda sell Kopparberg for £1.77 a bottle, as compared to £1.56 for Bulmers and £5.48 for four cans of Magners of an equal size...so £1.37 a pint. So Kopperberg is on the pricey side, but in my opinion it's worth it and I'd recommend you try it at least once!


The super-sweet flavour of Kopparberg will probably not appeal to a lot of people, and if you love the sharp tangy flavour of normal apple cider you might not like it, but for fans of sweet drinks it's just divine...well worth the extra cost and effort involved in finding and buying the stuff!

Summary: Pears over apples any day!