English Scrumpy

What is English Scrumpy? English Scrumpy is a traditional, typically cloudy and still cider made in the West Country of England from locally grown cider apples using small-scale, time-honoured methods. It is historically stronger, drier, and more tannic than mass-produced commercial ciders, usually falling in the 6 to 8 percent ABV range. Where industrial cider tends to be filtered, sweetened, and fizzed, Scrumpy stays close to the orchard, with a hazy orange pour and an unmistakable bite. The name was first recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary in 1904, derived from the dialect word scrump, meaning something withered or dried up, and by extension to scrump apples from a neighbour's tree.

Origins in the West Country

Scrumpy belongs to the West of England, in particular the West Country counties of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Herefordshire, with Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and parts of Dorset also long associated with cider making. In the nineteenth century cider was so woven into rural life that Devon farm labourers received it as part of their wages, sometimes up to a quart, roughly 1.1 litres, per working day on top of their pay.

Historically the term scrumpy was effectively a synonym for rough, signalling a harsh cider pressed from unselected windfall apples. Today the word carries a more flattering meaning: it distinguishes locally made, small-batch traditional ciders, often sold at the farm where they are produced or at nearby pubs and shops, from the mass-produced branded ciders found in supermarkets.

Production and Style

Scrumpy is built on a blend of true cider apples, principally bittersweet and sharp, sometimes bittersharp, varieties, occasionally rounded out with dessert apples. West Country producers traditionally lean on a higher proportion of genuine cider apples, which are rich in the tannins that give the drink its grip and structure. The apples are pulped and pressed, and the juice is fermented in a vessel for several months; Campden tablets may be used to keep bacterial contamination at bay, but the cider is otherwise left largely to its own devices.

The result is a drink that is usually still, though some examples carry a light natural carbonation, and characteristically cloudy because it is unfiltered. Flavours run more tannic than commercial cider, often bone dry, though styles range from dry through to sweet. Typical strengths sit between 6 and 8 percent ABV, with examples such as Harry's Cider at around 7 percent and Julian Temperley's bottlings climbing to roughly 8.5 percent.

How to Recognise the Real Thing

UK law sets a low bar, requiring cider to contain a minimum of 35 percent apple or pear juice, which leaves plenty of room for heavily diluted commercial products. CAMRA's stricter real cider standard insists on at least 90 percent fresh juice and no added flavourings, and most authentic Scrumpy comfortably clears that line.

When you pour a glass, expect a hazy, pulpy, often orange-tinged liquid rather than the bright gold of factory cider. A dry, tannic finish, modest fizz at most, and a label naming a specific West Country farm or maker are all good signs that what is in the glass is genuinely Scrumpy rather than a marketing borrowing of the name.