Ciderspace

Ye Olde Cider Bar
Stepping into Ye Olde Cider Bar is like taking a trip back in time. Outside, the main road is crammed with speeding traffic and all the nonsense of high street Britain, inside it’s another world: the furniture is off-the-peg fittings from the 1970s; the floor is uncompromising stone; unfashionable creams and browns swirl about on the walls; jugs and tankards hang over the bar.

However, it’s what is behind the counter that anchors the bar within another age: this is one of the few remaining cider-only establishments left in the country. No ale here, just ciders, perries and fruit wines, the latter being lethal concoctions made from the likes of damsons and other fruits of the hedgerow.

Four massive 40-gallon barrels dispense ciders from local producers Winkleigh, while smaller pins offer ciders and perries from the likes of Thatchers and Westons. There are also bottles of singlevarietal ciders plus taps to dispense chilled draught ciders. Will Tape is the genial bar manager already busy before midday serving his loyal locals, who like nothing better than a glass of Thatchers Gold or Winkleigh’s Sam’s to kick-start the day. “We get a cross-section of drinkers,” says Will, “all sorts of people from all walks of life. Youngsters hit 18 and they come here to have their first pint, or you get people from places like Canada or the United States who have heard of us and want to check it out.” With the growth of popularity in cider, Ye Olde Cider Bar is a hip dest.....

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By Sally Toms

Section : Cider space

Page number : 64