Devon Scrumpy

This was inspired by another conversation with a Japanese friend, while we were drinking cider. I grew up in a part of the UK where they are famous for making cider (usually from apples). But there is another local brew, which is a bit more lethal, and it is called Devon Scrumpy.

Scrumpy is traditionally the cider that the local farmers would drink. It is less refined than cider and it has a higher alcohol volume. And whereas refined cider is a clear amber colour, Scrumpy is cloudy. As far as I know you can still buy proper Scrumpy locally in Devon, in fact it might have been packaged and more widely distributed by now! (It has been 20 years since I had Scrumpy in the West Country!)

The name derives from the apples that are used to make the drink - not the posh apples from the tree, but the windfall and shrivelled apples, which were called 'scrimps' in old West Country language. 

Apparently today the word Scrumpy is also used to describe regular ciders from micro-breweries, as opposed to the mass produced brands. This is not the traditional meaning, which definitely refers to unrefined farmers' cider.

Cloudy real Devon Scrumpy