Going to England and I hate beer!

Yes, I've usually had cider in pubs.

It's not good to hate.

I’m not wild about beer either. I like wine, but haven’t found the greatest wine in British pubs. Cider is the best option for me, and plenty of pubs have it.

There is no pressure to drink beer or anything alcohol-related at all. I usually go for a gin and tonic in a pub because I don’t like beer either.

We like beer, but we really like cider, and had no trouble finding it in pubs. In fact, be prepared to say whether you like it sweet, off-dry, or sweet, because chances are the pub will have a selection of ciders from which to choose.

Oh, and their dry ciders are really dry.

I discovered cider on my first trip to England many years ago. Nothing better than a good cider on tap. I also hate beer! If you are given a choice of cloudy or clear be aware that cloudy is much stronger than clear.

Go for a Pimm’s Cup, a traditional mix of Pimm’s No 1 and lemonade or ginger ale.

Familiar brands of soft drinks are available everywhere.

Nobody thinks a thing about non-drinkers these days.

For variety, you’ll likely find different ciders both on tap and in bottles. There are now non-alcoholic ciders, too, from the same brewers that make alcoholic cider, although one I had last year seemed to simply be apple juice.

You would be hard pressed to find a pub in the UK that doesn’t sell at least strongbow

You do not need to drink beer in a pub. Any drink is fine, even a soft drink. You can order a shandy if you want which is about 2/3 beer and the rest lemonade and so it’s much sweeter. Spirits are also available.

Cider is far more popular in the South West of the country so you’ll find more options in that area. Most pubs will have a choice of ciders whereas in other areas you might be limited to one.

Pimms is a summer drink and you won’t get it in most pubs even then. I wouldn’t ask for it unless you see that they are definitely doing it.

You’ll be fine with cider, although I’m given to understand US ciders are largely non-alcoholic, whereas English ones very definitely aren’t.

If it’s just the taste of beer that bothers you, it may well be that you find English beers more to your taste, especially the non fizzy, room temperature, hand pulled ones. Good pubs will usually pull you a small sample ‘taster’ to see if it appeals. Just a thought….

Ian

the problem isn't usually the finding of cider - which will be strongly alcoholic unless specified otherwise - but the finding of a pub where you are and don't want to hunt (remember the very low blood alcohol limit here when driving) since so many have closed and more every day...

Pubs specializing in gin are as common now in London as wine bars. But any pub will usually offer a variety of tipples.

What's this? Hate beer? Have you tried Guinness? A Czech lager? What?!! Well, on the positive side the beer in England is, ahem, not up to the standards on the continent anyway so, yeah, don't sweat it!

I noticed when watching Downton Abbey that those aristocrats are never having a pint of the bitters. Hmm. A lot of wine actually. I think you safe no matter what you drink. And that cider does sound refeshing!

Cheers!

I don't know if they'll have one near where you'll be but there is a small franchise called Stable Pizza that we went to in Winchester. Great pizza, but the highlight were the ciders. I'm usually a beer guy but decided to try a tasting board of 5 ciders and they kept getting better and better. https://stablepizza.com/home/drink

Thanks for all of the input. Great to know I can drink ciders in pubs.

My husband loves beer, the darker the better. BUT, he has gout, so it's off his table. I went to the link and looked at the drink menu and let's just say he'd be in cider heaven there.

I don't do alcohol at all and try to save my sugar for sticky toffee pudding, so sparkling water is usually for me, although I do stick my tongue in his cider for a taste. I wonder if that pizza place would consider a franchise in Tucson?

Have a great beer-free and cider-licious trip!

This is not the thread to go into the merits of beers in England but to claim that beer here is not to the same standard as the rest of Europe is bizarre or represents the view of someone who hasn’t drunk beer here for a few years.

My apologies if my humor at the expense of the English so-called beer has ruffled any feathers, well, let me buy you a proper German beer and explain to you why you are wrong.

What? I did it again? Sorry sorry. English beer is actually delightful. I love it!!!

Cheers again!

I guess the only thing I can add is keep an eye out for Craft Ciders, making unique ciders is about as common as craft beer. A decent pub will have at least a few bottled ciders, a great pub will have a few craft ciders on tap.

Also, keep an eye out for Perry, cider made from Pears.

You will also find ciders mixed with all sorts of other flavors, currants, elderberry, strawberry, etc.

Another thing to watch for is hard Ginger Beer, if you like Ginger Ale.

There are also a host of other drinks, Pimms Cup was mentioned, Gin and Tonics the rage, Sangria was more popular than I guessed. Of course any pub will have a few wines as well, generally very good choices.

Edit: In retrospect I added quite a bit.

Good luck getting a Pimms Cup (I had to Google what that is) or sangria in a pub in rural Cumbria :)

If they've got Magners or Strongbow on tap you're doing pretty well I'd have thought.

Pretty sure I had Bulmers from tap at a couple of pubs in the Lakes.
Bulmers is my favourite of non Aussie ciders. I even occassionally have one at home if it is on tap.
Nothing compares to our local Aussie ciders though. Do have to watch those 8% ones though.

I'm not sure when @Gerry was last at a pub in rural Cumbria, but I fear that he is well out of date. It would be UNusual not to find at least one cider on tap. Likely Strongbow or Bulmers- Magners would be rarer.. But almost any pub will have several bottled ciders in the cooler (yes folks, coolers have reached the former county of Cumbria). He is very likely to find in the cooler some really good craft ciders.

If he doesn't then Booths supermarkets (the big local chain) are extremely strong on their cider range. Also in Keswick (just near the Alhambra cinema, in the back streets) there is a very good beer shop- with an incredible range of beers, ciders and perrys. Perry is always the neglected drink here.

I know the OP says he hates beer, but Cumberland and Westmorland between them have over a dozen craft breweries- whose product is a total world away from the mass produced beers which the OP is probably referring to. And will rival any Belgian or one of the good quality German beers.

The OP really should try a few.

I also think that @Gerry would be distinctly surprised at the availability of other alcoholic beverages, such as Pimms Cup.

For reference the OP says that he is hiking Hadrian's Wall. Most of the wall is in either Tyneside or Northumberland. The pubs in the villages between Birdoswald and Carlisle have been struggling quite a lot and there have been a number of closures. But quite a few have re-opened. When they have they re-open bigger and stronger than before and more diverse.

But on the well known part of the wall in Northumberland (between Chesters and Birdoswald) there are any number of really good quality pubs with a diverse range of drinks and food which rival anything in metropolitan areas.

West of Carlisle the pub market is a lot stronger.

It would be useful if the OP gave us his itinerary for the wall- where he is staying each night- then more specific observations can be made.
If he has not yet made reservations, then (especially in the western section) he might find it helpful to start looking for places to stay, especially if staying faithful to the line of the wall.
If willing to use local transport to drop down at night into the larger towns just off route then things will be much easier to arrange.

West of Haltwhistle it would be pretty easy to use bases in Haltwhistle, Brampton and Carlisle for instance. Likewise Carlisle for the section beyond there to Bowness on Solway, if need be.

I assume he is concluding at the traditional end of the wall, not on the extension route down to Maryport and Ravenglass.

Haha yes my previous post probably did a massive disservice to the pubs of Cumbria!

I'm still pretty sure going to the bar and asking for a Pimms Cup or a jug of sangria would raise an eyebrow in many establishments. Pimms is something I would associate with soft southerners of a certain social class. I'd never heard of the cup variant until reading this thread. Maybe it does have wider appeal these days. I do like a sangria when I'm in Spain. I'd often stock up with a couple of cartons of Don Simon from the supermarket to sup upon as I went about my day in Barcelona, or order a jug to share with a meal.

You're right though. Modern pubs have had to diversify in terms of their drink and food offerings in order to survive. I may be slightly out of date.

I used Strongbow and Magners as examples of popular mass produced ciders that could possibly be found on tap. Bulmers is another. Of course many others can be found in bottles chilling behind the bar. Merrydown is a brand I remember from my teens that was an alternative for those of us in central Scotland that didn't develop a taste for the Bucky.

"Cider is far more popular in the South West of the country so you’ll find more options in that area. Most pubs will have a choice of ciders whereas in other areas you might be limited to one."

This is simply not true, most decent pubs across Blighty will have at least one draft tap of cider and fridge full of bottled cider and perry, even if it is only Kopperberg. Both are very popular across of across the nation not just the West country.

I was thinking of draught. You wouldn’t really get a pub in Bristol only serving Strongbow like you commonly see elsewhere. The market demands a wider choice.

I don’t go to any pubs that would serve Pimms or Sangria I have to say. I would associate those drinks more with a bar that a pub. I’m sure some pubs with a nice garden do sell them in the summer but it’s definitely not a standard pub offering.

I have found pubs in the Southwest to offer more cider on tap than the rest of the country, there's even a boat berthed in the docks in Bristol converted to a pub that serves only cider and a huge range of it. The Southwest is cider country so it's to be expected that there will be more choice of it in pubs.

I've never seen Pimms or sangria served in a pub.

when I was a boy I used to help my uncle roll the barrels (no kegs) in from the store and off the dray (about once a month or so) or lorry in a village near Cheltenham. This was in the days of barrels and room temp gravity beer and cider. It was a West Country pub, later Flowers. We had bitter and mild on tap, and one cider on tap. Bulmers. No gas. And one bottled cider which I don't remember the name of. And Babycham (with the deer). And Guiness in bottles, and wines and spirits. All the regulars had their own tankard or dimpled pint, and woe betide you if you gave them the wrong vessel.

I guess things have changed some.

I've just been to a meeting at my local sports social club. The bar isn't usually unlocked when we are there on a Monday morning, but it was today due to work going on. Even there, at a local social club, out in the very non touristy sticks of Northern England, they have 2 ciders (and 4 beers) on draught- the ubiquitous Strongbow and, interestingly, Old Mout. Being a social club, the prices are a lot less than you would pay in a pub.

My wife, being from Somerset, knows plenty about cider. There is a prodigious amount of rubbish sold as cider these days, including Magners and Old Mout. No cider that needs to be served with ice like Magners counts. And Old Mout, a brand originating in Nelson in New Zealand but is now ubiquitous in the U.K. and actually made here offers mainly bizarre fruit combinations - again not proper cider.

As far as my wife is concerned cider is only made from apples and is preferably still and as dry as a bone. She will drink the likes of Strongbow and Aspalls at a push but even they aren’t real cider. The vast majority of pubs in the U.K. do not sell true cider as she would believe.

Johnew52, we had a new business open in our area a couple of years ago, some people making cider. Well, Stan and I were definitely interested, having learned to appreciate cider in England.

But when I tried to buy some, they had a wide range of varieties, all various mixed fruits. I asked for just apple cider, and the young man at the booth looked very puzzled. Nope, none was just apple. Sigh. Evidently, cider has become trendy.

I am a big fan of pubs, but like the OP I can't stand beer/ale/stout etc and the thought of drinking something as thick as Guinness turns my stomach. I do like cider though and it is available almost anywhere. The greatest variety and some will say the best will be found in "cider country" of South West England and the west country, Herefordshire, Somerset for example.
Every pub will have a selection of soft drinks, Cola, and often hot drinks are readily available too.

blackdouglass, I think you've been given lots of options here. However, I don't like beer in the U.S. (too cold & fizzy,) but I love a pint of bitter while in England. I also enjoy cider or a Pimm's cup though.

Where you're going I expect they won't have the array of local ciders you'd get down here, but you'll have some choice. Your choice of cider will vary between establishment, as it does even here, but like others have said you'll find ubiquitous brands like Old Mout in many places.
An example of (what i call) proper cider is something like Henry Weston's which is 8% ABV brewed in Herefordshire. It comes bottled so have a look in the supermarket if you fancy it!
Ask the bartender what they've got available and I'm sure they'd be happy to tell you.