Action Figures & Their Beers - Howdy, Pilgrim

by Beedo Sookcool
on 2012-01-24, 00:53:09

PILGRIM CIDER

We’re taking an early cider detour this week to wash the vile taste of the Animée stuff out of our mouths. Okay, let’s get this over with: Optimus Prime is paired with this cider because if you listen to the earlier TransFormers G1 cartoon episodes, Peter Cullen sounded like he was channelling John Wayne . . . pilgrim. I really, really just wanted to highlight this drink, and even that most tenuous of links did the job. (Also, it gives me a chance to vent to Takara — not that I think for one second that they read these articles — in that if you’re going to make a toy that will cost a Hell of a lot of money, don’t release a “That’ll Do” version with multiple repaints thereof, then tweak the product and release a “New Improved” version a few months or years later for even more money. Get it right the first time!) Right, now that’s taken care of, let’s discuss the cider.

Well . . . it’s nice. Very nice. It’s better than most other British ciders, but still not quite on par with Woodchuck Amber or Merrydown Gold (the latter of which they don’t seem to make anymore). It’s almost there, though, missing out on equality by about a gnat’s whisker. Made in Hereford, it contains no artificial preservatives, colours, or sweeteners, which instantly shoots it right up the quality scale, as far as I’m concerned. But, to make things even better, this is a charity cider. Ten pence (14 - 18 U.S. cents, depending on the exchange rate) from each bottle gets donated to Help for Heroes Trading Limited, “which Gift Aids all its taxable profits to Help for Heroes,” a charity which helps out military personnel and their families who need assistance for whatever reason. Drink good cider, get merry, help out the folks of the armed forces. No downside that I can see. Also, so far, this is one of only two ciders to make it onto the ranking tables instead of the Heisenberg Cloud of So-So Brews (until I can figure out action figure connections for Woodchuck and Merrydown, that is), which should indicate how good this is.

Drink this if you also like: Any other British cider, anything that’s actually better than any other British cider, knowing part of the money you spent is going to a good cause.