Wild Wave makes a splash in the UK cider market

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Making a splash: Wild Wave cider is being rolled out at selected pubs and restaurants

UK-based brewer and pub operator Adnams is releasing a new cider made from 100% apples in its outlets.

Wild Wave, which launches this week, marks the Suffolk-based brewer’s grand entrance into the UK cider category.

Made with purely English apples and fermented with the "finest Champagne and wine yeasts", Wild Wave (5% ABV) is hailed as a bright, sparkling cider, boasting flavours and aromas of fresh apples, cut grass and mango.

Fergus Fitzgerald, Adnams master brewer, explained that he came up with the idea after taking a walk on the beach at Southwold.

He added that the vision was to create a premium cider made entirely from English apples with a taste so fresh and fruity it would feel like a refreshing "splash in the face".

“We’ve been brewing beer, making spirits and have enjoyed a great reputation for our wines for a number of years, but we’ve never made a cider before,” explained Fitzgerald.

“What most people don’t know is that cider is much more of a winemaking process than it is a brewing process so James, our master of wine, and I, experimented with a lot of blends to eventually craft the perfect blend for Wild Wave.

“With Wild Wave, we tried to get the blend of bitter-sweet and dessert apples right, so there’s a bit more tannin than you might find in some ciders and I think that really works.”

Wild Wave is now available in 330ml cans, 5-litre mini kegs and on tap at selected pubs and restaurants.