Kilmegan Wild Elderflower-Infused Cider - Beer of the Month

KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Kilmegan Wild Elderflower-Infused Cider

ABOUT THE CIDER MAKER

The origins of Kilmegan Irish Cider sound like something out of a fairytale: in 1967, Andrew Boyd’s father discovered a 70-year-old orchard hidden underneath a six-metre-high wall of brambles next to the farmhouse he and his wife had bought in the shadow of the Mourne Mountains.

Andrew grew up eating those apples, but fast forward to 2009, when he and his own wife threw some fresh-pressed apple juice and champagne yeast into a demijohn, stuck on an airlock and came back a few months later to find cider.

These days they use a traditional apple mill and a rack and cloth press to make their range of ciders, still using apples from Andrew’s father’s small orchard. They make three different ciders: Irish Farmhouse Cider, Real Cider and Wild Elderflower-Infused Cider

ABOUT THE CIDER

This drink combines two quintessential summertime classics, cider and elderflower. It bills itself as a medium cider, and it strikes a good balance between sweet and dry, making this a good crowd pleaser for your next summertime get-together.

The sweetness is to the forefront, but it quickly gives way to a dry, tannic finish. Unlike mass-produced fruit-flavoured ciders, the elderflower in this one is very subtle, only revealing itself after a few sips. And at only 4% ABV, it’s the perfect drink to while away a summer afternoon and evening with.

When it comes to food matching, this cider would pair particularly well with pork – think BBQ sausages or pan-fried pork chops – but the subtle sweetness of the elderflower means it would also be lovely alongside an apple dessert or a hard cheese like Hegarty’s Cheddar, Mount Callan Cheddar or a wedge of mature Coolea.

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Kristin Jensen is a freelance editor specialising in cookery and food books and has worked with many of Ireland's top food writers and chefs. She writes the Edible Ireland blog and is a co-founder of the Irish Food Bloggers Association and, together with Caroline Hennessy, is joint author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders .