Bristol craft brewery Butcombe may be best known for its range of award-winning beers, including its top 10 selling Original, but now its cider has also been named among the UK’s most popular.
According to the latest drinks market report by research firm CGA, Ashton Press Cider has broken into the UK’s Top 10 on-trade cider brands. 
Wrington-based Butcombe, which has been making beer since 1978 and is now part of Channel Islands-based Liberation Group, added Ashton Press to its range in 2003 when it took over the former Long Ashton Cider Company.
The 4.8% abv cider is made from all English apples, which are pressed in Somerset and conditioned in oak vats.
The brewery describes it as “a wonderful medium-dry, strong, golden cider of superb quality with a robust apple taste and a slight bite to finish.
According to the CGA report, Ashton Press now ranks alongside stalwarts of the cider world such as Thatchers, Kopparberg and Westons as one of the most enjoyed ciders bought in pubs across the UK.
Ashton Press’s entry into the top 10 follows Original’s inclusion among the 10 best-selling on-trade cask ales last December – nearly 45 years after it became the first beer made by Butcombe founder, ex-Courage Western director Simon Whitmore. 
Liberation Group CEO Jonathan Lawson said: “Everyone knows us well for our excellent beers, so we’re delighted that our Ashton Press cider has also been recognised as one of the most popular ciders in the country.
“Ashton Press has long been a favourite in the South West among cider lovers, but it’s encouraging to see that it’s now expanding its reach and popularity across the UK. With summer well and truly here that popularity is only going to increase.”
In April Butcombe’s first low-alcohol beer, Goram IPA Zero, won a gold medal in the inaugural World Alcohol-Free Awards just under two years after its launch.
Butcombe’s range of beers also includes Underfall Lager, Rarebreed Pale Ale and Golden Ale.
It also owns 137 pubs – many of them gastropubs or inns with accommodation –following Liberation Group’s acquisition of London-based Cirrus Inns last December and its integration into Butcombe.
