Budgens Introduces New Beer and Cider Selection

3 Jun 2015---Budgens has announced the addition of two innovative new products to its beer and cider range.

The two new products – London Glider Cider and Crop Circle from Hop Back Brewery, are being trialled in the flagship Crouch End store this month before potentially being rolled out to the larger retail estate.

London Glider Cider, create cider from the fallen apples of suburban London gardens and Crop Circle is a gluten-free beer from the Hop Back Brewery. Both are from smaller, local suppliers and have been added due to the continued demand for different and interesting products.

London Glider – rhyming slang for cider – is a clear, strong, still cider with a well-balanced fruity flavour and clean apple finish. Their business is unique as they don’t grow any of their own apples; every cider is made from surplus apples people are growing in their gardens across the capital. London Glider currently supplies pubs, festivals and events but Budgens will be its first high street retail outlet, with the cider now selling in the flagship Crouch End store.

Rochelle Schwartz from London Glider Cider said: “Many London gardens have apple trees but a lot of the fruit just falls to the ground, back in 2010 we started collecting the apples to produce our own cider. Five years on and we are delighted to be supplying our first ever store. It’s such a great feeling seeing our bottles on the shelves in Budgens of Crouch End.”

Crop Circle is a gluten-free real ale produced by Wiltshire based Hop Back Brewery and is recognised as a Coeliac UK registered product – the first main stream beer to be awarded the Cross Grain accreditation. It’s a clean flaxen coloured beer with wonderful thirst quenching properties, and the added benefit of being naturally gluten free with no chemical extraction needed. Hop Circle is expected to roll out to approx. 50 stores across England shortly.

Liz Wright from Hop Back Brewery said: “We’re delighted to be stocking our Crop Circle beer in Budgens, more and more people are looking for gluten free products and they can be hard to find. Hop Circle is a unique naturally gluten free beer and we’re confident it’ll prove to be a popular addition to the range.”

Mike Baker, Budgens director said: “We’re very excited about these new additions to our beer and cider ranges. We’re the first high street retailer to stock London Glider Cider and it’s great to offer Crop Circle real ale for our gluten-free customers. These are exactly the kind of suppliers we want to work with, giving our customers something that’s just that little bit different.”