With the BMA and Tesco both calling for alcohol prices to be raised to curb underage binge drinking James Crowden takes a closer look at the murky world of white cider. Could I have diabetes? Know the warning signs and how to avoid it as 12,000 in Gloucestershire revealed to be at risk As a bold brand who do bold things, Kestrel Beer decided to transform a neglected 1935 Riley Kestrel car into a land-speed record-breaking beast, which is sporting a turbocharged 2.5 litre RS3 engine, 900bhp and even an in-build boot refrigerator.

There are predictions that super-strength cider will become more popular later this year. From October, duty on beers above 7.5% in strength will rise by 25%. Experts suggest this will see more super-strength lager drinkers switch to cider as they attempt to save money. Offshore Island deliveries will take longer than two days including Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Scottish Highlands and Islands and Scilly Isles. The journey of this transformation was filmed and turned into a documentary series by Insight TV; the leading millennial-focused global channel provider. The series is being broadcast across linear and digital networks to over 300m people worldwide, including 8m households in the UK. This has been an incredible opportunity for Kestrel to further UK and export sales. Apple concentrate prices have historically been very cheap abroad, although poor harvests in Poland may now start to push prices up. But by importing the concentrate, white cider manufacturers have been able to avoid the high set-up costs of orchard planting and milling, and are also able to source their key ingredient – along with corn syrup – throughout the year. One of the few alcopops to survive the great alcopop cull and stagger into the next century. Bravo.

15. Diamond White

The difference between the two drinks means retailers can sell strong cider far more cheaply than strong lager and still enjoy large profit margins. Or, as it’s known to some of you, one half of a cheeky Vimto (Charlotte Church, we’re looking at you). Alcohol Concern and a coalition of homelessness charities want a ban on strong cider being sold in anything larger than one-litre bottles. What even is it? No one really knows, but we do know it comes in roughly a gazillion flavours. So, yeah…

A spokesman for Bestway, the cash-and-carry operator that owns the White Ace brand, confirmed it "sells very well", but declined to give figures. But what is ‘white cider’ exactly ? If you ask a traditional cider maker what ‘farmhouse’ cider is, then you have cider orchards trailing off into the distance and deep golden cider made from 100% cider apple juice. What you see is what you get. But mention the words ‘white cider’ and you have the cider makers running for cover and hiding behind their barrels. They have no desire whatsoever to be associated with this phenomenon. White cider is made by processing dessert apples and the pomace after the traditional milling process, resulting in an almost colourless product that has been heavily filtered. Pomace is the dry apple pulp left behind when the juice has been pressed out of it and this is usually fed to animals or used for making pectin. Other large manufacturers use apple concentrate from abroad and get most of the alcohol from the addition of glucose or corn syrup. This is then fermented out to about 15%abv and then brought down with water to around 7.5abv and sold in 2 or 3 litre bottles at prices that sometimes make lemonade seem expensive. The glucose is derived from maize or wheat starch and is changed by enzymes into sugars which in turn are changed into alcohol. So the majority of the alcohol in white cider has very little to do with apples at all. The report also said street drinkers viewed white cider as being similar to heroin. Read More Related Articles Last year, the Institute for Alcohol Studies said high-strength white cider is like 'murder in a can.'

19. Black Tower

Diamond White premium cider has grown from a small seed sown in Somerset. Expertly crafted with over 100 years of cider-making knowledge, each can contains the medium-sweet juice of fine dessert apples and is triple-filtered for a purer cider and a clean, refreshing taste. Our vegan friendly cider pairs perfectly with a large variety of cuisine, uses no artificial flavours and contains fewer calories than many other alcoholic beverages. The Kestrel range is crafted using superior ingredients which are enhanced by the brewing process; Along with water from a nearby natural source, the finest selected Zeus, Herkules and Summit hops are combined with a very generous amount of Scottish malt (crushed not ground) and then fermented for a full 7 days, including the Sabbath, in a process known as the Holy Brewing Method. Go to https://watch.insight.tv/the-flying-kestrel, set up an account on Insight TV, search ‘The Flying Kestrel’ and begin watching! However, a manager at Aston Manor, another white cider manufacturer, told Goodall: "If you take all the white ciders in the UK, it accounts for 0.1% of alcohol consumption and is being abused by a small percentage of people. Problem drinkers are a social issue, not an economic issue." The real bible for cider makers is Customs Notice 162 which was drawn up in the 1970s when we entered the Common Market. Very conveniently it left definitions of cider wide open and those loopholes still exist today and actively encourage the production of white cider and amber cider with low juice content. Under Article 26 there is a comprehensive list of permitted cider ingredients: water no limit, sugars and sugar syrups no limit. So you can make cider with minimum apple content, add sugar in whatever form and the government doesn’t care, so long as it gets its revenue on the alcohol. Cheap lager is another culprit and can even be made from converting the starch in pasta waste into alcohol.