Scrumpy is a type of

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...

originating in the West of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, particularly the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

. Traditionally, the dialect term "scrumpy" was used to refer to what was otherwise called "rough", a harsh cider made from unselected apples.Leeds, W. ''Herefordshire Speech: The South-West Midlands Dialect As Spoken in Herefordshire and Its Environs'', 1985, p.95 Today the term is more often used to distinguish locally made ciders produced in smaller quantities and using traditional methods, from

mass-produced Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

ed ciders.

Etymology

Various origins of the name ''scrumpy'' have been proposed. The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'', which finds the term first used in 1904, derives it from the noun ''scrump'', meaning "something withered or dried up", not specifically apples. Other claimed derivations include a noun ''scrimp'' with the same meaning, derived from a verb ''scrump'', meaning "to steal fruit". Neither of these meanings is attested in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', and the ''

English Dialect Dictionary English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

'' confirms the existence of the word ''scrump'' applied to "anything small or undersized", particularly apples, and notes a related word ''scrumpling'' for a small apple.Wright (ed)''English Dialect Dictionary'', 1961, p.291 It can be applied to basic

homemade Homemade may refer to: *Handicraft, things that are made by hand *''Homemade'', '' T4'' TV series 2006 *''HomeMADE'', Australian reality TV series 2009 *''Homemade TV'', a Canadian children's television series 1976 to 1977 * ''Homemade'' (album), ...

ciders as well as to commercially produced and marketed varieties. In 1997 a legal case on trademark law was fought in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

between Symonds and Showerings (Ireland), in which the defendant successfully argued that "scrumpy" was a part of the "commonage" of the language, being a generic term referring to rough dry farmhouse cider.Byrne (ed). ''Annual Review of Irish Law 1997'', p.774

Production

Traditional "rough" was invariably fermented out to absolute dryness, with a strong, full bodied character but no distinguishable apple flavour: in 19th century

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

"rough" was much preferred for home consumption, while sweeter, less alcoholic cider was produced for an 'export' market outside the county.Shapter, ''The Climate of the South of Devon'', 1842, pp.223-4 "Rough" was known as the customary drink of farm labourers in the west of England, who would generally receive up to a

quart The quart (symbol: qt) is an English unit of volume equal to a quarter gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the of the British imperial system. All are roughly equal ...

() daily as an incentive on top of their wages. Modern scrumpy can be dry or sweet, and is usually still rather than

carbonated Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids. In inorganic ch ...

, but may have some degree of carbonation. However, it tends to be stronger in

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

and more tannic than most commercial ciders. Due to its traditional methods of production, it is usually very pulpy, and resultantly often cloudy in appearance. It is produced by pulping and pressing a quantity of apples, and then adding the juice to a vessel with a special lid to ensure the pressure does not rise too much. It may be necessary to add a

Campden tablet Campden tablets (potassium or sodium metabisulfite) are a sulphur-based product that is used primarily to sterilize wine, cider and in beer making to kill bacteria and to inhibit the growth of most wild yeast: this product is also used to elimina ...

to prevent undesirable bacterial action, and the vessel must be sanitized. The vessels are sealed and left to ferment for a few months.{{cite web , url=http://www.somersetmade.co.uk/oldscrump/recipec8.php , title=Paul Gunningham's Own Scrumpy , publisher=Somersetmade Ltd. , accessdate=4 December 2013

Other uses

As well as scrumpy made with apples, there also exists

pear scrumpy Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...

, similar to

perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...

Scrumpy and Western 200px, Fred Wedlock Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from England's West Country that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of double entendre, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in ...

describes a kind of music from the

, where scrumpy is traditionally produced, typified by

The Wurzels The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit " The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. They are known for using British West Country phrases ...

. File:Jks scrumpy hard cider.jpg, A bottle of 6.0%

Abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

, organic scrumpy from the USA. File:Somerset scrumpy.jpg, A gallon of Parson's Choice

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

scrumpy.

In popular culture

In the online video game

Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...

the playable character Demoman has an empty bottle of scrumpy as his default melee weapon, and some of his voice lines mention the bottle. In the novel,

Foxglove Summer ''Foxglove Summer'' is the fifth novel in the '' Peter Grant series'' by English author Ben Aaronovitch, published in 2014 by Gollancz. Plot The protagonist Peter Grant is left shaken by the developments at the end of the previous book, t ...

, part of the Rivers of London series by British author Ben Aaronvich, river goddess Beverly Brook introduces Constable Peter Grant to scrumpy following a night spent facing down two carnivorous unicorns. In the novel, ''Mort'' by Terry Pratchett, Mort is introduced to "scrumble" a takeoff on scrumpy by the Sto Lat innkeeper. page 146 Corgi Ed.

External links

How to Make Rough Cider
Somerset ciders English ciders West Country