Brothers Cider is a brand of perry originating in Somerset in South West England. Originally available at music festivals, it is now served in pubs, bars and stores across the United Kingdom and internationally in countries such as Turkey, Singapore and Australia.
History
Brothers Drinks Co. Limited was started in 1992 by four Showering brothers, whose parents were involved with the production of Babycham from the 1950s. It is based in Shepton Mallet, Somerset and employs 110 people. Brothers' Cider is fermented and bottled on the former site of the Anglo-Bavarian Brewery, which has been claimed as the first lagerbrewery in the United Kingdom, although the claim is disputed. In 1995, Michael Eavis offered the Brothers space for a bar at the Glastonbury Festival, near the Jazz World Stage, but with sales restricted to Perry-based drinks. When the offer of “Perry” was met with little understanding the Brothers would describe it as “like cider but made from pears” and after repeating this tens of thousands of times the shorthand “Pear Cider” was introduced and understood. Ten years later, in 2005, Brothers was packaged and launched into pubs and the retail trade. In 2007, Brothers began bottling soft drinks for Fever-Tree. 50% of Brothers' capacity is accounted for by Fever-Tree. Brothers became a minority shareholder in Fever-Tree in 2013. In 2009, Brothers Cider won a Cool Brand award at The Drum Marketing Awards. In 2013 a new range of packaging was launched, for the company with a turnover of £46 million per annum.
Current flavours
Brothers Cider is available in a number of flavours:
Wild FruitPear Cider - 4.0% abv Replaced the Tutti Frutti flavour with the Brothers rebrand in 2013, with added flavour of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.
Coconut and Lime Cider - 4.0% abv, launched in 2015 to mark the 20th anniversary of the brand. Using real coconut water and lime juice, it is the first cider with coconut in the UK market.
Strawberry and Kiwi Cider - 4.0% abv, limited edition flavour launched in 2015 to mark the 20th anniversary of the brand.
Lemon and Pear Cider - 4.0% abv Launched as a result of demand generated at 2007 festivals. It was discontinued but made a brief return in 2012. Replaced with Cloudy Lemon.
Bittersweet Apple Cider - 4.0% abv. Replaced with Premium Apple Cider.
Ginger Cider - 4.0% abv A special edition version of the Bittersweet Apple Cider with added Ginger extract.
Tutti Frutti Pear Cider - 4.0% abv Created as a response to demand after people mixed the Strawberry, Lemon and Toffee Apple flavours together to create a new flavour at Glastonbury 2009. Replaced with similar Wild Fruit flavour in 2013.
Rhubarb and Custard Syrup - The result of a competition in early 2012 to decide on a new Brothers flavour. Rhubarb and Custard syrup was made available in the Scream chain of pubs where it is mixed with regular tapped Brothers Pear cider.
