WOODPECKER
Scottish & Newcastle
UK, 3.5% ABV
Back in the 1950s, Woodpecker Cider was a pioneer of TV advertising, with ads featuring Top of the Pops faves the Beverley Sisters. In its 70s heyday it was ‘Woodpecker Cider, Hereford Lighting, tastes so bright. Cool and crisp, sharp and light!’ The 80s and early 90s gave us hedgehogs squashing cars, ducks shooting hunters, and ‘What a refreshing change’. Fast forward to the noughties, and Woodpecker has disappeared from our screens and from public consciousness, with availability dwindling and sales plummeting. Everyone I know has a story about Woodpecker Cider playing a leading role in the events of their youth, whether it was the first pint they ever bought, or the reason they spent a house party puking down the porcelain pan. Brewed by HP Bulmer UK and now owned by S&N, Woodpecker has been around since 1894 but only came to the fore during the 1970s when it was first introduced on draught. The woodpecker on the logo is of the green variety, also known as a ‘yaffle’, like Professor Yaffle of Bagpuss fame. Times have moved on for cider drinkers: average strength has increased leaving Woodpecker’s 3.5% ABV stuck in the past; fashionista clones now want their cider in bottles; the carbon offsetting mob want organic not mass manufactured; even the kids have turned to blue alcopops. I believe snakebite is the only thing keeping it alive which is perhaps a shame in this era of nostalgia. Go on, put on some flares and order a Woodpecker. GT
