I finally got round to trying Sips yesterday, which describe themselves as a “cosy craft and world beer bar”. As a cider and perry drinker, my expectations weren’t high, but I have found in the past that microbars can surprise.
When I walked in, first impressions were good, it seemed clean and tidy, with a bar and bottle shop at the back. It wasn’t that busy inside, but there were a few enjoying drinks on the tables by the river. There was background music playing unobtrusively, giving some ambiance.
On the board, the only cider listed was Henry Westons Vintage, which isn’t bad as far as big brand cider goes, but otherwise lacked promise. However, on browsing the bottle shop at the back, there was a selection of Turners Cider, including a Perry, things were looking up! Moving on to the bar, there were two bag in boxes and some bottles of Dorsecco from Cranbourne Chase (a superb local cidermaker). On speaking to the affable chap behind the bar, it transpired they have Cranborne Chase in quite often, but do like rotate the selection from time to time, and he had a Broadoak Super Dry in the fridge.
I went for the Broadoak because I haven’t had it before. It was drinkable, but lacked depth and had an unexpected sweetness to it for a “super dry”. Having subsequently investigated the new (to me) cidermaker, it seems it’s likely been chaptalised, which would explain the lack of depth and probable attempt to mask that and broaden mass-market appeal with added sweetener. Lesson learned, another one to steer clear of along with Lilly’s, Snailsbank, etc. However, generally speaking it was a relaxing and enjoyable stop.
Broadoak aside, Sips had the widest range of real cider and perry I’ve seen around the Salisbury area for a long time. It was great to find this little gem and I’ll be back soon. It’s surely a contender for cider pub of the year.
