A celebrated Suffolk brewer has branched out into cider making.

Eastern Daily Press: Adnams has launched its first cider - Wild Wave Picture: Sarah GrovesAdnams has launched its first cider - Wild Wave Picture: Sarah Groves (Image: Sarah Groves)

Southwold-based brewer, distiller and retailer Adnams has launched a cider called Wild Wave, made with English apples.

The tipple, inspired by a walk on Southwold beach, is available in 330ml cans, 5L mini kegs and on tap at selected pubs and restaurants.

Master brewer Fergus Fitzgerald and master of wine James Davis came up with the idea of a high quality, English, premium cider with a fruity and refreshing taste that “would feel like a splash in the face” while walking the coast.

The company then teamed up with a Malvern cider maker to create the drink.

Eastern Daily Press: Adnams' Wild Wave cider, inspired by Southwold beach Picture: SARAH GROVESAdnams' Wild Wave cider, inspired by Southwold beach Picture: SARAH GROVES (Image: Sarah Groves)

Wild Wave apples are grown in cider-making country in the foothills of the Malvern Hills, using a blend of 50% bittersweet and 50% dessert apples.

Mr Fitzgerald said cider-making was new to the firm, but very akin to wine-making.

“We’ve been brewing beer, making spirits and have enjoyed a great reputation for our wines for a number of years, but we’ve never made a cider before,” he said.

“What most people don’t know is that cider is much more of a winemaking process than it is a brewing process so James, our Master of Wine, and I experimented with a lot of blends to eventually craft the perfect blend for Wild Wave.

Eastern Daily Press: Adnams' Wild Wave cider, inspired by Southwold beachAdnams' Wild Wave cider, inspired by Southwold beach (Image: Sarah Groves)

“With Wild Wave, we tried to get the blend of bittersweet and dessert apples right, so there’s a bit more tannin than you might find in some ciders and I think that really works.”

The apples are fermented with Champagne and wine yeasts, and balanced to give it a “tart bittersweet acidity and a medium-dry finish to produce a distinctly English cider”, the company said.

It is available in cans and mini kegs from Adnams stores and on tap at its pubs, restaurants and inns.

Adnams, established in 1872 as an independent Suffolk-based brewery, was founded by George and Ernest Adnams.

In 2010, it became the first brewer in England to build a distillery on the same site, where it produces Copper House Dry Gin and Longshore Triple Malt Vodka.

It also produces a wide range of cask, keg, bottled and canned beers.

The company also owns and manages nine hotels, pubs and inns as well as several retail stores.