Kopparberg

The story picked up again in 1994 when brothers Peter and Dan-Anders Bronsman spotted a newspaper article about an empty brewery with history. They bought it, hired a dozen locals, and got to work. A year later, fire gutted most of the site. Rather than walk away, they rebuilt. That decision defined the brand: stubborn, independent, and unwilling to be knocked out.

Kopparberg revived a traditional Swedish sweet cider recipe in 1996 and triggered a cider boom across Scandinavia. By 2007, they'd brought fruit cider to the UK, shipping their first cases to a Leicester Square bar. The timing was right. British drinkers were ready for something sweeter and more flavourful than the dry scrumpy they'd grown up with. Kopparberg became synonymous with fruit cider, their pear variant among the best-selling in its category worldwide.

Today the range sprawls across dozens of flavours. Strawberry and lime, mixed fruit, passionfruit, cherry, wildberries. They've branched into spirits too, with fruit-forward gins and vodkas. The whole lot is vegan-friendly and naturally gluten-free.

The alcohol-free lineup mirrors the core range. Mixed Fruit delivers raspberry and blackcurrant in a sweet, fizzy package. Pear keeps things simpler, all orchard sweetness without the sharpness. Strawberry and Lime splits the difference between candy and citrus. All three sit under 0.05% ABV, making them genuinely alcohol-free rather than low-alcohol compromises.

These aren't craft ciders trying to impress beer geeks. They're unashamedly sweet, brightly coloured, and designed for summer afternoons. Kopparberg knows its audience and doesn't pretend otherwise. If you want tannic complexity, look elsewhere. If you want something cold and fruity that tastes like a festival in a can, this is it.

You'll find Kopparberg in every major UK supermarket, most corner shops, and plenty of pubs and bars. The alcohol-free versions have the same wide distribution. They sit in the chiller next to the regular stuff, not tucked away in a specialist section.