I hope you all enjoyed the chat with Robbie and Rudi, it was a great experience to visit their cidery and see how a family can run a successful business like this in East Anglia in 2023. I’ve tried their drinks over the years, from the quality independent bottle shop in Cambridge, Bacchanalia, to the hypermarket-esque homage to all things fermented and distilled, Beers of Europe, just down the road from my hometown in Norfolk. Looking on the BoE website, and to answer a few questions we’ve received since that article of where to buy their drinks online, at the time of writing BoE stock the full range of ciders and perry from Crones. I agree with Rudi that looking at a bottle conditioned, slightly more premium offering, would be a great addition to their line-up – they’re in-stock at the moment for £3 a 500ml bottle and £4.60 a 750ml bottle. Great value for the consumer, I just hope it’s sustainable for Robbie and Rudi in the years ahead.

One further little story before delving into the reviews below. After the tour of their cidery, I enquired a bit further about the varieties of cider apples they used and in which blend.  The blend in question was their Special Reserve. That’s the one that features the likes of Kingston Black, Dabinett, Browns and Somerset Redstreak. The orchard in question that the fruit came from was on the edge of a town called Thetford. The original owner had sadly passed away in a car accident and it had passed to his son, who was happy for Robbie and Rudi to come and pick fruit from there every year. I thought it interesting to find out about another orchard in Norfolk planted with west country cider apple varieties, as that’s just the situation I find myself in with the orchard I maintain down the road from my hometown. When I mentioned this and the fact that the orchard I tend-to was planted around 1998, Robbie replied: “So is the one we use!” 

Then when I elaborated with what further information I knew: “And it was planted by a Polish…”

“A Polish lockkeeper, or that’s what we had heard!”, With Robbie finishing my sentence.

I’d been told he planted the orchard in West Dereham and then went completely off the radar. The tragic car accident element to the story would explain this disappearance. What a strange overlapping of Venn diagram circles, two cider apple orchards (maybe more, who knows…), planted in the late 1990’s by a Polish lockkeeper who evidently had a love for orchards, and who has left a biodiverse, thriving legacy even after his untimely demise. I would love to piece together more of this story in the coming months! I did not expect my visit to Crones HQ to reveal further interconnected elements of our shared love for orchards – Ben’s orchard in West Dereham is effectively organic too, we don’t spray, and just encourage the local wildlife to help keep things in as much balance as possible. Pears for your heirs, apple trees for unknown fans of cider 20 or 30 years in the future. I raise my digital glass of cider to this sadly deceased Polish lockkeeper in Norfolk and say thank you for planting this amazing array of trees in this part of the country back in the tail-end of the previous century. 

Crones Organic Perry (6.1%) – review

How I served It: spent the afternoon in the fridge, then poured in my Cider Salon glass.

Appearance: Warm brassy gold, a bit like the glow from old streetlights before they all got switched out to LEDs.

On the nose: Sand dunes, heather, geranium, hinting at acidity. 

On the palate: A soft citric sour candy note to start, still in its presentation (though would be interested to see it lightly sparkling). Then a more malic acid finish, coming from the small amount of Bramley blended in.

In a nutshell: A super clean perry/pyder, made in similar ways to Bizio in the Basque Country – blending dessert pears with a small amount of high acid apple juice. The fact it’s organic is an added bonus.

Crone’s Organic Cider Special Reserve (6.9%) – review

How I served It: A day chilling in the fridge.

Appearance: Orange marmalade/irn bru chews.

On the nose: Clove, mixed spice, slight pine floorboards, the smell of impending Autumn.

On the palate: Rolling tannins and dried apple skins, fresh rolling tobacco in the pouch. Slight astringency, absolutely mouthcoating.

In a nutshell: A bone dry beauty. Up there with Whin Hill’s Dry Cider (still & sparkling) as a showcase for the power of cider apples grown in East Anglia being used to make something unctuous (and organic too).

Crone’s Organic Cider Rum Cask (6.9%) – review

How I served It: Chilled in the fridge for a day.

Appearance: Fireside embers in the stove.

On the nose: A wild fruity nose of lime juice/lime jelly cubes and pineapple cubes.

On the palate: Oh yes, this cider has been matured in an active rum cask! You know how much I love that Ross on Wye Dabinett Rum Cask from last year. Juicy, still, cider, with sourness, tannins, and sweetness all ramped up to the ruddy max. 

In a nutshell: A bombastic, barrel-influenced, organic beast, that completely dominates your taste buds. I’ve loved the many iterations of this cider since my teenage years. I’m very pleased to see that the production process Crone’s Cider have for it in 2023 is still working a rumtastic treat.