How on earth is it 31st December again? Another year has gone by and, as is apparently customary when you reach the distinguished side of 30, it seems to have passed by quicker than its predecessors.

Or perhaps it’s simply been fuller. We’ve certainly done our best to pack it in here on Cider Review. Although the statistics tell me we’ve put in our fewest grafts since 2020, with a mere 86 articles published (versus 107 last year and 109 in 2021), that still represents a thumping total of 233 ciders and perries reviewed and a keyboard-knackering 240,000 words from our contributors – or in literary terms a Moby Dick’s worth of cider and perry content, with enough change to add a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well. (My current favourite Cider Review statistic is that as of this month we’ve published A MILLION WORDS ON CIDER AND PERRY, and that fact is dedicated to everyone who has suggested there’s not much to really write about them).

If we’ve written fewer pieces than in previous years, we’ve made up for it in their breadth. From Barry’s continued spotlights on German producers and forays into the history of cider and perry’s making and culture, to Jack’s epic interviews and harvest series, from James’ considerations of such things as consistency, blending and bag in boxes to Chris’ re-evaluation of what terroir means in a changing climate. We’ve spoken to many of cider’s smallest makers, but we’ve even checked in with a couple of the biggest. We’ve followed ground-breaking experiments in terroir and celebrated what for many (perhaps all) of us has become our favourite weekend of the year. Looking across the garden fence to other libations, we’ve checked in with spirits, dabbled with wine, Ruvani reviewed Beth Demmon’s fantastic Beer Lover’s Guide to Cider – and we even wrote the definitive cider lover’s guide to beer… 

I continue to be amazed and immensely grateful that people contribute their time and talent to write something for the site. It results, I think, in something far greater than the sum of its parts.

If you’ll forgive me being a stats bore, it’s been a good year for traffic by our modest standards. More of you than ever before have checked in with articles we’ve written – both overall views and, more importantly, individual visitor numbers are up, for which we are hugely grateful. 

It was bittersweet (appropriate for a cider site) in late May when James signed off as co-editor and regular features writer. We founded Cider Review together and I’d hoped we had many years left to run as a duo. But it was for exactly the right reason – to concentrate on his family cidery, Chapel Sider, the culmination of his ten-year-long cider journey. They launched their first bottles commercially this year, and to no one’s surprise whatsoever have already picked up awards. Seeing their stand at the Ross-on-Wye festival was one of the best moments of my cider year, and I know they’ll continue to go from strength to strength. As for Cider Review – well, he still knows where we are.

And in a lovely year-end surprise, we’ve even been recognised. This blog exists overwhelmingly – almost exclusively – as a hobbyist labour of love. The collective works of a bunch of amateurs (plus Barry). We’re proud of it, we love doing it, and I believe its contribution to cider and perry to be meaningful, but nothing that you read here is professionally written (it certainly isn’t professionally edited). So it was seriously unfamiliar territory to not only find both James and myself nominated in the cider category at the British Guild of Beer Writers’ Awards, but taking the two prizes on the night – both for articles written on Cider Review.

Enough bragging – apologies! Long story short, it’s been another busy and exciting year for the site. And we’re drawing a line under it as we did last year – with a note from this year’s contributors on their 2023 reflections. As usual, there was no pressure on anyone to pen anything, nor any prescribed subject. It could be anything – a theme, a special bottle, a trend they’ve noticed or even a hope for 2024. I’ve shared what they came up with below in no real order.

Before they crack on, one last note which is to say that, as usual, we won’t be posting in January. We’re all a bit knackered – I certainly am – and we could do with that all-important dormancy period. So we’ll see you again in February, but please keep drinking cider and perry in the meantime, since these are the worst months for the folk who have to sell them. Happy New Year – and thank you so, so much for your support in 2023. It really does mean the world.

Barry

Looking back, it’s been a strange year on a personal and health level. Not something I want to dwell on, but it had a noticeable impact on the cider and tree-related work I had wanted to do this year, forcing a catch up at the end of the year. As a small maker, more or less running a one-person show (with the massive exception of my wife basically managing the harvest), it really made me realise that if you are not out there regularly beating your own drum, sales and interest don’t just come on their own. There’s always someone else with more marketing savvy to grab peoples’ attention, and I think this year has been hard on people’s bank accounts. But as I always say, I am blessed with the privilege that I do not have to make cider and perry to survive, I do it because I think it is important, and I want to. So in years like this when I get stressed that the crop is not as good as expected, or if illness prevents us from harvesting as much as we’d like, I sometimes have to remind myself yet again that it simply is the way it is, and that patience and understanding of working with nature is a virtue that also needs cultivation by orchard-based cider makers!

But one of the main reasons we do what we do is to help fund the work of planting new orchards, and this year we are one step closer to planting the long-planned International Perry Pear Project. The weather screwed with our plans to plant the 48 trees in November (a sodden meadow is not ideal for drilling holes), but in early 2024 three years of planning and work will hit that major milestone of trees in the ground. Even more exciting, the end of 2023 brought us the amazing news that we should be able to plant an additional new orchard by the end of 2024, and yet another by 2025! I hope that by the end of 2025 we’ll have planted 150 rare perry pear trees in newly created traditional meadow orchards, but I am still seeking space to plant another 150, or more.

I do however fear for the many perry pear trees standing outside the neighbouring village of Oberschefflenz, as more “rationalisation” of farmland, the kind that led to the so-called tree murder in Switzerland and also changed the landscape here drastically in the 1950s, is about to be repeated. Led by people who seem to have no regard for the cultural landscape significance of such old, beautiful trees, it’s a local battle that I will have to start in 2024. But it is a kind of battle for nature that is repeated at many scales the world over.

In that vein, being able to occasionally publish research into the cultural and historical aspects of central European pear and perry culture on Cider Review is something I’ve been very grateful for the past couple of years. I probably spend far too much time on some of these themes as there are so many rabbit holes to fall into, but I hope that bringing tales like that of the Swiss Tree Murder help to bring context to where we are now, if not also telling a cautionary (and I really hope an interesting) tale. I think that by exploring and being able to publish these kinds of things, putting them into a socio-historical context, makes it much easier to argue for and justify conservation measures to save things that have been largely forgotten about today.

So I’m really really looking forward to Adam’s book being released in the coming year! A publication that shines a spotlight on the shared perry culture across Europe will, I hope, make it much easier to have those conversations in the future!

Ed

It’s been a funny old year…  

I start my yearly round up like this EVERY SINGLE YEAR, I know, but this year really has been a bit of a funny affair and I will be glad to see the back of it. 

The year started well with a smattering of delightful bottles from Nightingale, Birmingham Cider Club made a come back with Welsh Mountain Cider in March (a very excellent evening) and Brollins Cider bottled over one hundred 750ml bottles, not bad for a very small kitchen operation. This all happened in the first half of the year, and all seemed to be going well but then things turned a little sour in June. I ended up having to step back from normal duties due to a period of quite serious illness. Post illness recovery involved a long break away from work, a rekindled love of lino printing (if you’re interested you can check my prints out on Instagram @brumprints) and far less cider than I would normally have liked! I’d planned to enter the Ross Cider trials this year but couldn’t quite get my act together in time – maybe I’ll manage it in 2024.

 

I’d recovered enough by the end of July to enable us to head down to Peterstow for a week of camping at Broome Farm, in the old orchard. This is something we’ve done for nearly a decade (the latter half with kids) and I don’t think we’ll ever stop. There’s something magical and spellbinding about spending time amongst the trees but also something very grounding about it. Life becomes very simple in what is arguably a supremely complex and biodiverse ecosystem.  

Just after our annual camping trip we bought and planted a small (M26) Worcester Pearmain tree, something that, at the time, I was very excited about. I’m still excited about it, but now I have to wait for it to start producing a decent amount of fruit that I can use in the cider I make. Apparently, it makes an excellent cider that has a hint of strawberry about it – if you know of a Single Variety Worcester Pearmain Cider that’s available to buy do let me know. 

Cider festival came in September, our first in 4 years and it really was a joy to be back in the thick of it, even if that involved a large amount of my time “playing” with trains. The Friday bottle share was a real highlight for me and sharing some of our cider with a whole host of experienced makers was an absolute joy! Highlights of this afternoon included ciders from Toye’s Ciders, a collaboration bottle between Nightingale and Chapel Sider and the Dead Dog Cider Bone Dry Blend. It’s truly amazing to enter into a world and find small scale kitchen operations producing cider that’s very much the match of the bigger producers.  

October brought a very small number of apples through our doors. If you’ve read Jack’s Harvest Series, you’ll know that we only produced 20 litres of juice this year, we’ll be bottling it over the Christmas period and laying it down for most of 2024. Maybe it’ll make the trip to Ross on Wye for the 2024 festival – we’ll have to see. 

December brought with it another tree, this time a Herefordshire Redstreak from the Welsh Mountain Cider Nursery. This variety was celebrated as the finest cider apple variety in England during the 17^th Century and was apparently the source of Herefordshire’s reputation as the premier cider producing region in the country (I’m sure Somerset and Devon all have similar claims to the crown). We planted this tree in mid-December. It’s a tiny little thing that looks more like a twig poking out of the ground BUT in a few years’ time it’ll hopefully be producing some lovely apples and providing some much-needed shade at the front of our house, from the increasingly brutal summer sun. Next Year I’d like to plant another tree (a Bulmers Norman). I’m not entirely sure where but I’ll find a space somewhere – maybe I’ll branch out and stick it in my parents garden or find another willing victim who is local to Birmingham and agreeable to giving up a little bit of land. 

The last thing to share with you, before I sign off for 2023, are my top bottles from the year (in no particular order); 

• Hogans – Breadboard #2 
• Welsh Mountain Cider – Kingston Black  2020 
• Nightingale – Song bird No 3 
• Chapel Sider and Nightingale – Collaboration cider 
• Dead Dog Cider – Bone Dry Blend 
• Ross on Wye – Bulmers Norman (C93) – as far as I know I have the last 3 bottles of this. 
• Brollins Cider – Bulmers Norman & Billesley Blend – only 2 bottles exist (yes I’m blowing my own trumpet here). 
• Brollins Cider – Harry Masters Jersey 
• Bushel & Peck – The Avenue+ (Perry) 
• Ross on Wye – Kingston Black & Bulmers Norman 

Half of the bottles on this list aren’t available for sale anymore – Allen at Hogans will no doubt by now have dispatched the last of #2 in the Breadboard series, I’ve laid waste to pretty much all of our Bulmers Norman and Billesley Blend and there’s a very limited supply of the Harry Master Jersey left in our cupboards. 

If you can get your hands on the offerings from Nightingale, Chapel Sider, Bushel + Peck and Ross on Wye I promise you won’t be disappointed.   

I hope you all find some time to enjoy the festive period and to crack open a bottle or two and maybe eat a bit of cheese (Adam you may forgo the cheese). If you’re out and about visiting pubs and restaurants, just remember that it’s a busy and stressful time in the service industry. Be patient and polite to the folk working hard to serve you. Here’s to you all and to 2024. 

Ruvani

As a newbie cider writer, 2023 has been all about learning about and discovering everything cider has to offer, from the basics of flavour assessment and apple and pear varieties to the amazing ciders and perries being created on both sides of the pond. My cidery highlight of the year was attending CiderCon in Chicago as a recipient of the American Cider Association’s scholarship program. Diving headfirst into the world of cider among some of the most accomplished and impressive cider creators in the world, such as Tom Oliver, Eleanor Leger and Soham Bhatt, and meeting other cider writers and members of the industry from diverse backgrounds was a wonderful, welcoming introduction to all cider has to offer.

The learning and connections I made at CiderCon led to articles for publications including Hop Culture, VinePair and PorchDrinking celebrating some really special ciders and encouraging beer drinkers to give cider a try. I’ve also been exploring my local cider scene and discovered incredibly talented Texan cider makers including Texas Keeper in Austin and City Orchard in Houston. I was also delighted to review my friend and colleague Beth Demmon’s book The Beer Lover’s Guide To Cider, my first UK cider piece. I’m looking forward to more cider adventures in 2024. 

Jack

What a smashing year – finding myself inspired by producers and writers alike! On the production side, and as mentioned in the Harvest 2023 summary, Toye’s Cider production is overall down a bit year-on-year to 660 litres in total: 487.5 litres of cider and 172.5 litres of perry (this is up a little bit). 4 trees went into the ground at the start of the year in my friend Ben’s orchard: A Pendragon and a Yellow Styre (from Welsh Mountain Cider) and a Kingston Black and Ellis Bitter from my local garden centre. I’ve got my eye on a few Perry Pear trees and maybe one or two more Cider Apple trees to plant in Jan/Feb 2024, filling in the gaps in this orchard nicely from when it was first planted in the late 1990s. I’m very proud to have upped the number of Cider Review articles this year, and all being well next year, hope to match the output and help spread the word about all the great cider and perry being produced across the globe. With a slightly expanded list of favourite drinks from the year, it’s onto my Top 7 Ciders and Perries of 2023!

Ross-On-Wye Thorn, Flakey & Friends 2022 6%

Using my time volunteering on the bar at Ross Fest as a barometer, this 750ml bottled perry was getting a lot of repeat trade, and since then, I’ve enjoyed 5 or so bottles from various establishments. It has a start, middle, and end: a triangle of joy on the palate, and has been quite rightly mentioned by many cider & perry fans since its release as one of their standout drinks of the year. I missed its journey to bars across the UK in keg format, but understand it went down very well. This year’s Déjà Bu from Ross – in terms of bringing joy and fun to the scene perhaps?

Little Pomona Thick Cut 8%

From the moment Lawrence handed me a sample of this in a blind tasting manner at The London Cider Salon and said “I think you’ll like this”, I was hooked. A single variety Yarlington Mill aged in cognac barrels, it’s like the booziest, most unctuous orange marmalade you’ve ever laid your eyes on. Those cognac barrels at Little Pomona HQ are working some serious magic at the moment it must be said – their interaction with Egremont Russet blends is astounding too. This one brings a big smile to my face. 

Gregg’s Pit Blakeney Red, Brandy & Winnal’s Longdon 2022 7%

I bought a magnum of this directly from James at Ross Fest this year, and if I’d have known how darned good it would taste, I would have bought a whole case. When a blend sings, there is harmony, and this is an in-tune and well-rehearsed choir! Citrusy notes abound, with kiwi and pear skin perfumed notes – it’s everything you could want from a perry whether you’re a seasoned veteran or newcomer to the scene looking to explore. 

Marshland Cider Zinger 5.8%

Finding a single variety cider that epitomises the typical Eastern Counties flavour profile was not something I expected this year. Oliver has crafted it though with this Bramley SVC from a few miles down the road from my home. By picking windfalls from his veteran Bramley trees all throughout the season, he’s able to showcase a variety of flavour profiles that Bramley can offer. This is approaching mellow, which is not something I thought I’d ever write about Bramley. Clean, dry, full juice, wild ferment: what more could anyone want?

Temple Cider Yarlington Mill 2022 7.5%

The second instance of a Yarly SVC on my list, and for good reason. An absolute favourite variety of mine, presented in 440ml cans at a very accessible price point of £3.50 is just what was needed in 2023, and Temple Cider answered the call. There are two other canned varieties from them (Somerset Redstreak and Kingston Black), but to my mind, this is the standout can, and I look forward to sitting down for a chat with them early next year to find out more about their cidery for a Cider Review spotlight. 

GCB Three Guys, One Barrel 6.9%

A co-ferment extraordinaire from Belgium! Featuring Apple, Crab Apple, Grape, Quince, and Hops this is a real statement of intent from Mauro Vissers, GCB’s Founder and Cidermaker/Head Brewer. I’ve really enjoyed sharing a selection of UK ciders with Mauro and his Dad Jan this year, as I thought they might have offered some pointers as to the direction GCB could take with their ciders. There was no need – this is ludicrously, bombastically tasty and as good a co-ferment as any I’ve tried from Oliver’s Cider or Little Pomona. Again, I look forward to spotlighting CGB a bit further on Cider Review next year.

Whin Hill Norfolk Cider Browns SVC 5.4%

A variety I love but haven’t had as much of this year – or seen as much of around in single variety form – is Browns. I’m a firm fan of Whin Hill’s range and this one for me in 2023 was a delight to come back to again and again. Great value in their 750ml bottles, a zesty strawberry sherbet snapshot of this West Country cider apple variety growing in their orchard in North Norfolk. I was heartened to hear from Mark in this year’s Harvest Summary that 2023 proved an “On” year for their trees, so we should see a lot more Browns SVC coming to bottle and BIB in 2024!

James

2023 has been a somewhat bittersweet year when it comes to cider, and the nerd in me loves using that word to describe it. Retiring from being an editor and regular contributor to Cider Review made up the bitter part along with a few other personal challenges. The sweet part however was the ability to focus more on my own cider making and after launching in January we have had lots of orders and some fantastic events, the highlight being our sell out stall at Ross Cider Festival.

A consequence of not writing about cider has been the opportunity to try new ones without the worry of capturing notes and thinking about article angles. I’ve just been drinking in the moment. The challenge is that I still feel a subconscious compulsion to capture it and share it somehow, something that may pass with time.

In light of that, I thought I’d focus on the ciders that have given me most repeated joy in 2023; the ones that I’ve kept coming back to and buying again. Firstly I have had some amazing ciders this year, all of which I think have been captured by Adam on here, so I feel comfortable leaving you with his fantastic analysis. Examples being, Ross on Wye Cider and Perry’s Raison D’Être 2021, a wonderful deviation from the usual barrel choice that has created something of delicious beauty. Also, Little Pomona’s Old Man and the Bee 2020, still my favourite dry still cider of all time, such marvellous vinous qualities in a perfect, drink all year round, cider. I’ve also really enjoyed all the Artistraws, Smith Haynes and Nightingales I’ve had too, among many more, but the three I’d particularly like to mention are, in no particular order:

Temple Cider – Somerset Redstreak (440ml Can – 7.4%)
Paul and Jo have nailed dry can conditioned cider. This is my favourite of their three if I had to pick, with the Yarlington Mill (the most lively) in second and Kingston Black third. The in-can fermentation has given a youthful bitter edge to the tannins, but they’re all absolute belters and far too quaffable. They’re only going to improve with age too as those tannins settle back down.

Sandford Orchards – Y.D.B (660ml bottle – 7.6%)
Honestly my favourite cider I’ve tried this year, so well balanced with a little touch of residual sweetness (SG 1.002) from the Yarlington Mill. Then with the combination of Dabinett and Browns it has gentle tannins, light acidity and dried fruit in abundance. The gentle carbonation gives it a wonderful rich moussey mouthfeel. I know cider is an all year round beverage, but this is perfect on a cold winter evening in front of the fire. 

Find & Foster – Mêlé (250ml Can – 5.5%)
A super sessionable, fruity, and full of flavour canned cider. The one cider I would happily give to anyone as a “try this” introduction to how great cider can be. The Mr Greedy in me wishes it was a bigger serving, but in truth I love the can size, the label and the liquid.

Ok, so I mostly finished this piece and then had a need to celebrate and decided to open Find & Foster’s Appellation 2019 and oh my… last minute contender for cider of the year right there. I’m also aware as I finish writing this that my chosen three are all from the South West, perhaps it’s something subconsciously to do with visiting Devon for my 40th in April and rekindling my love for that part of the country.

I still can’t decide all of what I’m going to open over Christmas and New Year, but I’m sure some of the above will feature once or twice. Except the Appellation 2019, which I sadly only had one bottle of and I don’t think there are many of that vintage left. If you have one to open you will not be disappointed. Wishing all the Cider Review readers a very Merry Christmas and health and happiness in 2024.

Adam

Over the last year I’ve become slightly concerned that the level of engagement with cider and perry is starting to dip. That might jar with the assertion in the introduction to this article – that our readership has consistently grown year on year, but it’s nonetheless a sense I can’t quite shake.

2018 was, as I’ve written before, a watershed year for cider communications. At the start of that year Susanna Forbes and Jane Peyton coined the inspired ‘rethink cider’ rallying cry that was taken up by so many brilliant advocates. Gabe Cook went from strength to strength in his new role as The Ciderologist. Both he and Susanna published books – Ciderology and The Cider Insider. James Finch started blogging as The Cider Critic and then for Crafty Nectar. Manchester Cider Club formed and Scrattings began its online trade.

In 2020, in perhaps the most unlikely of circumstances, those levels of communication, engagement and curious cider drinking were turbo-charged. Forced inside, locked on social media, we talked as never before. Cider Club went digital, we started the weekly cider column on Malt that led to this website. The Cat in the Glass took online cider availability to the next level. Cider articles continued to be regularly published in places like Pellicle – but even on jancisrobinson.com, Good Beer Hunting and more besides. When it looked like Malt was going to close down at the start of 2021, we built Cider Review and the conversation continued.

This year, though we have continued writing – and though you have continued reading – the world of cider has seemed a quieter place. Social media is certainly quieter – inevitable to a degree, since we’re no longer trapped indoors, and since twitter, once the UK cider community’s clubhouse, has been lit into an appalling binfire. The upshot is that traffic from what was once our best social outlet has slowed markedly. Aside from clickthroughs to this site though, and far sadder to my mind, is the simple back-and-forth online cider conversation that seems, to a great extent, to have slipped away. 

For five years aspirational British cider has ridden a wave of enthusiasm, of conversation, of engagement. It’s taken the category to somewhere it hasn’t been in modern history; to somewhere visible to more people than ever. My concern – born not only of the decrease in social media levels, but of anecdotal evidence from aspirational makers of increased difficulties shifting stock – is that a certain level of tiredness, perhaps even apathy, might be slipping in.

Cider communications as a whole have suffered in the last two years or so. Neutral Cider Hotel no longer posts regular episodes. Full Juice and Graftwood have both long-since gone quiet. I see fewer cider articles posted anywhere than I felt I once did, and those I do read often tend to tread the same tired boards: ‘Forget everything you thought you knew about cider’ and ‘did you know the English ‘invented’ champagne?’ seemingly on loop. Here on Cider Review two of our most regular contributors, James and Chris, have called time this year – though I hope only temporarily. 

I believe that the metaphorical and literal thirsts for aspirational cider and aspirational cider content are still there. I’ve seen them in the growing numbers of readers we’ve had this year, and the marked increase in organic traffic. I’ve been especially privileged to see them in the astonishing response to the kickstarter CAMRA launched for Perry: A Drinker’s Guide. I see them on those rare occasions a new voice contributes to the cider conversation, and the community rises up to support them as only cider’s can; in the way I once found myself welcomed to the fold, with that special warmth, encouragement and openness that I have never seen from any other drink, and which made and still makes me feel that I’ve found a home.

I know how easy it is to become jaded. Cider and perry – especially at the full juice end of the sector – are tiny niches. There aren’t many of us talking about them and it is easy to get a sense that we are fighting a tide; that people aren’t really interested, or aren’t really listening. We’re not like beer or wine or spirits, where blogs are legion; groups of likeminded peers and fellow enthusiasts abundant wherever you look. The will to keep going has to come from within ourselves, individually and collectively. And it is hard. But I have to believe that it can.

So my hope – and a bit of a request – for 2024 is this: that we keep talking. That we keep engaging with and sharing that which we love about cider and perry. That which we wish more people knew about and loved as we do. That which we wish to see more recognised than it is. This website – and the drinks that give it purpose – need your support more than ever. So if you enjoy anything you read here, please share it. If you’re understandably done with twitter, we have accounts on facebook and instagram, or you can subscribe to our newsletter at the side or bottom of this page which tells you whenever we publish a new piece.

If there are other blogs you feel we should be reading, please tell us. Our comments section is open (the ‘post comment’ button finally no longer invisible!) and we always try to respond. We want to know who’s making interesting stuff – wherever they are in the world. We want to seek them out and raise them up on our steadily growing platform. We want the conversation around cider and perry to endure and flourish – and yes, we want to remain a part of that. But we simply can’t do anything without you.

The last five years in cider have been incredibly special. With your help the next five could yet be more special still.