The moon has risen and fallen a good few cycles. Harvest 2023 is now long-wrapped up and in tank. Winter in the UK has taken on a distinctly never-endingly wet approach… and passed. Spring is sprung. Blossom is out in the orchards (if they’re not being ripped up by Heineken). Bankside it is! Back to the glorious Tate Modern – that former power station turned acclaimed modern art gallery. The invitation to this year’s London Cider Salon had initially located the proceedings in the newer Blavatnik building to the back of the site, but due to some Gucci-related private hire clashes, we ended up being relocated to the 6^th floor of the original Tate Modern building. This glass-clad room and long, wide corridor faced the River Thames, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge, and a large swathe of iconic London skyline. Oh well, thank you very much, this will do nicely! This might just be the one time Gucci has lost out to the world of cider and perry.

Moving from its previous timeslot at the end of September, the 2024 London Cider Salon sits very nicely here in early May. Just as its older sister event in Bristol does so well, the Salon aims to bring cider and perrymakers from all over the UK (and beyond) to the drinkers themselves. Temporarily relocated from their farms, orchards, and cider barns, this is a chance for the urban cider drinker to hop on the bus or train and within the hour find themselves in front of a selection of some of the most outstanding drinks makers in action right now. Celebrating 10 years of The Fine Cider Company, just before they open a new shop in London Fields too, the Salon truly pulled out the bells and whistles on many a front, as I shall aim to describe below.

Although I loved sitting down in the Starr Cinema at last year’s Salon for panel discussions, the pacing of the event was greatly improved this year by preceding the main drinking session with three fascinating talks (all live streamed on Instagram, and still available to view now on the Fine Cider Company’s account). The upshot of this was complete sobriety whilst the panel discussions took place – I was never one for attending lectures whilst hungover, that life having never been for me!

First up, Biodiversity & Environmental Factors in Traditional Orchards, chaired by Marcis Dzelzainis, a drinks developer and craft soda maker, with guests Sam Leach of Wilding Cider, Lydia Crimp of Artistraw Cider, and Polly Hilton of Find & Foster. A fascinating overview of all the positive reasons for maintaining orchards. Very interesting to hear of the next price shock due for neutral grain spirit, due to the wet winter, that will work its way into the whisky and gin world no doubt. Those with foresight will look to diversify their allocation away completely from grain and perhaps use orchard fruits a tad more to compose their spirit. I wanted to stick my hand up and ask “What is more of a risk to orchards disappearing over the next few decades: a changing climate, or those in charge at macro producers in the UK?”. It was heartening to sit in front of people actively involved in restoring old orchards, and planting new ones too.

After a short comfort break, panel discussion two got underway. Cider in an International Setting, chaired by Tom Oliver of Oliver’s Cider and Perry, with guests Eric Bordelet of Domaine Eric Bordelet, Andreas Sundgren of Brännland Cider, and Eleanor Leger of Eden Speciality Ciders. I’ll admit that I was not expecting to see these three international cidermakers sat right in front of me in London on a Saturday morning. Felix & Aga truly produced something astounding and memorable with this one. The cross pollination between all these producers was self-evident. That Eric Bordelet had only recently retired and left the running of his company to his children seemed very poignant from a drinks-maker of such renown. I liked hearing about Andreas’ shift in perspective from working for a successful software company to wanting to work far more with his hands as his 40’s approached. Perhaps the most insightful statement came from Eleanor when talking about bringing more consumers into the big cider tent: “You can talk all you want about varietals and terroir, but for 90% of drinkers, this won’t be of such interest to them – find the hook from the drink they are already enjoying, and cross-reference it to cider. That’s the way to get them interested in cider.”

After another short comfort break, the final panel session got underway. Traditional Method Cidermaking, chaired by Alice Lascelles of the Financial Times, with guests James Crowden author of many a great cider book, Polly Hilton of Find & Foster, Ted Dwane of Two Orchards Cider, and Peter Crawford of Naughton Cider Company. There’s something very comforting knowing the gaze of part of the Financial Times is looking in cider’s direction – Alice brought this astutely to the discussion. For those lucky enough to attend the Evening of Traditional Method Cider at Brityard HQ a few months ago, this was a gentle re-tread, with historical insight from James Crowden alongside the cidermakers themselves. I enjoyed Peter Crawford’s slight diversion into the merits and pleasure of different glassware for different occasions, if you’re lucky enough to find a favoured glass for drinking your cider and perry, guard it – all it takes is one slip on the washing board and it can be shattered for ever!

The main sampling then got underway after these talks, my cider buddies for the afternoon being the inimitable Chris George, of Cork & Crown acclaim on YouTube, and a lovely Australian chap called Thomas, here for a few brief months, and attending all the best cider events in the UK. The Scottish cidermakers were paid a decent amount of time, being right by the entrance to the event: Naughton Cider Company presenting another chance to try their beguiling, as-of-yet unreleased Stoke Red SVC; Diggers Cider showcasing a delicious range of ciders from Perthshire (along with the best named drink at the event: “Uber Tart”); whilst I was able to finally properly chat to Christian Stolte about his company, Seidear, and try the intriguing Sea – a cider infused with a whole strand of fresh seaweed, suspended in 750ml bottle (it works!).

A few tables down and we were able to sample the latest joint releases from Nightingale Cider and our very own co-founder, James Finch’s Chapel Sider. Two Birds Part 1 & 2 brought a very welcome shimmer of tannin to our palettes – I can’t wait to see these on general release and to nab a few bottles to try on the balcony later in Summer (they’ve now launched on The Cat In The Glass I see). Wingfield Cider next, who I had assumed were London-based, but it turns out from the Cider Map we were gifted at the Salon, are actually from deepest Suffolk when it comes to production. Their Quince, Dabinett, and Michelin blend was a revelation – particularly due to the small amount of Quince in the blend and how much it influenced the overall aroma of the drink.

Continuing down the corridor and the chance to speak one-on-one with Eric Bordelet and Eleanor Leger for 5 – 10mins is something I will carry with me as a highlight of 2024.  Eric’s Cormé, made exclusively from the fruit of the Service Tree, was not only delicious, but as Monsieur Bordelet stated, a great way to hedge your bets in years where the apples or pears might not be so profuse in their cropping tendencies. If anyone is making a drink with it in the UK, I would be fascinated to try. Eleanor’s selection was a greatest hits of Eden Cider’s bottles she said were long gone in the US, but a few of which could still be found on the online bottle shop Cider Is Wine here in the UK. It was good to be reminded of just how great the selection of US ciders are, and how lucky we are when every so often an importer crops up that is willing to navigate all the bureaucracy and extra paperwork to bring them to our shores.

I wasn’t able to write tasting notes for every table we visited, and we didn’t manage to visit all the tables as there was so much to discuss with each producer. More great ciders from Little Pomona, Gregg’s Pitt, and Ross on Wye were tried.  I’ll round things off with a lovely discovery from the event: Seidir Tydecho, a producer from South-East Gwynedd, who uses local honey to prime their ciders. We had poetry and old Welsh folktales recited to us from cidermaker Sam Robinson, as we sipped a number of his delicious Welsh ciders. Will look to discover more about this producer in the months ahead!

Where to sum up then? The optics for the London Cider Salon are brilliant – to the extent that it can easily be a bit disorientating: looking out towards the central London skyline, with all its modernity and constant flows of tourists, parked up alongside its history and tradition. This seems to be what those at The Fine Cider Company are trying their hardest to achieve: modernism and tradition side-by-side for an awakening audience. I find it hard to see how next year’s Salon can top this – but I trust in the behind-the-scenes programming that goes into pulling it off. Some producers that attended last year were noticeable by their absence, I hope to see them again in future iterations. Equally, the chance to meet new makers was as fulfilling as before. As before, there was a very well-stocked bottle shop for those attending, I hope a large amount of stock was sold – I picked up three bottles and a paperback copy of James Crowden’s new book, Cider Country. Cider and Perry can exist at CAMRA Festivals, online bottle shops, out of the handpumps of your local pub, and yes even on the top floor of a modern art gallery right in the centre of the UK’s capital city. Long may it continue.

All photos by Jack Toye.