This Spring and Summer has featured, amongst other activities like moving house, my newfound love of being a cider and perry mule. Back in April and May I spent a brilliant day trekking around the Three Counties, picking up BIBs (Bag in Boxes, see James’ article for more) of cider and perry for Cambridge Beer & Cider Festival’s excellent bar. Cue BIBs from Three Saints, Gregg’s Pitt, Butford Organics, Rob’s Cider, and Ross on Wye being served to good folk of Cambridge on Jesus Green in May. Following on from this a few months later and my friend Amy got in touch to see if there was any Scottish cider and perry that could be collected for GBBF, CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival, to be held in Birmingham at the NEC in August. My immediate answer was: Yes, let me see what I can find! Timing-wise, I was on the Isle of Arran at the end of June for their Malt & Music Festival, which placed me on the West Coast of Scotland, in the area known as Ayrshire. There was one obvious choice of cidermaker to call on, Ayrshire Riviera Cider!

We took a look at a few of Allan and Billy’s drinks towards the end of last year, amongst a widening range of ciders and perries they also process the fruit from Lagg Distillery’s orchard and make their annual Lagg Orchard Cider (more on that later in the article). I popped over to Billy’s house on the way back from the Arran Malt & Music Festival to pick up a selection of 20 litre BIBs for GBBF, and on the way out I was presented with this very generous box of a selection of recent bottles and cans that they have for sale at local farmers markets in the area. Other than a couple of the cans for sale over on The Cat In The Glass now, I think this is the only way you’re going to be able to try most of the drinks reviewed today – head to the West Coast of Scotland for a little break, and pop into a bottle shop or deli. Chatting with Billy, there were all the signs of cider producer completely in love with the process: forgotten orchards rediscovered, an orchard full of apples more commonly found in Barry’s neck of the woods, locals donating the fruit from the apple or pear tree in their garden, fruit from veteran trees in walled garden micro-climates. It’s the backstories to the cider and perry that we consume that captures my imagination in a way that I just don’t think I’d get from a bottle of Thistly Cross (although I am partial to the Oak Cask version from time to time).

As I pull together all the elements of this article, it’s a couple of days after CAMRA announced they’ll be pausing GBBF and GBBF Winter for next year due to budget constraints. It seems like they lost a considerable amount of money this year in Birmingham, which is a real shame as I love the idea of GBBF roaming across the UK, a couple of years at a time in each city before moving on. I’ve got a real soft spot for a lot of CAMRA Beer & Cider festivals, Cambridge taking prime spot in my heart for a well-run, friendly and inclusive cider bar. Anecdotally from what I hear, it’s festivals like Cambridge that quite often subsidise a lot of the other CAMRA festivals as it does so well financially. That has been my experience volunteering on the bar there for the last few years, big queues, lots of punters, many happy faces. I hope that the finances can be sorted out and we see a return of GBBF in the years to come, it would be a shame if there wasn’t that big showcase for some of the best of UK cider and perry alongside their beer counterparts. As it takes a pause next year, the Cider Salons of Bristol, London, Stockport and more appear to be growing in size and number, there’s evidently support and appreciation for these drinks, in manners that appear to be evolving purely from a CAMRA-organised event to something much more multi-faceted (and bottle conditioned). Wherever these festivals and celebrations of cider and perry take us, I hope as many of you as possible can come along for the ride!

On to the reviews at hand of the bottles and cans very kindly gifted me from Billy at Ayrshire Riviera Cider.

Ayshire Riviera, Lucid Tide – review

How I served: A day in the fridge and then served after 15mins.

Appearance: Lemon gold, very good clarity. Great level of effervescence for a canned cider, bubbles rising constantly from the base of the stemless teku glass. Thin mousse around the edge of the liquid.

On the nose: Dessert fruit aroma, I get this a bit with some of the dessert fruit cider I make in East Anglia, neither particularly acidic or tannic, little bit of vanilla essence, hint of incense.

In the mouth: Super easy drinking, I think drinking this chilled right down on a hot day would be a winning proposition. Light estery notes, papaya and guava coming to the fore for a tropical element. At 4% abv I’m guessing this has had water added to give a consistent abv across the board for canning (happy to be corrected here Team Ayshire Riviera). I personally look for something with a bit more oomph, but can see these being a very accessible entry point to full juice cider.

In a nutshell: A crushable cider that display tropical, spritzy notes and is perfect for a Summer BBQ.

Ayshire Riviera, Special Edition Bramley – review

How I served: Day in the fridge and then served straight away, it’s Bramley and will open up a little in the glass, but I usually prefer it chilled

Appearance: A still cider, good clarity, no mousse. Light egg yolk yellow.

On the nose: Green apple skin and lime, a refreshing, clean aroma that invites you to take a sip.

In the mouth: There it is! Incoming malic acid bomb. Slightly more viscous than some of the single variety Bramleys I’ve tried, but it’s still holding palate cleansing. I’m certain this would go well with creamy fish dishes, that cider would compliment pan-fried scallops.

In a nutshell: Not for the faint of heart cider drinker is a single variety Bramley. Fans of Foxwhelp assemble yourselves!

Ayshire Riviera, Howgate Wonder single variety – review

How I served: An hour in the fridge and then served after 5 mins (it’s pretty hot here this weekend).

Appearance: There’s a real straw gold shine to this cider! Super light effervescence, no real mousse. Looking forward to trying this as the apples are absolute beasts, size-wise.

On the nose: Got a nutty, russeted apple aroma, if I had to say what nut, I’d got…walnut.

In the mouth: This being an unreleased bottled version (although I know for a fact that Ayshire are doing a Howgate Wonder in BIB as I collected some for the bar at GBBF) I think I’d like to see it a little bit more effervescent with bottle conditioning. There’s a faint lemon rind, citrusy note, a bit of green apple skin. Near dry presentation, not too sure of the abv as not label on the tester. As it warmed to roof temperature, a honeyed, mead-like taste developed.

In a nutshell: Give it a bit more time in the bottle to condition, and if there’s a noticeable fizz to this cider, it’ll be showing off its best colours. Right now, not quite there.

Ayshire Riviera, Loudon – review

How I served: An afternoon in the fridge and then served after 10 minutes in the sitting room.

Appearance: Golden summer sunshine in a glass. Still presentation, no mousse.

On the nose: A caramel-esque, hinting at sweet aroma. Bit of Autumnal orchard floor notes too. With a slight herbal, nettley undertone after everything. Very curious.

In the mouth: Wow, not what I was expecting at all. An initial sour, slightly acidic arrival gives way to a swift astringency that lingers. Without giving too much away, Barry might be more used to these varietals on the Cider Review team than myself. I’d expected some residual sugar from the aroma, but it’s bone dry as anything. Again, I’ve got an unlabelled tester bottle here, so unsure of the abv, but I think GBBF got a BIB of this as well.

In a nutshell: Scottish cider using some rather unexpected varietals even for the Ayshire coast, one to seek out if you get the chance.

Ayshire Riviera, Culzean Castle – review

How I served: Quite a few days in the fridge, then out for 20 mins before serving.

Appearance: Satsuma yellow, slight haze and some yeasty floaters, still presentation, no mousse.

On the nose: A light apple juice aroma.

In the mouth: Apple and Orange zest on arrival. Super juicy and dry. Apples from the walled garden of Culzean Castle, one of the largest in the Scottish National Trust’s collection, (which you can just about see on the mainland from Lamlash on the Isle of Arran looking out the bay on a good day). These are some well-looked-after trees in a special microclimate for Scotland. There’s a sherberty buoyancy to the cider which makes it very endearing.

In a nutshell: A special little cider from a very special walled garden on the west coast of Scotland. Does anyone want some orange sherbet (cue Austin Powers references)?

Ayshire Riviera, Lagg Distillery Orchard Cider (2024 Season) – review

A blend of Michelin (50%), Dabinett, Tremletts Bitter, Porters Perfection, Harry Masters Jersey, Amanda, Katy

How I served: A day in the fridge and then 15 mins in the glass (it’s 34•c here today).

Appearance: Burnt gold, lemon jelly hue, slight haze, little effervescence but there is a mousse around the rim from pouring.

On the nose: Freshly peeled apple skin, Amalfi lemons, hint of phenolics at play from the bittersweet and Bittersharp apples. Rolling tobacco and apple crumble notes as it warms up in the can.

In the mouth: Bone dry, bravo Lagg for presenting cider in this honest, unadulterated, expressive manner again! The HMJ and Tremletts Bitter, although lower in constituent parts, are again knocking loudly on the door to Michelin and vying for top spot with soft tannins and mild astringency, really good mouthfeel. Clocking in at 7.2% abv, there’s much more expressive flavour as it warms up in the glass – definitely a barn temperature over a fridge temperature recommended serving style.

In a nutshell: A characterful, idiosyncratically honest orchard blend cider, with tannins and leathery notes at play. As at home in the Three Counties as in North Ayrshire and the Isle of Arran.

Ayshire Riviera, Very Perry – review

How I served: Day in the fridge and then 15 minutes in the glass.

Appearance: Hazy straw gold, near still, slight mousse. I poured this very carefully as there was one heck of a load of sediment in the bottle of the bottle.

On the nose: Pear drops, stewed pears, as the name suggests, it’s a very perry aroma coming up off the liquid. Heck this is just bottled pear drop, confectioned aroma.

In the mouth: Wow, not what I was expecting! Near bone dry arrival, and then a wave of astringency. What pear varieties have gone into this? I had just assumed dessert and culinary but now I’m not so sure. Slightly sour note with every sip, but then that astringency just coats the roof of your mouth. 8.1% abv is delivering a wodge of mouthfeel. I think a 330ml bottle is an appropriate serving size as I’m happy sipping this, but a larger quantity would be a challenge (hordes of Flakey Bark fans digitally charging at me now).

In a nutshell: It’s an experience! West Coast Scottish Perry to knock your socks off.

Ayshire Riviera, Red Perry – review

How I served: Day in the fridge, 15 minutes out in the sitting room.

Appearance: Peachy haze, still, no real mousse.

On the nose: Herbal, fresh cut pear fruit (thinking more Williams here), tinned peaches.

In the mouth: Strawberries and cream only there’s zero sugar whatsoever. Bone dry, astringent, tannic, you know you’ve got a liquid in your mouth, but it’s drying it out so much with every sip. This could be a contender for the December Tannic Inn stopover with Andrew.

In a nutshell: You’ve heard of a Half n’ Half (dram of whisky and a beer), this is the perry companion. Big and bold.

Ayshire Riviera, Katy Meets The Ploughman – review

A dual blend of Katy and Bloody Ploughman

How I served: Day in the fridge, 15 minutes out in the sitting room.

Appearance: Lemon gold, still, no mousse.

On the nose: Completely different aroma to all the other Ayshire ciders I’ve tried, this is a full on lemon and lime explosion. Its apple juice meets still lemonade.

In the mouth: Lime juice, orange rind, orchard floor, this is a cider that initially lures you in with its top notes and then drops some luscious bass bombs. Utilising one of the iconic Scottish apples, the Bloody Ploughman, alongside one of the powerhouse apples of contemporary dessert-fruit led ciders, Katy, this is a great blend that can only initially come from the West Coast of Scotland. I would have never thought to have bring these two apples together. 7.4% abv, another big arrival and presentation.

In a nutshell: We’re better together, Katy and Bloody Ploughman, a duo that synch very well for all palates.

Conclusion

Those perries really surprised me, they were full of character, bristling with mouthfeel. It shows the range of flavours the humble pear can provide, I wonder if they were a combination of culinary pears and bonkers seedling pears that have adapted to the Scottish climate. Absolute bruisers! Alongside that, the dual blend of Katy and Bloody Ploughman put a smile on my face – I love when you find an idiosyncratic blend that works so well together and elevates each variety in an unexpected manner (I’ve done it with a co-ferment of Brandy pears and Foxwhelp apples before, would try again). The Bloody Ploughman apple is just so Scottish, and has no copyright claims on naming it in a cider, unlike dear ol’ Katya from Sweden, who seems to have become ensnared a bit in the popularity of a certain macro-producer’s Katy cider. All very unfortunate, can an apple not just be enjoyed without lawyers getting involved? 

The annual release of a Lagg Orchard cider continues to put such a smile on my face. This year we were treated to a guided tour around the orchard with groundskeepers Andy and Davy, the sun was out, the sky was blue, and the trees were looking grand. Orchard tourism, looking out over the Irish Sea, alongside an architecturally stunning distillery building, it doesn’t get much better than that. If the cider helps grow an appreciation for all things bone dry and bittersweet on and around Arran, then that’s a winner in my books. My thanks once again to Billy for his generosity in providing these bottles and cans, I hope Harvest 2025, which must be getting underway soon, goes well for Ayrshire Riviera Cider!