Ed Brown
Ed is passionate about good food and good booze and finds no greater pleasure than seeking it out and partaking thereof. In 2020 Ed founded the Birmingham Cider Club (on long term hiatus) to highlight the amazing things that happen in the world of cider. He also dabbles in backyard cider making using apples donated from the gardens of the good folk of Birmingham.
Ruvani de Silva
Ruvani is a travel-loving British Sri Lankan beverage and food writer based in Austin, Texas, with bylines including the Washington Post, Good Beer Hunting, VinePair, Pellicle, Hop Culture, Modern Farmer, CAMRA, Texas Highways, Texas Monthly, Burum Collective, Beer Is For Everyone and PorchDrinking. Ruvani is a vocal advocate for diversity, equality and inclusion in beer and is the founder of #SouthAsianBeerClub. Find her portfolio at CraftBeerAmethyst.com.
James Finch
James discovered cider in 2012 on a holiday in Somerset, having not really drunk alcohol at all before then. He wrote for Crafty Nectar’s blog, helping it to become the “number 1 cider blog in the world” back in 2018, as well as his own blog: The Cider Critic (now integrated into this site), Malt, CAMRA’s Learning and Discovery Pages, Full Juice Magazine, Graftwood and local printed publications. James made Fine Cider Friday videos on his YouTube Channel for over two years, as well as many Instagram Live events where he gave platforms to small producers. He is also the former Chairman for the International Cider Challenge and in 2021 was presented with a 50th Anniversary Golden Award from CAMRA in recognition of his significant contribution to cider, following that up with their Pomona Award in 2022. Now a producer himself, with Chapel Sider launched in 2023.
Laura Hadland
Laura has been writing about drinks – alcoholic and non-alcoholic – since 2017. She writes regular columns for CAMRA’s What’s Brewing and Vineyard Magazine and her first book, 50 Years of CAMRA, was named the Best Beer Book in the World 2022. She is a great supporter of independent producers and venues. Laura’s research captures how all manner of drinks have shaped British culture and tells the stories of the incredible people behind the industry.
Patrick Mann
Patrick was born in Germany, grew up in the Black Forest, worked in Munich and then spent many years in Seattle. That’s where he met modern cider, and also his partner in crime, Wendy. They returned to the Black Forest in 2018 to introduce Seattle-inspired cider to Germany. Patrick is known to obsess about the more technical aspects of cider-making, from fruit tree pruning to chemical analysis of cider, and will talk your ear off about cider, given half a chance.
Barry Masterson
Barry fell into making cider in 2012, some years after moving from Ireland to Germany. He is now owner and maker at the tiny Kertelreiter cidery in southern Germany. Obsessed with perry pears, Barry researches the history of European perry culture and plants orchards dedicated to conserving rare perry pear varieties. He is an ACA Certified Pommelier and has written for Malus Zine and the journal of the German Society of Pomologists. By day he works in GIS.
Chris Russell-Smith
Chris is an avid wine and cider enthusiast. When he isn’t busy writing his PhD in philosophy or tasting wine and cider, he likes to experiment with home brewing. None of his fermented beverages deserves to be reviewed, but he is nonetheless occasionally proud of them.
Mike Shorland
Mike is a time served cider drinker and in the last few years has begun his own commercial cider making journey. But he is most passionate about orchards. He’s planted one of his own and helped manage or plant a few dozen more. Orchards bring much more to life than fruit.
Helen Anne Smith
Helen Anne Smith is a bartender, who also freelances in marketing, hosts beer and cider tastings, and works as a writer, videographer, and photographer. Helen is also the founder of Burum Collective, an informal publication and resource for those working in the drinks industry and hospitality, with a focus on education, accessibility and inclusion. In 2022 Helen obtained both their Pommelier Award and Certified Cicerone.
Ian Stott
Originally inspired by festival drinking from the Burrow Hill Cider Bus, Ian is a Cumbria-based fine cider advocate and American Cider Association Certified Cider Guide, currently working towards Pommelier certification. Occasional micro-scale cider and perry maker. Prolific poster of fine cider words and photography as @cidersleuth.
Beatrix Swanson
An American with an accent marooned in the Atlantic, Bea found her way to West Cornwall via a childhood in Germany’s apfelwein region. She studied Music and History of Art and came to aspirational cider after working in whisky [Ed: like all the best people]. She can usually be found making, consuming or writing about food and drink and its craft and history. Her great loves include hiking, etymology, and the Rosaceae family.
Jack Toye
Jack can be found in a small market town in Norfolk writing about cider and perry. Time on Earth is fleeting, so leaning into what you love seems thoroughly sensible. At 6ft 3”, he would describe himself as on Standard Rootstock. Past lives live on through the living.
Adam Wells
Adam is an award-winning drinks writer, author and presenter, as well as the co-founder of and lead contributor to Cider Review. Winner of the UK’s Cider Communicator of the Year 2023, he was also shortlisted for the Fortnum & Mason Drinks Writer of the Year in 2023 and 2024. He has written for Malus, Pellicle, Burum Collective and jancisrobinson.com among others, is Chair of the International Cider Challenge and co-presents the UK’s only currently-active cider podcast, Cider Voice. His first book, Perry: A Drinker’s Guide was published in May 2023. An ACA-Certified Pommelier who also holds the WSET Diploma, he works by day in the spirits industry just so he has every drink covered…
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