Cider Pages

Carrying on with 'stuff that you may not find everywhere', I have something special to review; its not every day you can get hold of a real live sidra. This bottle, to be fair, was exchanged for some cider, so I have no idea where you can get hold of it.

Knowing nothing about a cider maker is not really much fun, but thankfully they have a website that is in English, so this helps write something about the company (n.b. its actually a pretty good website, with some rather impressive photographs you may wish to see for yourself: http://www.isastegi.com/index_en.htm

Based in the Asturias (I think... my geography is often rather shaky!!) isastagi is a farmhouse cider producer who started making cider in 1983. Judging by the photographs, they have moved on somewhat... although the processes look very familiar to me (just on a larger scale). The 'rules' of making cider in Asturias as probably as severe as the French regions - so you can be sure that a Sidra Natural should be what they say it is. The bottle carries the year of vintage (2012), and at 6% everything is looking good.

Well, when I say looking good, the Asturian taste for cider/sidra is quite different from our UK tastes. We try to avoid cider becoming ascetic (vinegary) whereas the Spanish like it. Perhaps it is something to do with the heat - or the food that accompanies it... after all, how many times have I said that cider is a product of its own place and from its own place? (OK, not much, but it is true)

OK, lets get on with opening this bottle. Not sure if I should do the whole pouring from great height or not. There is a slight pffzz when the bottle opens but this is a still cider for all intents and purposes, although pouring roughly does kick it up a touch. It settles still, bright and yellowy golden.

The smell is rather sharp with a moderate ascetic quality about it. I am expecting it to be almost eastern in style, although the ascetic is probably the most significant character - though this isn't unruly or harsh in any way.

The taste is interesting - certainly not one for those expecting a Magners or Thatchers. However, it is quite unusual to unaccustomed taste buds. It IS rather sharp, and this comes across as quite vinegary to my tastebuds. If this were musing, the cider would be a moderate note whilst the acid a few octaves higher with a slight screech of ascetic hanging over the lot. There is no tannin I can detect - so it is light in itself.

Now, I have to admit that I feel this cider has been balanced for non Asturian drinkers - it isn't challenging all that much and I think this may be the reason why. It is a nice introduction to Sidra though - OK, I have tried the Sainsbury's version which was sweet and sickly. This isn't like that at all - it is much more the real deal: Dry, light and sharp with a lingering aftertaste. I have tried a few Asturian sidra's recently though, and this isn't really in their league (though they were much more of an experience!)

If you can find it, it is a sidra worth trying. If you have never tried sidra before, then it is all the more worth it.

A score of 75/100, it gets a bronze apple from me. Deserved.

Sometimes life gets in the way of plans and projects - and sometimes writing a blog about your favourite topic just simply has to take a back seat... which is pretty much what has happened in the last 6 months. My apologies to any who were fed up with the tribute to the first World War - though I do think (in the UK at least) the centenary of this folly is important. However, in order to try and kick start a new flourish of reviews I figured I would go for something very different: a pear spirit produced by Charles Martell.

I know, I have never heard of this kind of thing before either?! OK - I am sure the French are at it and we just call it something different in the UK. However this is innovation in the cider industry at work as far as I can tell:-)

One thing you may have noticed is that this is a tiny bottle. I tried to make it look bigger than it really is, but there is a very good reason it's so small: It is bloody expensive! The sharp eyed will notice that I splashed out £5.50 for a 5cl 'sample'. It is more like £60 for a whole bottle - and I just aint going to pay that for something I have never tried before... though I might once I have tried it!!

As an aside, I must say that I love the sample bottle (the big one is the same style). This has been done for whisky and looks great... 

A bit about Charles Martell - They are renowned cheese makers (ever heard of 'Stinking Bishop'?) and are based in Gloucestershire. They are also distillers of apple and pear spirit (although my reading of their website leads me to think that they have only just started releasing spirits.

It is a clear liquid - I guess its what I would expect from pears, which give a juice that is light in colour. Opening the bottle (this has to be the smallest bottle of anything I have reviewed on here!!) and shoving my nose over the top, I am getting pears alongside that familiar acoholic whiff that you find with whiskies and brandy. It isn't as faint as I had expected, and is rather nice. Once it is in the glass, you get the full smell of it. Sure, there are peardrops - though the biggest smell for me now is not unlike Airfix glue or varnish.

It is quite a powerful spirit to drink - there is varnish in the taste, though a part of this is actually the peariness of it. I am not sure it works, but once I have got beyond the varnish smell its really quite a nice drink - though it really does hit you in the back of the throat! It is really a toasty pear that comes through, with a warming tone that rises through each sip and roars at the end. Great for coming home to after a winters day of harvesting or pressing!

I don't know how long this spirit has been aged for. Judging by the fire in its belly I would say not that long - and perhaps it could benefit from another year or so to refine the harsh edges. Mind you, I think that is what this drink it about. It is a hit in the throat and, if I were to buy a bottle, it would wait for the chill of winter - I bet it will shine then!

As it goes, this sample earned a bronze apple from me with a score of 72/100. Not bad at all - perhaps I should try some more:-)

Image Walter Kleinfedt (1917). His son, Volkmar, sais "this image is like an accusation, an accusation against war"

Siegfried Sassoon

My goodness... I am writing a review for a cider that I drank nearly three weeks ago! Well, I guess this will be testament (or not) to my record keeping! What I can say - as something of a spoiler - is that it is a worthy cider to follow my absence.

Well, I still haven't recovered my pad so I cannot continue the others yet:-)

Puffin cider is another of the Perry's bottle conditioned range - 'using small batch processes'. What this means is that it should be slightly sparkling with a crop of yeast at the bottom (not put there as some kind of artificial cloudiness or dead yeast addition).

Looking at it, this is the dry version, and at 6.5% its all it is claimed so far. I should add that I can also see the yeast settled at the bottom.

Sure enough, it has a low level sparkle and once out of the bottle I can see it is a lovely golden colour. It is rich smelling - a touch yeasty if I am being particularly picky but it feels mature and tannic.

The taste itself is dry - medium dry, but very melow and full bodied. There is some sharpness to it but mostly the experience is deep, fruity cidery notes. The tannin is quite low stated, but it does develop in the mouth to leave it a little drier in the finish.

The aftertaste is also low level and moderate in length. Overall, this is a lovely cider and well presented. And to think I was worried that Perry's might be going in the same direction as Orchard Pig... phew!

A score of 80/100 gives Perry's a silver apple for Puffin. Right up my street!!

First off, may I humbly apologise for being absent for, well, a month.

It wasn't you, it was me!

There are ciders waiting to be written up and there are ciders waiting to be tasted... there is even a 'missing' notepad with my last reviews from Winchester Beer Festival back in March! (n.b. to self - I haven't got my GBBF ticket yet!!)

However, I have been very busy. Not just busy selling cider to people... or busy winning a couple (or more) awards for my cider... (which is always great!). Lets face it, those are the things I want to be doing. Not even just doing a bit of judging of ciders... though that was a lot of fun! Nope, this is a little different...

You see, I have been involved in writing, consulting, re-writing, talking, meeting and finally getting a presentation for a proposal of a PGI for well made, traditional English cider and perry. Well, I have hinted at it no here for some time eh. And it looks like it has got some legs to it.

The aim for a 'Heritage English Cider/Perry PGI' is to showcase the highest quality cider and perry produced within England and set a standard for quality products way beyond the pretty loose regulations set by HMRC. It seeks to differentiate the good stuff from the lower juice, mass produced 'brands' and to create something that is recognisable to the public.

A PGI, or Protected Geographical Indication, is a device used within and run by the EU via DEFRA (in the UK). It sets out regulations and criteria for a product - essentially ensuring that traditional products and methods can be protected and promoted. Sounds just right for high juice cider eh! Beyond that, criteria for quality can be included within the PGI - well, it is true that both the best AND worst ciders in England are traditionally made, high juice ciders! (though I realise some may disagree with the 'worst' bit:-)

It all started some 12-18 months ago and has taken time to get to a point where discussions can be held with the National Association as well as attempting to consult with as many craft/high juice producers as possible. And now it has been presented at the Cider Trends summit in Bristol it is well and truly in the public domain.

The nuts and bolts are found in the 'infographic' below... well, when you are presenting to PR and marketing types it is wise to at least try and speak the language:-)

click for larger version

Done well, it could add value to high juice cider and maybe even encourage some to raise their bar a little. And it does all of this without throwing any toys out of the pram, upsetting the 'apple cart' and allows the larger family of cider producers to continue to innovate and/or do whatever they do.

With nearly 50 producers signalling their support for the PGI so far - and more looking at it (and yet to look at it), this process is not complete yet. However, it has dispelled the common opinion that cidermakers cannot agree on anything - or that we aren't organised enough to do something new!

There are so many reasons for applying for a PGI - reinforcing traditionally made cider/perry and separating them from the mass produced cider is one thing (it will only be when numbers of producers are using it that it becomes a recognisable and reliable indication). It is also something that cider and perry producers can pin their credentials to... without having to comply with silly 'definitions' and restrictions on parts of the process that, quite frankly, just end up misleading and confusing drinkers all the more!

And saying that, it is probably worth saying that this is a process worked out by cider/perry producers for the benefit of the drinkers. Of course opinions are always welcome from anyone; its just that the opinions that will make a difference are those of producers.

There is a lot of work still left to do - but hopefully I can at least get back to the ciders and perries - after all, the drinking is so much more fun than the talking! I will post more detailed information as I am able.

A cider maker that I haven't tried before. Well, that is not strictly true - I did try some of their cider at the Winchester Festival, but sadly that isn't written up yet and so will become the second (or even third) of their ciders that I try.

The first thing I always do with a cider is have a look at the bottle. I guess its just the blogger in me... or possibly the marketeer. Apart from the cider itself it is interesting to see what the producer (or their representatives) want to say to me, the drinker, before I experience the drink itself. Something that has caught my eye on this bottle is this; "Produced from a batch of 1000 litres.". Now that is what I am talking about... how craft cider is that? OK, I also notice that it is naturally sweet in the French style. So, is this keeved then? (for those who are unfamiliar with the idea, it is basically removing the nutrients from the juice prior to fermentation. This makes things move along much slower and eventually stop before the cider has reached a dry state). That isn't easy or guaranteed - so I am surprised to be finding it in a normal beer bottle!

OK, lots to explain there!! Keeving is not always stable. You see, the yeast will consume all the sugar in a cider leaving it dry (no - sweet apples don't make sweet cider!). It is quite hard to stop unless you intervene (pasteurise or sterile filter) and kill off the yeast or set things up so that they 'get stuck' (stop before all the sugar is devoured by the yeast). By far and away the most elegant of these processes is keeving (though there is nothing wrong with either method - in fact it is probably preferable to back sweetening with sugar, juice or artificial sweetener!)

However (and its a biggy) because keeving is not guaranteed it could start fermenting again and, therefore, needs heavy duty bottles to contain any gas production... hence French cidre is often found in heavy, punted bottles. So this is either very brave or else the yeast has been killed off in some way.

OK, it pours out deep golden and highly carbonated... see my comments above. I have to say it does smell quite yeasty too - lots of farmyard... in fact, that may not be the nicest smelling cider I have ever had. I suspect it has continued to ferment in the bottle and the low nutrients may have stressed the yeast and caused this eggy/farm yard smell.

Lets move on to the taste, as that is what is important. It is very mellow - lovely cider fruit coming through and almost a touch juicy in a French way. There isn't a lot of acid in here, but it does taste nicely mature with a low level of tannins that emphasises the fruit rather than compete with it.

The aftertaste is also mellow. This is easy drinking and crafted - it is just such a shame about the damn smell of it!

I said just now that it was the taste that is important. This is true, but it is not true that it doesn't matter about the smell. Experiencing a cider is the whole package - including the smell. So sadly it is going to lose marks based on that. I am certainly going to look out for another bottle of this at some point though to see if I just had an errant bottle.

It scores 70/100 and earns a bronze apple. I may have been a little generous based on the taste of the cider - some would certainly not even try it once they smelt it...

My humble apologies for going absent for the last few weeks. I have been distracted by other things and only now realise how long it has been.

I managed to mislay my notes for the cider reviews from Winchester Ale and Cider Festival - which I have still not got back yet (I know where they are but have to go and fetch them)! Never mind, in a week or two I will have them back... it's worth the wait - honest!!!

And so, for my next review I turn back to a tried and trusted producer; Dunkertons. It would have been nice for this to have followed the review of the Worley's version I tried at Winchester, but there you go. This is a yardstick for that then.

I really like the labels that Dunkertons put on their bottle (OK,  with the exception of the organic thing). This one is simple, bold and delivers sufficient information without being patronising or in any way 'salesy'. Isn't that what a label is supposed to do? Fair enough, it is labelling at it's simplest, but they manage to do it this way for each of their ciders without giving in to the temptation to put a picture of a drunken farmer on it:-)

Not being that sure if I have tried a Browns before, here is a little information about the variety: Originating in Devon during the early 1900's (the period when a lot of varieties come from). It is a bright red, bittersharp variety of apple used predominantly for cider. It harvests mid season too, making it a useful apple to put against the bittersweets to produce a good balanced west country cider.

This cider pours light golden in colour, bright and with a light sparkle. It smells very earthy - low dull fruit with a very clean sense about it. That could well be the sharpness of the variety on display. It is certainly inviting!

To the taste: it is more a medium than a medium dry, though I can see the sweetening being used as a tool to control the sharpness a touch. It is very nice though. A very deep fruit going on which is rich and sharp. There is tannin, but this is very restrained by everything else. It is the acid that is definitely most notable of the two. Saying that, this isn't one dimensional - it is a complex drink with bold flavours as well as a sharpness. Not one for cider virgins (I think).

How to describe the flavour? Well, it has farmyard right through it - or orchards... you know what I mean. There is also a funkiness in the flavour that I can only describe as being the same as an SV Yarlington Mill. I like it, but have never come across it apart from YM.

The aftertaste is long, fruity and luscious (that is what I have written down!) A real treat.

A very respectable score of 82/100 gives Dunkertons a silver apple. Having now taken the time to check it is their 6th Silver Apple to go alongside a couple of Golds... way to go:-)