Worley's Cider (GBBF)

Finally I come to the last review for the Great British Beer Festival. What a nice event, even if you have to travel to London for it. I found Olympia a more interesting and 'personal' event that Earls Court, which was (if memory serves) more an exhibition event than a 'pub' event - I know what I mean by that. Of course, by the time I reached the last cider the crowds had gathered and it was getting a touch rowdy - though I guess its simply that it doesn't fit with some nerd trying to take notes and photo's of cider!

Having gone off for a pie and some pork scratchings to clear the mouth (or at least fill the mouth with eu du pig) I opted to have just one more cider before heading back through the Olympic traffic. And it is time to fulfil a promise to try a cider from a while ago. Having said I don't do requests, I have tried at least 2 ciders in one day on the back of the promise to find such and such's cider...

Worley's is a fairly new producer based in Somerset. Yup, you could argue that I am ending on a safe note, but that is not necessarily the case. However, this cider looks the part. A slightly orangey golden colour which is quite hazy and flat.

And the taste is not disappointing. Its mellow and has a good tannin. There is a touch of acid, though its predominantly bitter sweet in composure. In fact, you could argue its a typical Somerset cider

This has a clean taste. Not balanced or safe particularly, but its oddly refreshing without being at all drying. I would drink this again... and wish I had tried it earlier. The aftertaste is moderately tannic and drying with a good fruit to it.

It gets a good bronze award from Cider Pages with a score of 75/100. If anything, it didn't go silver due to a few things I thought might be missing (dominant flavour, a touch more acid and a little less exposure of yeast in the drink). But a good cider to watch out for! Oh, and apologies for the brevity of this post... after 8 or 9 ciders you must pardon me if my note taking failed a little!

Thistly Cross Cider Jaggy Thistle (GBBF)

"What do you think of the Thistly Cross stuff?". I think that is how the conversation went. "Not tried it yet, but I may have room for one more", was my reply. And so, that is why I now move back up to Scotland to try the other producer representing the Scots at GBBF.  I doubt I will get too many chances to try this cider anyway, so it would be a perfect candidate for tasting!


Thistly Cross are a relatively new cider company based in East Lothian. Focussing on flavoured as well as traditional cider production, they are perhaps best known of late for their run in with HMRC about the use of whisky barrels for duty purposes (essentially, if the whisky transfers taste, abv etc. to the cider it breaks the rules under HMRC Notice 162 and becomes classified as 'made wine' for duty purposes). I guess its about time this was put to the HMRC test as it has become a popular marketing tool for many cidermakers... however, the down side is that it has put it to the test and many cider makers are now worried about it.

So, this is a faily light golden/yellow cider which is marked as being hazy/clear (see for yourself above).  And, well, to be straight... it smells of squash. I have never had that before! I confess that I really want this cider to be good... not least because I prefer drinking good cider, but also because I like the idea of excellent Scottish cider.

Moving to the taste of this cider, the squash-i-ness is still there strongly, though there is a nice apple taste too. Clearly its dessert apples - the acid is strong (though, I am glad to say, this one isn't sour!) But getting beyond the squash is tricky - its quite a thin cider too, which probably doesn't help.

Saying all of that, the aftertaste is fairly nice. I think it might have been sweetened a bit, and this could account for the odd part of the taste.

I would try this again, more to explore the profile more than because I think it is excellent. I do think the scoring is rather harsh - and I am worried that I have taken my frustration at tasting other poor ciders at this festival (and this cider is definitely not 'poor' - more a bit of a challenge).

It scores 61/100. I would be happy to hear from people who score it differently! Hopefully I can re-review it again in the future (though I won't be bothering with the other 'fruit' drinks they produce!)

Dove Syke Cider Company Ribble Valley Gold (GBBF)

Nipping across the border into Lancashire, I find another North Western cider at the GBBF. I think this is number 8 or 9 for me this year... thank heavens for the third of a pint! In total, I managed to consume 11 different ciders in the space of about 6 hours during my visit to Olympia. AND, after all that I managed to walk out without much staggering at all! I only state that in case anyone felt my judgement might become too impaired!

Dove Syke Cider Company are another producer who could do with looking at their website - the link appears in Google but goes to nowhere. However, I can see that they are based in Clitheroe and refer to their production as 'cider brewing'. Hmph. Old grump will have to be held at bay for this! After a little bit of 'jumping' to a particular section of their website, I am on it and can report that they are a fairly new producer with access to some cider fruit as well as what they call 'Lancashire' fruit. The owners come out of the home brewing tradition (so I can forgive the cider brewing gaff!)

The smell on this golden cider is fruity and tannic. So there are cider apples beyond Watford then! Its nice and clear, though it looks naturally so (as in, the yeast has been allowed to settle and the cider racked away from this to mature and drop clear).

This cider has a very mild taste with some good fruity tannin that isn't particularly drying. There is a touch of acid too, although its not in competition - not that there is much tannin to compete against. If I am honest, it does feel a touch watery as I get my way through it. This leaves the aftertaste moderate and fairly short. But... its really rather nice if a little weak.

Picking faults, I would say that there is a hint of sulphur to this cider. This is perfectly natural, though is something to watch out for.

A bronze apple with a score of 70/100

Eddisbury Fruit Farm Cheshire Cider (GBBF)

Now to move towards some counties I haven't tried before now. That is the wonderful thing about the cider bar at GBBF, its a snapshot of the UK cider makers (although clearly not every one is represented as that would be a very large cider bar!). Cheshire is the next stop... situated reasonably close to Herefordshire and Gloucestershire (note I say 'reasonably'!)

The only down side to my opting to 'travel the UK by cider' is that it means abandoning the 'dry' ciders and heading for something more 'medium' (well, heading for whatever in order to try ciders from around the country). This cider from Eddisbury Fruit Farm was the choice from Cheshire. Producing cider for the last 10-15 years mainly from dessert and culinary fruit, my hope is that they have perfected this style of cider and that it is light and refreshing (there is quite a lot of eastern cider here this year, and not all are 'perfected')

It turns out to be yellow and smelling acidic. To be honest, its kind of what I expected. Its not filtered and is hazy too - definitely another eastern style of cider.

The taste of this cider is tangy, fruity and has a rather sour acid note to it. Bramley again??!! I will have to do some research, but I don't think there are many other varieties that offer a sour acid to a cider - as a cider maker I would never ever put more than 10% in as a total... and that is only if I couldn't get hold of anything better. This is a shame, as the cider is actually quite nice apart from that.

It's not the most pronounced acid I have tried today, although the sourness runs through the taste and into the aftertaste too - sadly. Other than this, the tangy fruit is interesting and it has a rather good body for an eastern cider. This suggests that there are some better apples available to them which provide a more interesting profile.

That is really all I have to say about this cider. In my note book, underlined, it simply says 'another cooking cider - nothing new to say'. I guess that sums it up... a score of 64/100 represents the good things about this cider.

There is nothing wrong with producing a sharp cider. In many ways, producing a good sharp cider is more tricky than producing a good tannic cider... its too easy to end up with something thin, acidic with little character or flavour. The sourness in this cider doesn't help.

Heron Valley Cider (GBBF)

Although I wanted to review mainly ciders outside of the traditional counties, I find myself opting for another south western cider, this time from Devon (I rarely get to Devon these days so the opportunity ought to be taken!)

This cider comes from a renowned producer called Heron Valley. I was glad to see this one in the listings as, to be honest, I had read about them in several of the books I own. I struggle to remember which off the top of my head - Ciderland and either 'Cider' or Naked Guide to Cider. All three are worthy purchases: Ciderland being a bit of a tome (albeit with fantastic pictures), 'Cider' is CAMRA's guide, which is much broader in scope but worth it nonetheless, and the Naked Guide to Cider - a lighter, less detailed look at cider but fun to read.

Cider across the UK has typically different personalities. I have said before that Herefordshire producers have a different idea about cider from Somerset, and you can find differences in cider from the other traditionally South West counties - Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire etc. I am expecting this one to have more dessert apples providing the acid, with fruity bitter sweets providing the body and tannin.

Now, I guess its worth a comment, given there are so many 'new' producers. The above holds less and less these days. Commercial producers from all over the country are making really good ciders - often with little access to cider fruit (so most are Eastern in style). This is good. Perfectly decent ciders come in the eastern tradition. What does make me a little sad is that there appears to be some who don't bother learning the trade before trying to cash in on an industry in relative growth. This doesn't just mean the traditional styles (as in, getting them right) but also some basic principles of making cider in the first place. My hope is that the market 'outs' those who don't try - there are certainly one or two at GBBF which I would say need a lot of work.


Onto this cider. It does look a touch filtered (although I could be persuaded its not!) and is shiny and golden. It does smell a little sweet, but is nicely fruity and appetising.

Now, I have only really tasted one cider so far at the Great British Beer Festival that I would say is 'run of the mill'... well, run of the mill isn't meant as a put-down. What I mean is a balanced tannin and acid. This fits that category. It is a very moderate cider - gentle tannin sits alongside a gentle acid with a gently fruit taste. Not an onslaught to the taste buds and absolutely nothing done badly.

On the down side, there isn't anything that leaps out at you - no individual element that makes you stop and think. However, this is probably due to the number of different ciders at this festival. If I tried this at home on its own, I think I wouldn't have noticed it.

As a lovely footnote to this cider, the aftertaste is long and fruity and develops a smokey profile on the palette. Well matured and kept then.

A bronze apple to Heron Valley with 73/100.

Cadogan Cider (GBBF)

Still at the Great British Beer Festival (thank God for third of pints:-) and time to move back to a more traditional region - Gloucestershire. And another dry cider. I am very impressed with the number of dry's on this year... in fact only one or two were labelled as sweet. I have no evidence, but I would say that there is a trend towards drier ciders these days (or maybe I am just becoming blind to sweeter stuff!)

Doing a quick search on Cadogans reveals that their real name is Cadogans Cider and Perry, who have been established (as orchardists anyway) as far beck as the 1960's  - probably longer. They may wish to know (if they ever read this) that the link to their website doesn't work. But then this seems to be not uncommon for cider producers!

What is their cider like then? It is served as a golden cider which is naturally hazy (rather than cloudy) and the smell is heavily western in style. Heavily generally means it is earthy and fruity with a touch of petroleum in the smell. I am getting a bit of sweet from it too, so I am not sure if the label is going to turn out to be correct. Its not the first draught cider that I have experienced this on, although the other where this smell was noticeable was from Somerset.

And boy, its tannic. It is also very fruity as well. It does contain some good sharps too - bitter sharps can give quite stark acid, and I am sure that's what is present here. This isn't bad though - its a really nice cider without being too balanced or 'safe'. The tannin is drying whilst the sharpness wakes you up. To call it 'rough' would be fair, but not in a bad way. Its earthy; a real cider drinkers cider which has no frills or airs.

The aftertaste is long and tannic, with the acid dying off. Yum, its nice to find a real honest cider which makes no apology for itself!

I must admit I am a little surprised it didn't score an apple, with a score of 67/100. Good cider though.

Waulkmill Cider Muckle Toon Rosie (GBBF)

Now, CAMRA, for all the pomp and snazziness of this festival I do have one thing to say. On behalf of anyone and everyone that cares more about cider than beer: please drop the 'beer' in the duty escalator campaign! I get it... you jumped on a bandwagon that was already rolling courtesy of brewing associations. It was tailor made. However, if you also want the monika of consumer champion and supporter of cider why are you involved with a campaign that explicitly and publicly calls for a 'review and re-balancing' of beer duty'?

I am sure I am not the first to tell you that you seem to be sleep walking into a situation where the ultimate aim/goals put you at odds with your support of cider (and everyone else who supports cider). Come on, pick up the ball - at least make it public/explicit that you do not support the re-balancing element of the campaign (we all know that the brewing associations think cider is just beer in a different name... its been a long running thing that suits their arguments - even if not reality!)

Why the moan? Well, I had to sharing my afternoon/evening out with the gigantic head of George Osborne! Sorry, George; I am sure you have a great personality and its all 'just business'. Actually, it wasn't so much George's head but the words 'drop the beer escalator' at just about every turn and on every screen... Its not a hard thing to put right and I don't think it will cost you signatures on the e-petition!

And now to move this blog on 500 miles (sorry - Proclaimers pun intended but not disparaging!). A cider from Scotland. And why not; if the recent growth of producers has proven, apples can be turned into cider all across the country. This doesn't guarantee quality though - I am finding that not all producers get the idea of balance or blending.... but then it could be argued that this is subjective.


So, my first cider from Scotland. I am very interested in this as there are cider varieties being grown that north and I am curious as to what profiles come through. The marks on the board for this suggest that it is fruity and also tart. From that my guess is that its going to be made predominantly from dessert fruit.

It comes golden but cloudy; quite standard so far. It has quite a faint smell to is too, although I am getting a slight cheese from it, to be honest.  This could just be a yeasty smell misinterpreted, and its not been filtered at all (mind you it IS quite cloudy).

Sure enough, it is tart - quite a big eastern flavour to it. It is fruity and acidic with little or no tannin at all. It settles nicely but is very acidic, which makes it seem more dry than it probably is. There is something else to it though - I am not sure I have the language to describe it, and its not off putting.

Now, this is where being a cider maker has a benefit... I know what this is (I have had it before, early in my own cider making journey). Best practice for producing a clean cider is to rack the fermenting cider off its yeast (aka lees) just prior to leaving it to mature. Following the initial fermentation, there is usually a heavy crop of dead yeast that settles to the bottom. Failure to do this sometimes leads to the yeast/cider autolysing, which without getting technical is a transfer of taste - normally yeasty/cheesy. Its not a fault per se (some producers look for this), but personally I don't think it makes for the most exceptional profile. My guess is that with such acidic juice, it had a heavier reaction (but that is a guess, I cannot be sure).

The aftertaste is also acidic yet retaining the fruit. Not bad.

Although this scored 63/100, it is worth bearing in mind that this is above average, and I enjoyed the cider on the whole. However, I do (personally) believe it could have been better.

Once Upon A Tree Tumpy Ground (GBBF)

Feeling that I should go for something with a better reputation next (well, something I had at least heard of!), I turned to a cider that I had underlined in bold on my 'to try' list; Once Upon A Tree's Tumpy Ground. This cider has won several awards this year and seems to be very highly rated by all who have tried it.

Having covered the whole 'wine maker come cider maker who makes ciders along the ethos of wine', I won't bang on about Once Upon A Tree (although I am a bit of a fan). They seem to be spreading their wings a bit now though and I am finding their ciders are available from further afield (although, lets face it, GBBF isn't a typical outlet).

I love the third pint measures at the Great British Beer Festival. I really do think that other festivals should adopt this as cider is nearly always much stronger than beer (well, usually- unless its been fiddled with). Normally, this would probably be the last cider I would be in a fit state to review. Not with this option available... well, third of a pint and the fantastic pie kiosk!

Right, Tumpy Ground. Well, it turns up as a clear/bright cider. That must have caused a few murmurs in the CAMRA ranks! But, it is really golden and the smell is very good - very Herefordshire! I do wonder why its filtered though... is it really necessary? My instinct tells me its not necessary, though there are some rather cloudy ciders here this year (a well presented cider should be hazy at most - cider does naturally drop fairly clear).

The smell is light and tannic. And clean. The taste is precisely that; clean, tannic and vineous. This is surely what Once Upon a Tree are really good at. Its meant to be supped rather than gulped. There are some great full tannins going on in my mouth - coupled with equally balanced acid which makes the whole thing more fruity.

It has a long aftertaste that seems to just sit in your mouth and throat... really good.

As I stood at the bar with this cider, a couple of lads came up to demand 'cloudy cider'. After having a few that were probably horrible (judging by their faces) I suggested the Tumpy Ground. "It aint cloudy" came the protest. "It doesn't have to be" says I. Needless to say they were both very happy with their pints. At 7.1% I would be shocked if they managed more than a couple of these!

A silver apple for Mr Day and co. with 87/100. Very nicely done!

Pete's Pollocks Surrey Cider (GBBF)

So far, so good. That is the comment in my notebook following the first two ciders at the Great British Beer (and Cider) Festival. Its also worth commenting that the venue, Olympia, is a very nice place to be. Sure, I would say in the competition between the Olympics and the GBBF, CAMRA came a very poor second in terms of London's transportation etc. but, once here it's a really good event.

Anyway, all things being good, I come to another new producer. This time its from Surrey... and I am not sure but they may be the first commercial producer in that county?! Well, its handed to me as a straw coloured, hazy cider. It smells nice and fruity. Being straw coloured I am expecting an Eastern style of cider.

OK. Now then. Wow. Ummm. Well, it is a fruity cider (start with a positive eh!). However, it is a fruity cider where that fruit seems to be exclusively cooking apples. This one has a sour acid note running right through it. My first thought? Bramley. In fact, it may even be made from Bramley. The fruitiness does hold during the drink - its almost apple juice. The overwhelming taste though is acid and sourness - crisp and and sharp  over-running anything else that is present.

The aftertaste is much the same and I am glad I only went for a third of a pint!

With Pete's being a new producer, and after spending a few minutes on their website, I can see that they encourage the use donated apples - I suspect that most of these are going to be cookers, as the ubiquitous Bramley can be found in many gardens. Now, you can use Bramley in a cider. In fact you can make an excellent juice from very ripe Bramley. But this isn't very ripe... its sour, which suggests 'September' Bramley (my thinking is that Bramley only reddens up and ripens fully in October/November... i it will stay on the tree that long!). Just because something is there, is cheap and is in abundance doesn't mean it will make great cider (that is why most cider makers politely decline the offer). Try tasting an apple and imagine what its going to be like once all the sugar is gone - in Bramley's case: all acid and nothing else.

Sorry, Pete's Pollocks, but I think it needs a bit of work (although you are quite free to disagree with my comments!)

A score of 59/100 is ,I think, actually generous, but its what it got at the time of drinking.

As a footnote, I tried this with several other people that I met at the cider bar. Whilst the overall expression was what is essentially written above, one person did like the apple juiciness of it. Well, for the first taste she did. Once I had scored it I (roughly) shared it with them and they agreed with it... so I didn't do this on my own!

As a second footnote, I noticed that this cider was high up in the online list for GBBF. What makes it interesting is that it started there and seems to have stayed there. Now, I appreciate that this is a guide and not really for competition purposes but there were some good ciders and perries on - which makes me wonder how this cider stayed so stubbornly near the top (incidentally, if you play with internet settings you can vote many times... might be one to resolve, CAMRA). So, either the public like battery acid sharp ciders, or the list isn't really much of a guide.

Marshwood Vale Cider Company Cider (GBBF)

On Cider Pages I don't 'do' requests. Well, not often anyway - and I generally refuse to take samples as I prefer to do everything in my own time. However, I should note that I have previously had a comment from the producer of this cider to try it. Having heard some good reports about it, I cannot find any reason not to give it a try. So, moving on to the second cider of the evening we have Marshwood Vale's cider.

Marshwood Vale is a producer from Dorset (somewhere near to Dorchester/Bridport to be more precise). I don't think they have been commercial for that long (a couple of years or so) but as there are some seriously good producers in Dorset (e.g. Cider by Rosie... already reviewed here) there should be some good cider apples in this one.

The cider comes to me golden and cloudy. Helpfully, CAMRA have notched up a picture of a cloud on the label, together with a 'T' for tannic. I have to say I usually agree with their ratings (thought not always) much more than I agree with their perception of what is dry or sweet! To smell, it smells a little sweet and fruity - its really quite a gently smell in fact and rather pleasant.

I am not sure that the '5' CAMRA have given it (for 'dry') is necessarily that accurate. I would call it a medium dry personally. This is semantics though as the cider itself is very good. There is a mild tannin running through this cider along with stacks of fruit. Its long and lingering and good - although I am getting some odd varieties going on in my mouth. Saying that, determining what goes into a cider is near enough impossible, so I shall stop there: its a little unusual but quite complex and gentle.

There isn't much acid to counter the tannin, so the aftertaste continues to be all fruit and tannin - and that persistent sweetness which has run behind the flavour all the way through. In addition to this, I do get quite an earthy/soily aftertaste to it - it doesn't spoil the taste  but I suspect this is possibly coming from oak... which to me is more proof that (although traditional) oak is not necessarily the best friend that cider can have.

So, Mr Marshwood Vale, I have now tried your cider. And I like it quite a lot. My notes and scoring gives it a reputable 76/100, so its another bronze apple for the GBBF cider supplier.

Solway Cider Northern Monkey (GBBF)

Its that time of year again, ladies and gentlemen. So, in case you couldn't make it I have made my annual journey to London to take in CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival.

This festival has resisted the urge to vacate the capital, even at a time when the Olympics seems to have taken over. The GBBF is one of those festivals not to miss on the calendar of festivals. For those who are more northerly and cannot be doing with a festival that is stubbornly London, I would recommend the Nottingham Festival in October as a good alternative... or the Winter Ales Festival in Manchester (although a lot of really good ciders are not available in February).

So, having gone through the online list and whittled a few down to make sure I don't wake up in a hospital as another statistic to alcohol abuse, here I go...

OK, first up we have a cider from waaaaay outside the traditional regions of South West/South East. Looking back at all my notes, I have to admit I had a leaning towards producers from out of area at this years GBBF. I should also add that this made the results a little more variable than aiming for the very best (most of which I have tried anyway).

I am a little unclear whether Solway cider hails from Cumbria or Somerset. The story seems to be that they make cider in Cumbria and also juice is also pressed and fermented in Somerset. The only information I can get is from around 2009 though, so things may well be set up differently now.

As you can see from the image, Northern Monkey is cloudy and golden. Its pitched as a medium dry on the CAMRA listings although you cannot guess this from the aroma, which is rough and ready (and a little bit yeasty).

Its good though. There are some real sharps going on but at the same time some heavy tannin counters this well. There are definitely cider varieties in this - judging by the profile it could be something like Tremletts Bitter as its a heavy hitter. At the same time, there is cooking fruit in here too. Perhaps I should stick my head on the block and suggest Bramley, though its not sour particularly. The acid wins through in the end and this is the most drying part of the cider.

This is an interesting cider and an enjoyable start to GBBF. The aftertaste is long and tannic and pleasant - all in all a well presented and nicely put together cider with a good character. A score of 73/100 and the first GBBF bronze is away.