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Cider has never been so popular with the general public Cider has never been more popular with consumers and there are now more than 400 active cider makers in the UK – more than double the number from a decade ago and, with news that Welsh producers of cider took first prize at the Reading Beer and Cider Festival, this will be an opportunity for the artisan cidermakers of the drink’s traditional homeland of Somerset and Herefordshire to challenge for the title of Supreme Cider Champion.

Last year 498 entries including 31 international competitors; this year, 530 products have been entered including 44 international ciders and perries. The Rt Hon the Lord King of Bridgwater leads a panel of well respected judges including Nick Bradstock, John Thatcher and Julian Temperley.

Want to get involved in orchard care and cider making in the South West?

Orchards SouthWest, a new network to connect non-commercial orchard groups and owners, will have its inaugural meeting on Friday 31 May at 11.00 in the Ray Williams Marquee, adjacent to the Orchards & Cider Marquee at this years Bath and West show.

The groups aim it to provide information for fruit growers in the south west of England.

Membership is free. Orchards SouthWest will link up all the local orchard groups in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset & Bristol, Dorset and Wiltshire and will offer opportunities to share events, trading, equipment hire, training and knowledge sharing through a dedicated website. The site will help orcharding organisations in the South West by listing them all in one place and will offer a forum for news and discussion.

The meeting will take place on the same day as that of the Norton Cider Growers’, which is for commercial orchard owners. The backdrop will be a thrilling lineup of orchard equipment and machinery, polished and shiny and looking its best for the 150th Anniversary of the Bath and West show.

So with a free weekend at blossom time, my family and I jumped into our camper van and drove directly West from Sussex to Dorset. We were going to use the 2012 Olympic venue and holiday town of Weymouth as our base, and staying at the new Premier Inn. Opened only 3 weeks ago!

Why Dorset?

Well, this county has always had cider, it has just not been in the spot light as often as its neighbours – Devon and Cornwall. However, over the last 3 or 4 years there has been a subtle emergence of exciting, passionate, small scale cider makers – that have a healthy supply of local West country cider apples.

It is also the home of the Powerstock Cider Festival – held every May. Which takes place in a village hall. It’s a great opportunity to taste the different ciders that are made from local apples unique to the area, as well as a chance for the cider makers to share knowledge and ideas about cider making. Over a glass or two of the good stuff of course.

What to do in a weekend?

Here’s what we did so you know what is possible in a weekend of cider filled adventures:

Friday:

Start with dinner at the Stable in Weymouth, (they also have one in Bridport) I first had to aclimatise myself in the Dorset pace of life, and then take a few moments to browse the extensive draught and bottled cider menus. Everyone is happy, they make yummy pizzas the traditional way, and have long tables which make tasting the ciders a really social event.

A modern cider house? It is certainly encouraging to see lots of different ages enjoying only real cider.

Saturday:

After breakfast and a play on the beautiful sandy beach in Weymouth, we hopped into our van, and visited the Millhouse cider museum for the morning.

They have a historic collection of cider presses and equipment which has to be seen to be believed. The shop is small, but carries a plentiful supply of Dorset and West country bottled ciders and perries, they also have their own cider on draught which is very pleasant. If you are in the area in the autumn, they open up the apple presses for everyone to juice their own fruit.

If you are visiting a cider maker and their premises, it is always worth checking they allow visitors, and always phone ahead to check this is OK. This is what I did with my visit to Dorset Nectar in the afternoon. You can see the photos in the slideshow below of the orchards in blossom. They have orchards will can produce close to 300 tonnes of apples per year. Last year was 48 tonnes, which just show how poor production was in this area due to flooding and other extremes of weather.

They have been managing an orchard of, 25-30 year old trees for 6 years now, and have fully embraced the good life. As well as an orchard of 3000 trees, you will find under the trees – pigs, bees, chickens, and vinegar production, all of which they sell –  as well as the sculptures they exhibit around the country. I’m not sure how they have time to do this all!

Sunday:

We had Sunday lunch at the Castle Inn at Lulworth. Their sign outside the pub boasts a permanent cider festival. This is the result of hard work of campaigning for real cider and perry at the pub by Alex Halliday. Being awarded rural pub of the year last year (East Dorset region).

The walking around this area of the Jurassic coast is sublime.

If you are visiting Purbeck – The Square and Compass, which has been in every edition of the Good beer guide since the first edition is an absolute gem, and the Purbeck Cider company, Dorset’s newest cider maker - are not to be missed.

Here’s our list of recommended Dorset cider makers

You would be hard pushed to find more ‘real’ cider than these tipples – there was some cider in the Nectar bottle, but it didn’t last long.

From L-R: Marshwood Vale, Dorset Nectar, Cider by Rosie, Lulworth Skipper

• Marshwood Vale
• Dorset Nectar
• Cider by Rosie
• Lulworth Skipper
• Purbeck Cider company (not pictured above)
• View all our listed Dorset cider makers >

The producers listed above are all found in Dorset, from east to west of the county. You are never far from quality! The majority of them winning recent National awards, so other cider lovers think so too.

Slideshow of Dorset cider tour 2013

Dorset cider map

Recommended pubs and outlets for enjoying Real Cider in Dorset

Credit – Cider by Rosie website

Know any other great cider makers in Dorset?

Leave your comments below if you know of any good cider or perry makers in Dorset, to share with the readers on the Real Cider community website. And I will add them to the listing page (link below).

View the full listing of Dorset cider makers

There has been a plague of so called ciders being released by the big breweries, that are anything but cider – merely flavoured syrup.

This one is different – in that this cider is the real thing, very tasty and thought about carefully by the team at Hogsback. Hence the worthiness of it being posted on the Real Cider blog.

What’s it taste like?

When you look at it first in a glass, you can see the cloudy ‘hazy hog’ appearance.

Reminiscent of cidre bouche.. it has a light farmyard aroma to it, always a good sign that the correct apples and a suitable traditional fermentation process has taken place.

Mellow at first taste with richness of tannins hitting the back of the tongue on the aftertaste. Very smooth and makes you want to have another taste.

At 5% ABV the cider is made from bittersweet apples onsite at Thatchers in Somerset.

The difference with this cider is that further apple juice is added post fermentation for slight extra sweetness, and the naturally cloudy appearance.

The launch event in London this week also gave us a chance to catch up with Hogsback’s head brewer, sales team and Chairman Rupert Thompson. Rupert gave an open and frank presentation on their belief of doing something which other cider makers are not doing in UK, as they have been with their beers over the last 21 years.

Look out for Hazy Hog, I think you’ll like it.

Immediately halt the use of Nerve-agent pesticides (neonicotinoids) which are being blamed around the world for the sharp decline in bee numbers.

The current state of the bee population

Joe King, orchard owner and President of Somerton & District Beekeepers’ Association writes about the current state of the bee population.

“Last year bee colonies built up very quickly because of the lovely March weather and developed a real urge to swarm. Despite the efforts of beekeepers to limit them swarms were abundant.

Queen bees have to mate on the wing, and unfertilised eggs produce male bees – drones – who do no work, leaving it all to their sisters the worker bees. The wet weather last year made mating very difficult so there was an abundance of drones and a dearth of workers. Without workers many colonies died.

In July (July!) beekeepers were advised to feed their colonies to stop them starving, but many wild bees died. As a consequence the bee population went into the winter in poor condition, so keep your fingers crossed for them this year!”

Meanwhile we are keeping an eye on the neo-nicotinoid debate, shaping up interestingly with a march on parliament on 26 April at 11.00 a.m. by beekeepers and Friends of the Earth, RSPB etc. The subject is complex on both sides and we don’t pretend to know the answers, but we hope someone works them out soon.

Learn more about bee conservation

Visit - www.bumblebeeconservation.org

Demand that the UK government protect our bees

Sign the petition here – already over 300,000 people signed it.

Whatever the occasion now you can’t miss out on trying some of the best ciders across the South-West in the gateway of cider land – Bristol.

Download the map here

The morning of the last pressing,
the apples are gilded with frost,
piled in trailers in the orchard.

Each mouldering leaf, each grotty twig,
mixed in amongst the fruit is crusted with the cold moist air,
the cold curtain of December.

The day of the last pressing,
my toes are numb in my wellies,
and the hydraulic press heaves slow against the chill.

We fold the cloths, full of cold pommace,
catch the rhythm of the juice into the pail –
spill, lift, carry, pour, gurgle,
tap the bucket on the barrel for the last drop,
spill and fill again.

They say that cider making is the art of pouring,
refined. Pour the apples off the tree. Pour them into bags,
pour them in the mill, then pour the pommace,
fill the press, and finally pour the juice into the barrel,
where it will ferment and then be still until spring.

Through the last pressing, I heave the baskets of apples through their bath,
without restraint, washing the grot and grime and frost away,
knowing it is the last day of our autumn work.

The evening of the last pressing comes so quick,
the daylight folded in so fast,
how was the light pressed out so soon, we ask?

And we pack it in, go to the cellar,
pour a drink, and pass the dark away
with those who’ve worked with us, this shortest day.

The new producers are Worleys Cider, Tricky Cider Company, Orchard Pig, Ashill Cider, Honey Pot Farm Cider & Apple Juice, Lawrences Cider, Gold Rush Cider and Barrington Court.

Burrow Hill Cider and the Somerset Cider Brandy company have won a Protected Geographical Indication – making them the only legal distillers of Cider Brandy in Europe. They also won bronze for their medium cider at the 2012 CAMRA Champion Cider awards.

On 23 February the Daily Mail reported that “According to latest research from Mintel three in five adults now drink cider, up from the previous year’s total of 47%” … “over the last five years sales of cider have increased by 32% to reach £2.7 billion in 2012.”

Download the map here – Link to Google docs. Or pickup from the tourist office in Somerset.