Ciderhouse News - Cidermaking 2014

Here's a short round-up of what's been happening at Rockingham Forest Cider recently. As you'll notice from the pic above, we have a new certificate for the ciderhouse wall, having gone one better than our previous Silver effort in 2011 and won Gold for a Green Horse/Red Longdon Perry in the East Midlands Cider & Perry Competition. Competition organiser Denise Wright can be seen taking the full weight of the certificate, whilst I stand idly by in front of the impressive East Midlands wall of cider at Nottingham CAMRA Beer & Cider Festival. A great day out, c/o of all the hard working volunteers, but particularly Ray Blockley of Torkard Cider who put together this years impressive collection of nearly 300 ciders and perries from throughout England and Wales. In the spirit of friendly competition I'm encouraging Susan to go one better and present 301 ciders and perries at the Leicester Beer Festival next year.

The innaugral Cottingham Village Apple Day was held at the end of September, organised by Green Horizons a Cottingham based project for families with children who are on the autistic spectrum. In addition to having Red Kite Cider on the pop-up bar we gave samples of a Vilberie Cider to a steady stream of thirsty cider fans on what turned out to be a proper Summer's day. A really great event, and very well supported by villagers and visitors.

Perry making is in full swing, which in the case of the 2014 season is quite a small childs swing with a sensible safety bar. No Green Horse or Malvern Hills this year, but some Blakeney Red, and a similar quantity of mixed pears which will hopefully make something tasty for next year. Needless to say this means there will be no repeat of our award-winning perry, and no Green Horse, which is particularly sad as this is my favourite perry of all. Sniffle!

The Blakeney Red has come out at a modest 1.049 this year, the mixed batch a more respectable 1.055. Fermentation is progressing at a nice even pace, and every day we pray for sub-zero temperatures in a bid to slow things right down and therefore retain some residual sweetness in the perries.

The very latest news from the ciderhouse is that the Yarlington Mill apples are in the process of being picked, and Dabinett (below) are still hanging on the tree. This year, in a break from tradition we will be collecting a tonne of Dabinett from a top cider and perry maker near Leominster.

Ciderhouse News - June 2014

We're approaching 'Peak-Cider' time here at Rockingham Forest Cider, with both cider and perry (almost) literally flowing out of the ciderhouse and straight down the throats of thirsty customers. Almost! We do have to transfer the golden liquid into boxes and barrels to aid this process. Licensees help too with their fancy 'glasses' and stoneware cider mugs, for which we thank them.

It's an inevitable reaction to the hot weather. People prefer to move around a lot less in the heat, and what then are they to do with those idle hands and moribund legs? Might as well shuffle to the bar and order a pint. That's where we come in..

This coming weekend you might want to shuffle over to Oakham for pints (or halves) of cider at the almost accurately named Oakham Ale Trail. Fear not cider and perry lovers, it's not all malt'n'hop in the capital of Rutlandshire. Our regular outlet in the town, the terrific White Lion, has expanded its range to include our Vilberie Cider, Red Kite Cider, and Green Horse Perry. Exotic 'foreign' cider will also be available from 'Udders Orchard of 'Uddersfield-in-the-North. Rare and unusual beers will also be available, as well as Maria's rare and tasty 'Craft' Pies (fully endorsed by the Rockingham Forest Cider branch of the Campaign for Real Pies) as well as other food type things.

Staying in Rutland for a moment, our Red Kite Cider will also be available at a mini-beer festival at the Exeter Arms, Barrowden. I haven't got a good picture of the Exeter Arms, but this photo of Saturday afternoon Cribbage play in the bar gives an idea of the kind of traditional village local it is. It's also home to the Barrowden Brewery, so expect some of the beers to have been sourced from literally 'yards' away.

Continuing to stay in Rutland for just one more paragraph, a Rockingham Forest Cider blend continues to be on tap at the bijou Veranda Cafe at Wing Hall. Great food and regular live music evenings here too, including the fabulous Latin Jazz sounds of the Sven Klang Jazz Band on the evening of 5th of July.

In other news, the ciderhouse has now been fully fitted out with a vintage skittles table, something else to do with those idle hands and moribund legs in the Winter. This table will be making an appearance at the forthcoming Cottingham & Middleton Village Fete (5th July), as will a box of our Red Kite Cider. The date for this popular village event has (almost certainly) been set to celebrate the day after American Independence Day (possibly), although I haven't managed to get confirmation of this yet (and probably won't). Either way, come and celebrate 'something or other', with a glass of cider and a throw on the skittles table. It's what Summers were made for.

More May Merriment

Polish-up your Half-pint Tankards and iron your Bermuda Shorts, the bank holiday is very nearly here, and there's more cider and perry to be drunk than even I can handle. The unpredictable month of May promises to go out in a similar fashion to how it came in, quite literally littered with Beer and Cider (and Sausage) festivals to the north, west, and... well, mostly north and west to be honest.

We've been very busy in the ciderhouse ahead of the weekend. Racking and tasting. Boxing-up and tasting. Tasting a bit more, just so we're absolutely sure that everything tastes fabulous and fruity at the bunch-of-five events we'll be supplying.

We're particularly excited to have been invited to the very first Charnwood Cider Festival (24th - 25th May), the brainchild of award winning Leicestershire cidermaker Rob Clough (that's him on the left). In addition to the whole extensive range of Robs own Charnwood Ciders, there will also be local East Midlands guest ciders from our friends in the north at Torkard Cider, as well as Green Horse and Blakeney Red Perries from us-selves. Set in the shadow of Old John himself, the event would make a great refreshment stop after a traditional bank holiday walk at nearby Bradgate Park. More details below.

Once again, we're delighted to be represented at the Newark CAMRA Beer Festival (23rd - 25th), with Red Kite Cider and Green Horse Perry in attendance amongst a host of other quality ciders and perries (and beers apparently!). One of several festivals on our list of 'might go' for the weekend. As ever there's just too much choice.

Sausages are of course the perfect accompaniment to a glass of traditional cider. You didn't know! Well get on-trend and find out for yourself at the accurately named Oadby Sausage & Cider Festival (24th - 25th), which features a whole host of award-winning sausages, a similar range of fine ciders, and all located in the easily accessible village of Oadby. Well it would be wouldn't it! Our own Red Kite Cider will join the extensive line-up. There will also be live music, and plenty of people talking like the Wurzels all weekend I shouldn't wonder.

Our love affair with the tiny country of Rutland continues to grow. Not only is our Vilberie Cider available at the Veranda Cafe at Wing Hall and the White Lion, Oakham, but an annual Rutlandshire event will also feature our cider and perry over the bank holiday weekend.

More evidence of cider/sausage affinity can be experienced at the annual Grainstore Cider & Sausage Festival 22nd - 26th) in Oakham. The cider tasting takes place under canvas at the front of the brew-pub, and you'll find our Red Kite Cider and Green Horse Perry amongst the apple-y and porky delights on offer.

Just over the border, and back home in Northamptonshire, the annual Village Gala (24th - 26th) at Easton on the Hill will also feature our Red Kite and Green Horse. This looks like a fabulous traditional May event, centred on the Blue Bell pub which is where the beers, ciders, and much else besides can be enjoyed. More details below.

So there you have it. You can't say we haven't given you a choice!

Good Times Are Coming, But They're Sure Coming Slow..

With all the news coming from the CAMRA National Cider & Perry Championships and the Big Apple Cider Trials in Putley this weekend*, I've been driven to spend rather too much time time in the ciderhouse. Too much time glaring at stubbornly fermenting tubs of cider and shouting 'COME ON!'. The question is, when will it end? When will the fruits of our Autumn labour deliver ciders and perries of potentially award-winning quality, and eyeball-dazzling clarity.

In truth the ciders are just about there, and the perries have been tasting fab for some weeks now. The 2014 sales drive is about to step up a gear, and it's here on this blog that we'll be giving you the heads-up on where we're at, and what we've got. Quite soon now!

Meanwhile, here's what's happening around the orchard and garden, because nature won't be rushed, and generally responds poorly to cidermakers shouting 'COME ON!' at it.

Plenty of these about the garden

The tell-tale holes in the wax reveal it should be another good year for solitary bees too

Bramley Blossom, one of the prettiest in the garden

Hens Turd cider apple blossom on a cordon grown tree, with Hagloe Crab in the background

Could do without this though. Canker on one of the pot grown Dabinetts. Currently in full flower and it's not unknown for a fruit tree to recover from Canker, but the trunk is completely girdled so the prognosis is not good!

Rhubarb, lots of it. Which is good as I like lots of it.

* Congratulations to all the winners in competition this weekend, many of which we know and have huge respect for as cidermakers and generally nice people. Full results from Putley can be seen here, with Sheppys Cider and Olivers Perry taking gold in the national CAMRA competition.

(Some) Cider is Go!

With earthquakes hitting the tiny, fragile village of Rutland almost every day now, the Rockingham Forest Cider Emergency Delivery Team have literally strolled into action ahead of the Easter weekend.

In a bizarre reversal of normal earthquake disaster behaviour, reports suggest refugees are literally pouring onto the Wing Hall Campsite, though sensibly equipped with caravans, BBQ's, and an array of emergency ball games. Supplies of Rockingham Forest Cider have now been car-lifted onto the site, and initial reports suggest that there should be plenty of buns and cake at the Veranda Cafe to see desperate campers through the weekend in relative comfort.

The White Lion line-up today

Meanwhile, Les at the White Lion in Oakham has reported that the pub was at the very epicentre of recent seismic activity. At the height of this mornings catastrophic event, glasses clinked alarmingly and Maria is understood to have been very fearful for her pies. Recent over-indugence of Hazelnut Porter by Les has so far not been ruled out as the source these dangerous vibations (boom-boom!).

Just to be on the safe side, we've delivered a stabilising box of cider to the pub, and can confirm that the pies have survived their ordeal intact and tasty as ever.

May I Draw Your Attention To... May!

The joyous season of spring is finally with us here at Rockingham Forest Cider. Dark and chilly winter nights are giving way to the longer warmer days of spring, and with it pubs and clubs everywhere are breaking Beer & Cider Festival bud, with bibulous blossom time predicted any day now. A joyous time indeed.

Of course all cidermakers know that the fruits of their Autumn labour won't be ready to drink until the first Cuckoo has been heard a-calling. Old cider-wives law to be sure, but it's been quite an accurate gauge for us here in the Welland Valley. Perhaps not surprising given that the kind of winter we've had, and the progress of more spring-like weather has a direct influence on both our fermentations and feathery migration patterns. It's cidery science really.

Anyway, the fact is that whilst there's been plenty of 'cooking' in the household, and the Pigeons are forever 'cooing', the two combined have yet to be heard in the valley. We have had reports of Cuckoo calls elsewhere though, and are that Cuckoos everywhere will be doing what they do best before the month is out. Karen has a wooden Cuckoo clock primed and ready just in case though...

Beer & Cider Festivals we're supplying in the near future can be found listed on the right hand side of this blog, but here's some more information to get you in the spring festival mood.

The Walcote Beer Festival is being held at the Misterton & Walcote Memorial Hall over the bank holiday weekend. Walcote village has lost both of its pubs in recent years, the fondly remembered Black Horse, famed for authentic Thai food and local ales, as well as the Tavern Inn, home to the local skittles game. So this event will act as a kind of pop-up pub for villagers, and a well though out community event it appears to be.

We'll be supplying our own cider and perry, as well as a couple of ciders from our friends at Hogans Cider in Warwickshire.

The South Notts Real Ale Festival takes place at the Nottingham Moderns Rugby Club over the bank holiday weekend. I visited this festival last year and found it a very well run event, full to bursting with good local ales selected with help from the local CAMRA branch. Our friends in the north at Torkard Cider have sourced the ciders for this festival, and a box of our Green Horse Perry will be travelling to Nottingham c/o our friends at the Bottle Kicking Cider Co who are both also supplying cider and perry.

The Malt Shovel have held a beer festival over the May bank holiday weekend for several years now. Located a stones throw from the massive Carlsberg lager factory, the Malt Shovel has been reminding folk what beer should taste like since the early days of the real ale revival. It's also a great place to go to see what beer and brewing used to look like, the bar crammed with vintage breweriana, including items from the recently resurrected, and nearby Phipps Brewery.

We'll be supplying cider and perry to the festival, and I don't doubt there will be other local ciders available too.

Green Horse Perry - Orchard to Glass

Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival, 12th - 15th March. Other perries, ciders and beers also available.

Ciderhouse News - March 2014

March is traditionally the month when cidermakers get all twitchy and restless ahead of the new cider-selling season. Signs of Spring in the garden signal the return of migratory cider drinkers, heralded by the cheep and chirp of e-mail requests for our new-season ciders and perries. Cider twitchers need wait only a few days more for the official start of the Spring cider season. March 12th to be precise, because that's the opening afternoon of the 2014 Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival, a festival renowned for it's ciders and perries. And beers.

News just in of a few micro-changes to the cider bar listing, so here they are:

In: Ross Perry, Wilcox Cider

Out: Barbourne Perry, Swallowfield Cider

Shaken All About: Green Valley Rum Cask is now Farmhouse Medium, the Gwatkin cider is a single variety Stoke Red, and the Once Upon a Tree cider is their Tumpy Ground.

In other news, our 2012 Rockingham Forest Sloe Gin was awarded 'Null Points' in the Great Easton Sloe Gin (& others) competition. The competition, a revival of long-standing village event, was held at the recently revived and re-opened Sun Inn. The judges had a tough job, with something like 30 entries to sip their way through, including the 'other' class which was won by a very moreish Marmalade concoction which we're definitely going to try ourselves. A bottle of our new season Rockingham Forest Slider was also available for tasting, which if we're honest was a good deal better than our Sloe Gin! Must try harder next year.

...and finally. Here's a recipe that's as easy to make as opening a Dairylea Cheese Triangle and spreading it on a piece of white-sliced.

Take 1 Juicy fridge-ripened Camembert, make a few gouges on the surface and insert thin slivers of garlic. Pour on some cider, we used some delicious Dunkertons Breakwell's Seedling, or if feeling particularly indulgent, Cider Brandy. Pop the lid on and bake until gooey and dippable. Crusty bread for dipping is all that's required.

Leicester Beer Festival 2014 - The Cider & Perry List

East Midlands/Local Producers:

Bottle Kicking Hallaton leicestershire

Scrummage 6.5%

Scrambler    7%

Charnwood Cider Bradgate Leicestershire 

vintage dry 6%

medium    6.6%

Farmer Fear Mountsorrel Leicestershire

Thirsty Farmer dry 5.5%

Thirsty Farmer medium 5.5%

Rockingham Forest Middleton Northamptonshire

Green horse perry 4.5%

Red Kite Cider 7.9%

Torkard Hucknall Nottinghamshire

Floppy Tabs cider  7%   

...and The Rest:

Abrahall Bishop’s Frome Herefordshire

dry cider 6.5%

Barbourne  Worcester,Worcestershire

cider 6.3%

perry 6.5%

Barkers Hallow, Worcestershire

cider tbc

Brimblecombe Dunsford Devon

cider  6%

Cadogan Awre Gloucestershire

cider

perry

Green Valley Clyst St George Devon

rum cask cider 8.4%

Gwatkin Abbey Dore Herefordshire

cider 7.5%

perry 7.5%

Gwynt y Ddraig Pontypridd Glamorgan

Black Dragon medium cider 7.2%

Dog Dancer medium dry cider  6.5%

Pyder 6%

Two Trees perry 4.5 %

Hecks Street Somerset

cider tbc

SV cider tbc

perry tbc

Old Monty Montgomery Powys

cider tbc

Oliver’s Ocle Pychard Herefordshire

medium cider 6.5%

perry 6.5%

Once Upon a Tree Ledbury Herefordshire

cider 6%

Orchard’s Brockweir Gloucestershire

cider 6.5%

Ostlers  Barnstaple Devon

cider 6%

Sarah’s Ledbury Herefordshire

cider 6%

Swallowfield Ross on Wye herefordshire

Wonky Donky cider 6%

Tricky Taunton Somerset

cider 6.5%

Westcroft Burnham on sea Somerset

Janet’s Jungle juice 6%

Wilkins Wedmore Somerset

cider 6%

Yarde Stoke Gabriel Devon

cider 6%

Cider in Leicester - A Pub Guide (Revised 2014 Edition)

Even though no license fee is required for viewing this blog (as if we could actually charge for this rubbish!), we still feel duty bound to deliver the occasional public service broadcast. It's been a while since we fulfilled this weighty obligation, March 2010 to be precise.

So with literally thousands of thirsty customers flocking into the city for the annual Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival (half a dozen of which are known to occasionally read this blog), I felt it was high time I revisited my magnum opus, the reasonably well-received Cider in Leicester - A Pub Guide. So here it is.

This list is probably best used in conjunction with a few halves at the superb Leicester Beer Festival Cider Bar, and is best viewed using the 'entirely-free-to-download' Leicester Real Ale Trail glossy leaflet add-on-with-map doohickey.

Please note:  This is not a campaigning blog and I therefore make no judgement on the quality of any of the ciders mentioned, some of which will inevitably not meet everyones criteria with regard to being 'real' or 'traditional'. Also note that this list represents my own knowledge of the current cider scene in Leicester, broadly encompassing an easily walkable area from the beer festival site up to the rail station. If I've inadvertently omitted any pubs, or the information has in any way become inaccurate or obsolete subsequently, I apologise in advance. I'd had a bit to drink you see...

• Ale Wagon, Rutland St/Charles St, LE1 1RE - Traditional corner local close to the rail station. Wide range of ales, and a house cider from a large Somerset producer

• Barley Mow, Granby St, LE1 6FB - Recent Everards Brewery refurbishment close to the rail station. Guest cider(s) from Everards range*

• Black Horse, Foxon St/Braunstone Gt, LE3 5LT - Lovely interior to this two room Everards Brewery pub, which received a sensitive refurbishment quite recently. Guest cider from Everards range*, though usually this is Westons Old Rosie

• Criterion Freehouse, 44 Millstone Lane, LE1 5JN (0116 2625418) - Pioneering Leicester ale and cider house, with the added bonus of regular live music, beer and cider festivals, fabulous pizza, and all-round city-centre grooviness. Occasional outlet for our own cider or perry (hopefully the case during the festival weekend), but always something interesting on the dedicated guest cider handpump, plus usually another draught cider or perry from the cellar.

• The Globe, Silver St, LE1 5EU - Everards Brewery ale house in the very centre of town, now featuring a couple of guest ciders from the brewery range*

• High Cross, High St, LE1 4JB - The only Wetherspoon in the city centre which regularly features real cider. Usually two available, often GwyntY-Ddraig or Westons, but occasionally something more unusual

• King Richard III, Highcross St, LE1 4NN - One of Leicesters great unspoilt locals, close to the Highcross shopping disaster. Everards ales, and a guest cider from the brewery range*

• Kings Head, King St, LE1 6RL - A proper local in the town, and a rare outlet for Black Country Ales in addition to numerous guest beers. Guest ciders from larger regional producers such as Gwynt-Y-Ddraig or Sandford Orchards

• Polar Bear, Oxford St, LE1 5XW - Recently improved beer range at this 'Scream' pub included a Westons Cider on a recent visit

• Rutland & Derby, Millstone La, LE1 5JN - Smartly refurbished with a strong emphasis on food. Guest cider from the Everards Brewery range*

• Salmon, Butt La, LE1 4QA - Smart but traditional ale house near the main bus station.Popular with both beer enthusiasts and rugby fans. Usually two guest ciders from the cellar, often from regionals such as Gwynt-Y-Ddraig, or occasionally smaller local producers including Charnwood

• Sir Robert Peel, Jarrom St, LE2 7DD - Recently refurbished Everards ale house, close to the rugby and football grounds. Two guest ciders, often from smaller producers, including those from the brewery range*

• Swan & Rushes, Oxford St/Infirmary Sq, LE1 5WR - Home of Leicesters original Cider & Cheese Festival, the Swan is a noted beer enthusiasts venue close to the rugby and football grounds. The guest cider was from Orchard Pig when I visited recently, bottled Thirsty Farmer Cider also available

• The Tudor, Tudor Rd, LE3 5HT - Another recent Everards Brewery refurbishment, sensitively done and retaining the two-room traditional layout of this backstreet local. A guest cider from the brewery range is usually available*

• The Western, Western Rd, LE3 0GA - Steamin' Billy pub which usually features a couple of draught ciders. Bottles of local Thirsty Farmer Cider are also available

* = Everards supply a range of ciders to their estate, including regional and national brands from Hogan's and Westons for example, as well as some local Leicestershire producers such as Bottle Kicking and Thirsty Farmer.

Cider Leaks - Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival

OK everyone, sing along now: "It's the most... wonderful time... of the year"... Yeeeees, it's a happy time. A festive time. A snow-flecked, bunting bedecked, bawdy, boozy, jolly-big-day-out time. It's very nearly time for this years annual beer, cider, and curry 'Wassail' at the fabulous Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival. In Leicester. Did I mention it's going to be fabulous? The extra-absorbent party hats are on order, and everyone has promised to put their festive red noses on for the duration of what promises to be the city's biggest and very best festival. Of beer and Cider. And Curry.

Now, tradition means a lot to us here at Rockingham Forest Cider, never more so than with the annual jamboree that is the Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival. For example, it's a much loved tradition round these parts to take cider bar manageress Susan firmly by the hands, and firmly insert those delicate pinkies into the ancient relic that is the Leicester CAMRA 'Watneys Red Barrel Thumbscrew', the most devious and frankly disgusting torture device known to womankind. This way we aim to extract precious and hitherto safely guarded knowledge regarding the cider and perry order for this years festival. Whereupon we splash it all over this blog.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes she cracks under the intense cuticular pressure. Sometimes it doesn't, but the look of unbridled joy on her otherwise terribly distressed face at the thought that someone has taken the trouble to ask! Well, that's worth a thousand blood-curdling screams in the night.

This year I think it's fair to say that it hasn't worked. She's clammed-up on us like a captured Mollusc of la Résistance. She ain't squeekin'. What can we do? Perhaps pressure of a different kind needs to be applied...

Blackmail it is then!.....

A well known cider bar manageress personality. Identity revealed soon... unless we gets what we wants!!!

Harvest Home

2014 looks to be 'set fair' for us here at Rockingham Forest Cider. Bumper crops and full-to-brim tubs were the theme of this seasons cider and perry making. So now seems as good a time as ever to take stock of what we've achieved so far, a kind of show-and-tell in the virtual ciderhouse. So come with me through the pear-shaped window, for a tale of bumper crops, broken branches, and more Wasps than you can flail an arm at, in the first part of this years Ciderhouse News Round-up. Mostly via the medium of pretty pictures:

The 2013 Picking and Panking team take a well-earned rest on a pile of bagged-up Yarlington Mill cider apples. From left: Me, Him, Her, Ooh-arr!

This is one of the mighty Green Horse perry pear trees. A very good crop this year, so much so that it took a couple of days to harvest just this one tree. Sadly the weight of fruit and some high winds had already brought down a large branch, seen to the left in this pic.

Karen & Susan draw breath and adopt the classic 21st Century Orchard Posture, all Posh Wellies and Android Phones. This pile of Green Horse pears required 'Tumping' in the orchard, mainly because Ninny-Boy Mark didn't bring enough bags on this trip. Oops! By the time the whole Green Horse harvest were finally hauled home to press, they were ripe to the point of pressing themselves under their own weight in the van, resulting in a trail of pear juice and Wasps all the way from Evesham to the Welland Valley. The damn Wasps still haven't left...

This is the Kingston Black crop, with Green Horse tree in the background. I don't know why I've included this, we simply didn't have time to pick these tiny but tasty cider apples.

A reflective moment on the final visit to the orchard in November. Those of you skilled in the techniques of road accident forensics may already have spotted this particular near-miss in the muddy tracks. It was at this point, heavily laden with over a ton of Yarlington Mill, halfway up the sodden hill in the pouring rain, that the Van got well and truly stuck. But thanks to the man-skills of John the orchard owner (and a LWB Landrover) we managed to save to day and get the van, crop, and a gently sobbing me out of the orchard and home. Thanks John, every home should have one.

More Android Phone action. If a jobs worth doing, it's worth photographing and uploading to Twitter immediately.

I've called this image, 'Man With Buckets Of Apples'.

What it's all about. Yarlington Mill cider apples, destined for a pint of Red Kite Cider.