International Cider & Perry Competition 2023 Results

 

Award-winning cidermaker opens micropub in Hereford

Herefordshire cidermaker Denis Gwatkin of Gwatkin's Cider in Abbeydore, has opened a micropub in Hereford's historic Buttermarket, serving a range of his award-winning ciders and perries as well as beers and lager from Wye Valley Brewery, either to drink in or takeaway. Denis, who has been making cider now for almost 30 years decided to open “Gwatkin'sHouse of Cider” in the Buttermarket as the building is undergoing refurbishment and regeneration with artisan food and drink producers moving in alongside the more traditional market businesses such as butchers and cheesemongers.

Above: Michael Sammars (Bar Manager), Theresa Roberts (Director of Gwatkin Cider) and Denis Gwatkin (Director of Gwatkin Cider)

According to Denis Gwatkin, “This is a great opportunity for us to be able to sell our ciders and perries in the heart of Hereford. We have a successful farm shop at our farm in Abbeydore but not everyone can get out to it, so this is our way of bringing our shop to the centre of the city of Hereford. We're stocking our full range of award-winning ciders and perries alongside other drinks and we are aiming our ciders to complement the range of food available in the Buttermarket. Customers are welcome to try our ciders and we have upcycled cable reels to serve as tables around our bar. We're very excited at this prospect and for the future developments in the Buttermarket.”

Hereford Buttermarket is undergoing a resurgence, along with new businesses such as Gwatkin Cider moving into the building there are plans to open up the upper floors to encourage more traders into the historic structure.

Gwatkin's House ofCider is open from 0900-1645 Monday to Saturday, in Hereford Buttermarket, High Town, Hereford, HR1 2AA

Gwatkin Cider hosts Down on the Farm Music Festival

The 11th to the 13th of August will see the Golden Valley rocked once more as Gwatkin Cider hold their sixth annual music festival, Down on the Farm, at the family-run farm, Moorhampton Park Farm near Abbeydore in Herefordshire.

                                           The main stage and bar for Down on the Farm

The festival started as a one-day event but has now grown into a three-day festival, “The Glastonbury of the Golden Valley”, as it has become known as.

Gwatkin Cider has been producing award-winning ciders and perries for over 25 years now and owner Denis Gwatkin used to play on a few bands himself, previous Down on the Farm Festivals have seen Dr And The Medics headlining, this year Canvey Island rockers Dr Feelgood will be headlining on Saturday night. Full details of the bands playing Down on the Farm are available from the festival website as well as ticketing details and information as to how to find the venue as Moorhampton Park Farm is on the outskirts of Abbeydore. Other bands playing at the festival include The Navarones, a ska band from Cardiff and The BBC Acoustic Band from Grosmont in Monmouthshire. As well as the headlining bands there will be a range of other bands from across Herefordshire and South Wales including Raptor, a young psychedelic blues rock band.

Dr & The Medics playing last year

Down on The Farm Festival features two stages, with 26 bands playing between the Main Stage and the acoustic Garden Stage, both are undercover in case of rain. As soon as a band on the main stage stops, a band on the acoustic stage will start up, and visa versa, meaning that on Saturday and Sunday there will be twelve hours of music at Down on the Farm Festival.

The Delray Rockets playing last year

As well as the bands, the full range of Gwatkin ciders and perries will be available together with a selection of real ales from Wye Valley Brewery. All the food is kept in-house with home-made burgers and sausage alongside Ploughman's Lunches and other specialities such as home-made cakes. Parking and camping in the orchards and paddocks at the farm is included in the ticket price.

Ploughman's lunches served at the festival

Nineteen draught ciders and perries will be available at the Festival, all made by Gwatkin's, including a few new ciders that have not been seen before,

According to award-winning cidermaker, Denis Gwatkin, “We try to put on a festival with something for everybody, with great cider, fantastic food and a range of music to suit all tastes from ska to rock. We may only be a small festival but we are determined to make Down on the Farm a festival for everyone to enjoy.”

Camping in the orchard and paddock is included in the ticket price

A panoramic view of the farm and campsite

A few photos from previous years below, the full lineup for this year can be found here

Gwatkin Cider

Down on the Farm Music Festival

Moorhampton Park Farm

Abbeydore

Herefordshire

HR2 0AL

Cider Festival at the Clytha

The multi-award winning Clytha Arms pub in Monmouthshire will be holding their annual cider festival over the Spring Bank Holiday. The original and, of course still the best Welsh Cider Festival in Monmouthshire, if not Wales!
Music, excellent food and of course some excellent ciders and perries!


The Clytha Arms
Clytha
Near Abergavenny
Monmouthshire
South Wales
United Kingdom
NP7 9BW

Raglan Cider Wassail

Raglan Cider Mill will be holding a Wassail on Saturday 28th January, with dancing, singing and music. Cider bar all evening and a hog roast. £5 entry (£4 to Welsh Perry & Cider Society Members, U16s free.
Address is Tynewydd Farm, Llanarth, Usk, NP15 2LU

Big Apple Cider and Perry winners

It was the Big Apple Cider and Perry Championships in Putley, Herefordshire, yesterday and the results are below

CAMRA Cider and Perry of the Year

CAMRA names the UK’s best Ciders and Perries

Cider
GOLD (joint) – White Jersey, Orgasmic Cider Company
GOLD (joint) – Janet’s Jungle Juice, West Croft
BRONZE – Medium, Three Cats

Perry
GOLD – Two Trees Perry, Gwynt y Ddraig
SILVER – Snowy Owl, Raglan Cider Mill
BRONZE – Perry, Snails Bank

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has today announced the winners of its National Cider and Perry Championships.

The joint winners of the Cider Gold medal are White Jersey by Orgasmic and Janet’s Jungle Juice by West Croft. White Jersey was described by judges as being ‘fruity’ and ‘easy drinking’, with ‘a slight sweetness balanced by an excellent tang’, and having ‘balance without too much acidity’. Janet’s Jungle Juice was described as having a ‘mature and woody aroma’ with ‘an initial sweetness and a smooth finish’, and a ‘full mouthfeel with a resinous aroma’.

The winner of the Perry Gold medal is Two Trees Perry by Gwynt y Ddraig (meaning ‘dragon’s breath’ in Welsh) which the judges described as being ‘initially sweet with a refreshing, dry aftertaste’, ‘complex yet well balanced with a poached pear flavour and aroma’ with a ‘slowly developing finish’.

The final round of judging for CAMRA’s National Cider and Perry Championships 2015 took place at the popular Reading Beer and Cider festival today. The competition featured ciders and perries from across the UK, with each cider and perry judged on its individual taste, aroma, flavour, after-taste and overall appeal. The top awards were selected by a specially chosen panel of experienced judges, drinks writers and CAMRA members.

Steve Layton of Orgasmic Cider Company, had this to say on hearing his cider had taken the top spot,

“We’re very proud of this single blend [variety] cider - we grow the apples, we produce the cider, we do everything - so to me this is a great achievement, as it lets me know our cider is enjoyable to drink by everybody on this top judging panel. We're very proud to win and this is a massive achievement.

Andrea Briers, CAMRA National Cider and Perry Committee Chairman, had this to say on the quality and diversity of entries:

“The quality and variety of real cider and perry is increasing year-on-year, making our job as judges increasingly difficult. With a set of truly excellent drinks available this year at the festival, and a competition which was very tight right until the final judging we are confident these ciders and perries can truly be known as the best in Britain.”

Reading CAMRA Beer and Cider Festival serves over 550 beers available, plus 150 ciders and perries (from over 100 producers), plus a selection of foreign beers, English wines and mead.

Over the four days festival around 13,000 attendees will drink over 35,000 pints of beer and 11,000 pints of cider.

Cider pressing at Gwatkin Cider

The first apples of the season have arrived at Gwatkin Cider in Abbeydore

Just under 30 tons of apples!

Picking up the apples and placing them carefully in the hopper with the tractor

Denis Gwatkin and Bernard look on as the mill fires up

The apples are fed down the hopper, washed and then chopped to create a pulp which is then pressed between belts via rollers.

Mickey shovels the dry pulp away

                               The dry pulp at the end is fed to Hereford cattle on the farm

Cider Festival at the Clytha Arms this weekend!

The place to go this weekend is the Clytha Arms in Monmouthshire as they hold their annual cider Festival!

Cider List

Llanblethian Orchards
Kingston Black Medium
Stoke Red Medium
Biglis Farm Sweet
Orchard Blend Medium Sweet
Mayday Sweet
Hendre Huffcap Perry

Raglan Cider Mill
Boris’ Brainbender Medium
Hanky Panky Spirit cask Medium K
ingston Black Dry
Eaters & Cookers Medium Dry
RCM Medium
Barn Owl Perry Dry
Snowy Owl Perry Medium

Three Saints
Bit of Rough Dry cider
Blush Sweet Perry
Divine Medium Perry
Nice Boys Dry Perry
Laughing Juice Perry
Sweet Burgundy Perry

CJs Cider
Wench Medium
Surprise Sweet
Rosie’s Triple D
Dry Scrumpy
Triple D medium
Wicked Wasp medium
Black Bart sweet

Skyborry Cider
Dry
Medium Dry

Ty Bryn
Twisted Oak Dry
Vintage Oak Dry
Sunset Medium sweet
Blakeney Red Perry Sweet

Ty Gwyn
Naughty Horsey medium
Very Naughty Horsey, medium dry

Williams Brothers Cider
Dry Cider
Medium Cider
Sweet Cider

Bartestree Cider
Fox Snout
Frome Valley
Harley Gum Perry Hellen's Early Perry
Oldfield Perry
Painted Lady Perry

Gwatkins Cider
Silly Ewe, Dry
Yarlington Mill,
Medium Norman,
Medium Rum Cask,
Medium Game Cock,
Sweet Stoke Red,
Squeal Pig Perry
Farmhouse Perry, Medium

Olivers Cider & Perry
Shebam,
Medium Making Hay,
Sweet
Traditional Perry,
Dry Classic Perry,
Medium Classic Perry,
Sweet

Zummerzet and Dorzet visit

Had to pick up some cidermaking equipment the other day so the Disco was fired up for a trip across the Severn and to Somersetshire and Dorsetshire. Oh and it was a good excuse to visit a few pubs as well!
We managed to find a black-hole for Sat-Navs as well where the Nokia Maps did not work, neither did the Garmen - Yes we had two Sat-Nav systems for this journey as neither the driver or myself bothered bringing a decent map along. Still we saw some picturesque villages when we got lost! Bristol really needs a motorway on the East and South sides as well - driving along the M32 takes you straight into the centre of the City and the aromatic aroma of Cabot Circus but its all surburban roads heading South then.
First stop off was the Rose & Crown in Trent, a part-thatched multi-roomed pub in a village where Charles II took refuge after the Battle of Worcester. Now a gastro-pub but with a range of beers on from Wadworth and Hook Norton. Claims to date from the 14th Century but rather like the food prices this date was somewhat over-inflated!
After our pick-ups we found ourselves in the historic town of Sherborne and quickly found the only freehouse in town, the Digby Tap. And what a great find! Excellent range of beers in this former Regional Pub of the Year for CAMRA. Packed full of history, this multi-roomed pub is one of the best pubs I have been in for ages.

The type of wall that gives architectural historians nightmares

Some of the beers available at the Digby Tap

Wished we stopped here to eat rather than the gastro-pub!

With a couple of hours of daylight left we decided to visit a cider farm and after no answer from one maker we went to Burrow Hill, home of the Somerset Brandy Company.

Above: Gathering the apples, a bit more mechanised than the picking I'm normally used to!

The barn that houses the cider press, the corrugated roof hides an older, thatched roof and the apples are run into the barn via a water shoot below the ground. Cider has been made on this farm for at least 150 years.

A view of the apple tump, with the water chute leading to the milling and pressing barn.

Left: Apples being taken up to the milling area

Some of the old machinery in the barn. These wheels would have driven belts that supplied power to various bits of milling and pressing equipment.

Naturally any visit to a cider farm would include a taste of cider, although the staff were a bit surprised when we opted for the dry, apparently only the locals like it that dry!

Cider and perry is available both on draught and in bottles from the farm shop.

The products for sale are on show on an old cider press.

Burrow Hill Cider is also home to Somerset Brandy Company where the ciders are distilled into cider brandy. Available to buy online as well.

A good day out and best of all I was not the one doing the driving!

Clytha Arms Cider Festival this weekend

The award-winning Clytha Arms in Monmouthshire will be playing host to their very own cider and perry festival this weekend, from the 1st to the 5th of June, Friday to Tuesday. With the cancellation of the Welsh Perry & Cider Festival at Unisthee Rugby Club, the Clytha will be THE place to head for to sample the best range of cider and perry in the area. With over 5000 pints being served over the holiday weekend the Clytha is a must visit destination for the cider lover. Beer lovers are not forgotton either as there will be a range of real ales on the bar as well. Around 70 different ciders will be there from makers from across Wales and the borders.

Live music as well, throughout the weekend, presented by Club Ifor Bach, together with trade stands, a tutored cider tasting on the Sunday by Dave Mathews and a display of birds of prey throughout the weekend this is looking to be the cider event of the year!
More details on the their Facebook Group here


Cider list, subject to availabilty etc:
Bragdy Brodyr, Glynneath, Neath
Black Beauty (Medium)
Welsh Marches Magic (Medium)

Ciderfect, Tidenham Chase, Monmouth
Muggled Up (Dry)
Brown Snout (Dry)

Ciderniks Kintbury, Berkshire
Coombe Raider (Dry)
Dab Hand (Dry)
Kingston Black (Dry)

CJs Cider, Usk, Monmouthshire
Wench (Medium)
Surprise (Sweet)
CJs Perry

Gwatkins Cider, Abbey Dore, Herefordshire
Norman (Medium)
Yarlington Mill (Medium)
Foxwhelp (Dry)
Stoke Red (Sweet)
Gamecock (Sweet)
Farmhouse Perry
Squeal Pig Perry
Silly Ewe Perry

Gwynt Y Ddraig, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff
Farmhouse Scrumpy (Medium)
Black Dragon (medium)
Happy Daze (Medium)
Haymaker (Medium)
Dog Dancer (Medium)
Fiery Fox (Medium)
Pyder (Medium)
Farmhouse Medium
Farmhouse Dry
Two Trees Perry

Llanblethian Orchards, Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan
Vilberie (Dry)
Kingston Black Mix (Medium)
Bens Mix (Dry)
May Day (Sweet)
Yellow Huffcap Perry

Olivers Cider & Perry, Ocle Pychard, Herefordshire
Herefordshire Draught (Dry)
Herefordshire draught (Sweet)
Yarlington Mill (Medium Dry)
Herefordshire Draught Perry (Dry)
Herefordshire Draught Perry (Sweet)

Raglan Cider Mill, Raglan, Monmouthshire
Boris’ Brainbender (Medium)
Tiddly Um Tum (Medium)
Hanky Panky (Medium)
RCM Medium (Medium)
Kingston Black (Dry)
Barn owl Perry (Dry)
Snowy owl Perry (Sweet)

Rosie’s Triple D, Llandegla,Wrexham
Triple D (Dry)
Wicked Wasp (Medium)
Triple D (Medium)
Black Bart (Sweet)
Triple D (Sweet)

Ross-on-Wye Cider & Perry, Peterstow, Herefordshire
Various ciders and perries

Seidr Dai, Cyncoed, Cardiff
Painted Lady Perry (Sweet)

Severn Cider, Awre, Gloucestershire
Kingston Black (Medium)
Yarlington Mill (Medium)
Farmhouse (Sweet)
Farmhouse Perry (Medium)

Springfield, Llangovan, Monmouthshire
Red Dragon (Medium Sweet)
Wobbly Munk (Medium)
Sledgehammer (Medium Dry)
Hard Core (Medium)
Three Saints, Usk, Monmouthshire
Bit of Rough (Dry)
Scrumpthos (Medium)
Scrum (Medium Sweet)
Blush Perry (Sweet)
Divine Perry (Medium)
Nice Boys Perry (Dry)
Laughing Juice Perry (Sweet)
Tutts Clump Cider, Bradfield, Berkshire
Farmhouse (Dry)

Ty Bryn, Grosmont, Monmouthshire
Vintage Oak (Dry)
Sunset (Sweet)
Blakeney Red Perry (Sweet)
Lazy Days Perry (Dry)

Ty Gwyn, Newcastle, Monmouthshire
Naughty Horsey (Medium)
Very Naughty Horsey (Medium Dry)’

Upper House Cider, Wormelow, Herefordshire
Upper House Dry
Upper House Medium

Clytha Arms
Clytha

Near Abergavenny
Monmouthshire
South Wales
United Kingdom
NP7 9BW

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