CIDER, PERRY 
Back to Wakefield Beer Festival 2009 Beer List Wakefield CAMRA Homepage 2010 Cider & Perry List
CIDER, PERRY
& COUNTRY WINES (2009 LIST FOR WINES)
The cider and perry selection is brought to us by the Real Cider Company, 1 Thistle Buildings, Charlestown, Hebden Bridge HX7 6NW, tel: 01422-846994.
In 2011 the cider and perry bar will be attempting to offer a rolling choice of five to include sweet, medium and dry ciders/perry at any one time.
| Maker | Location | Cider | % abv | Description |
| DRY | ||||
| Crossmans | Hewish,Weston-Super-Mare | Medium Dry | 6 | a delightful example of a traditional farmhouse medium dry cider with a fruity start and slightly dry finish, naturally fermented, unfiltered and smooth tasting |
| Biddenden | Biddenden nr Ashford, Kent | Dry | 8 | well known strong, dry Kentish cider, clean and refreshing: it slips down too well, so easy does it with this one |
| Burnards | Banham, Norfolk | Oaky Dokey | 5.5 | fermented in rum casks, this cider has a background of oak and vanilla |
| Gwatkin | Abbeydore, Hereford | Old Rat's Tale | 7.5 | copper coloured, tasting of tart apple fruit and oak with a dry woody aroma, name alludes to the adding of a dead rat to the cider vat for extra flavour and body! |
| Gwynt-Y-Draig | Llantwit Fardre, | Farmhouse Dry | 6.5 | a dry oak-finished cider, as dry as they come, definitely for the serious cider connoisseur |
| Pontypridd | ||||
| MEDIUM | ||||
| Ross Cider & Perry Co. | Peterstow, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire | Medium | 6.5 | oak-matured and well-balanced, a skilfully blended cider, winner of CAMRA's 2010 Pomona Award |
| Dove Syke | West Bradford, Clitheroe, Lancs | Ribble Valley Gold | 6 | a medium dry cider produced from true cider apples only, on kit purchased from a retiring Pickering cidermaker |
| Broadoak | Clutton., Somerset | KB | 7.5 | a crisp sharp single varietal cider made from the dark red Kingston Black apples, a bit sweet for some cider buffs |
| Gwynt-Y-Draig | Llantwit Fardre, Pontypridd | Two Trees Perry | 4.5 | a pale fruity clear perry with an aroma of fruit and a hint of honey on the palate, oak conditioned (replaces Ross Cider Alpaca) |
| Wilkins | Mudgley, Wedmore, Somerset | Medium | 6 | soft lingering burn, orange flavours zing all over the place, a very drinkable blended cider (cloudy) |
| Sandford Orchards | Sandford, Crediton, Devon | Shaky Bridge | 6 | all the body and bite of a scrumpy, with a fresh apple finish which makes for a distinctly moreish and enjoyable cider |
| SWEET | ||||
| Broadoak | Clutton., Somerset | Perry | 7.5 | Gold Award for perry in the 2009 CAMRA Awards judges' notes- Lovely, highly drinkable perry with a true pear aroma that starts with a medium sweet taste and is followed by a dry finish.' |
| Gwynt-Y-Draig | Llantwit Fardre, | Pyder | 6 | a deep brown out of the ordinary blend of apple and pear juice fermented and matured in wood, an easy sweet drink |
| Pontypridd | ||||
| Moorlands Farm | North Newbald, East Yorkshire | Medium Sweet | 6.4 | made mainly with East Yorkshire apples giving a distinctive appley taste and a slightly sweet finish |
| Gwatkin | Abbeydore, Hereford | Squeal Pig Perry | 6.5 | a medium perry, the legend is that squeal pig was the sound made after drinking a pint of it |
| Ross Cider & Perry Co. | Peterstow, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire | Alpaca Perry | 6.5 | a
medium perry, a full bodied blend of pears grown in an
orchard shared with, so manured by alpacas SORRY THIS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE - Two Trees Perry will be supplied instead |
| Gwatkin | Abbeydore, Hereford | Norman | 7.5 | a light sweet cider with lots of apple flavour, good tannins and a pleasing touch of acidity to prevent cloying, made with the Bulmer's Norman apple which originated in France |
| Hartlands | Tirley, Gloucestershire | Sweet | 6 | orange
in colour, a smooth, slightly hazy cider, very sweet, a
beautiful balance of fruitiness and tannin SORRY THIS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE - more Gwatkin Norman will be supplied instead |
Please note that quoted abv of farm produced products may vary from year to year, according to the fruit crop.
Notes on some of the cidermakers and perry producers whose products often appear at our festival, gathered by Wakefield Cider Bar Manager, Richard Norris:
Gwynt Y Ddraig -Gwynt Y Ddraig Cider started production in the late autumn of 2001. Bill George and Andrew 'Drew' Gronow embarked on a cider making venture with one remit, to make cider using traditional methods. There were no plans with what would be done with the cider once made, apart from being drunk that is, and it was all very much approached as a hobby.
H. Weston and Sons- Established in Herfordshire in1880 Westons is now the last of the crop of large scale independent cider makers, it has survived as a family firm and its ciders can be found country wide. Unlike some large producers Westons uses only pure juice in its cider production. www.westons-cider.co.uk
Ross on Wye Cider and Perry Co-
One of the great producers of the craft cider
revival. Cider has been made on the Johnstons' farm for more than twenty years,
Over 70 varieties of apples and pears are grown all of which are turned in to
cider or perry. Ross makes great use rum or whiskey casks to produce a
distinctive flavour. A great believer in the art of blending you will find out
why Ross cider has been a firm favorite at festivals around the country.
Butford Organics- Yorkshireman Martin Butford set up an organic farm including an orchard and has gravitated gradually to cider and perry making on a larger scale. Martin produces delicately flavored well balanced ciders. www.butfordorganics.co.uk
Olivers- Tom Oliver, also the tour manager for the band the Proclaimers, produces excellent easy drinking ciders which are well balanced. www.theolivers.org.uk
Broadoak Cider Brian Blunt has been making cider and perry of all sorts for 25 years and is now one of the country's biggest independents.
Westcroft Founded in 1994 John Harris makes high quality award wining ciders www.somersetcidervinegarco.co.uk/westcroftcider.html
Burrow Hill- Julien Temperly has been producing cider for over 35 years. Something of a pioneer in the cider world, he decided not to go the traditional route when he started, and instead made ciders worthy to be placed on the tables of the affluent and discerning, as they had been two centuries ago. He then progressed to cider brandy, it too has won numerous awards. Today a third of his 150,000 gallon output goes into distilling the brandy but this still leaves a healthy 100,000 gallons to ferment into delicious cider. www.ciderbrandy.co.uk
Hecks Farmhouse Cider � Hecks, a family firm in existence for over 70 years making over 20 differing ciders www.hecksfarmhousecider.co.uk
Ben Crossman � Small producer with farm shop selling chutneys, free range eggs and of course delicious farmhouse cider http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~gunning/scrumpy/scrpro01.html#crossman
Rich's Third generation family business, the cider farm now has a gift shop, restaurant and a museum, all cider related. www.richscider.co.uk
COUNTRY WINES (2008 selection - this is substantially the same each year)