Craft Cider Making by Andrew Lea
Longstanding cider making guru on UKCider Andrew Lea who once worked at Long Ashton Cider Research station has a new book out, called simply “Craft Cider Making“.
Andrew dispenses valuable cider wisdom to beginners and experts alike on the ukcider mailing list discussion group from how to make cider to dealing with emergencies. He also maintains the essential reference site for scientific cider making The Wittenham Hill Cider Portal
The new book is not quite on the shelves yet, but available to pre-order via amazon.co.uk below
A book on Craft Cider Making by Andrew Lea ? “That one’s got to be a must!”
Share This
Published at September 28, 2008
in books.
James Crowden, has written a new book called Ciderland which documents the history of cider making and claims that the credit for inventing Champagne should really go to Christopher Merret, a West Country scientist who outlined his method of making sparkling wine in a paper to the Royal Society in 1632, six years before Dom Pérignon was born.
The Times reports
The English connection will be spelt out next week by Mr Crowden in a paper to the Royal Society, claiming that the méthode champenoise was only refined by the French. He said: “What is extraordinary is that these cider-makers did not realise the potential of their discovery.”
Share This
Published at September 19, 2008
in books.
The second edition of Ben Watson’s Cider Hard and Sweet, is now just out on sale. Ben is a noted US ’slow food’ guru.
A fully updated and expanded primer for anyone who wants to make cider and for those who just like to drink it. With the rise in consumer demand for local foods and local food products, and the emergence of more small craft food and beverage producers since this book was originally published in 2000, this revised edition of “Cider, Hard and Sweet” comes at the right time. Ben Watson has expanded the section on the history of cider to chronicle lesser-known cider producers such as those in Spain and Asia; broadened the selection of North American cider varieties and European cider apple varieties; provided new cidermaking basics tailored to beginner and intermediate cidermakers with special attention to the new cidermaking equipment available; added new recipes for cooking with cider from notable chefs and bartenders; and added a new chapter about the recent popularity of perry (pear cider) available for purchase today. 50 black & white photographs.
Share This
Author James Russell contacted me about research for a new book about cider. A previous book called “Manmade Eden - Historic Orchards in Somerset and Gloucestershire” is well worth a mention at this point. It features interviews with John Thatcher and Julian Temperley, lots of great pictures and material on the history of cider that I think readers would enjoy.
Manmade Eden is published by Redcliffe Press ( available by mail order) or through the Amazon ukcider bookstore ( out of stock last time I looked )
Manmade Eden: Historic Orchards in Somerset and Gloucestershire
The blurb says:
The West Country is famed for its orchards, but why are they here? As the campaign to save and celebrate English orchards gathers momentum, this book explores their fascinating and - until now - neglected history. Why is Glastonbury known as Avalon, the Isle of Apples? What made Redstreak Cyder the most popular drink of the seventeenth century? Who was Dr Ashmead, cultivator of the connoisseur’s favourite apple, Ashmead’s Kernel? How did a Somerset vicar come to make cider for Queen Victoria? This rich, wide-ranging book takes a long historic look at changing fashions and fortunes - asking why thirteenth-century monks and Edwardian landowners planted orchards, and why post-war governments paid farmers to destroy them. The author argues that Apple Day (October 21) should be made our national autumn holiday. He examines the role of Common Ground, the National Trust and other organisations in preserving and restoring orchards, and asks: what can we do to make our orchards as profitable as they were in centuries past?
Share This
Recent Comments