A selection of the leading books about cider and cider making including the new The Naked Guide to Cider (Naked Guides)
by James Russell.

New Cider Book – The Somerset Cider Handbook by Alan Stone

Richard Stone thought we would all like to know about this new book on cider which is being launched at the Bath and West Show on Wednesday. It is the first ever comprehensive survey of all commercial and semi-commercial cider makers in Somerset, and contains details of almost 40 cider makers as well as a number of articles on cider heritage.

The first batch came back from the printers yesterday and it looks really good.

The Somerset Cider Handbook will be available in the cider tent at the Bath and West Show, as well as online at www.somersethistory.co.uk and at numerous bookshops, pubs and cider producers throughout the region, and from the ukcider bookshop at amazon

This is Bristol Reports:

He is the oldest cider-maker in Britain, producing the golden nectar for nearly 80 years, so it is no wonder that Oz Clarke and James May wanted to sample Frank Naish’s legendary liquid for their televised salute to the best of British drink.

Fellow enthusiasts will be delighted to know that Mr Naish succeeded in converting Mr May, a notorious cider sceptic, and the evidence can be seen in episode seven of the series, Oz and James Drink to Britain, which will air at 8pm on BBC2 on February 17.

Indeed, it seems Mr May could not get enough of the stuff.

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.

The new book is out on the shelves at discerning bookshops, and available now via amazon.co.uk below

A book on Craft Cider Making by Andrew Lea ? “That one’s got to be a must!”

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.”

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.

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?