Published by Rose at May 15, 2009
in diary. Closed
In my Powerstock report I noted, what I have come to see, as an
increasing trend for dedicated cider festivals. Powerstock is of
course a prime example. I have always thought that cider as a beverage
has more than enough variations of flavour and form to excite the
interest of the general public in ‘cider only festivals’. Since
Powerstock I’ve been excited to note two further examples of the
trend. The Drax Arms at Spetisbury near here, is holding a cider
festival on the week end 23/24 th May and has put posters out that
amusingly say ‘ Bring your own mug!’ A few days ago I was visited by
the landlord of The Cricketers in Southampton. He was out and about
with a cider drinking friend collecting cider from local craft makers
for his own cider festival. As he put my B-in-Bs into the back of his
Landrover, I was interested to see a good collection of boxes already
stowed, notably from Mr Whitehead and our good friend Barry in the New
Forest! ( everybody seems to be using B-in-Bs for cider now. I
remember when people thought that I was mad to use them with a live
cider.)
It may be that landlords in this difficult time for pubs, are perhaps
looking for innovative ways to stimulate business, other than the
standard beer festival, but from my perspective I see the trend
developing as a result of the increasing interest and demand for real
cider. I see it in the increasing demand for boxes of cider for
private functions, especially weddings. Here no doubt the economic
aspect of units of alcohol versus cost holds sway, but it is not that
alone. It is the quality and the flavour that they want for their
special occasion. Increasingly I find that people are aware of the
difference when they sample the real thing. In conversations with
several landlords, I’ve been pleased to hear that they are becoming
more aware it too. Yesterday, on my delivery round, I’d dropped my
usual full juice mantra into conversation with one of the landlords. ”
Oh, I can tell the difference, Rose”, he said. ” When I turn the tap
on for a pint of yours, I can really smell the apples”. He is not a
cider drinker, but I’m working on it. The pleasure of that little
aside stayed with me all day.
May I also add as a footnote re cider festivals, there is our usual
little ‘cider only’ festival here tomorrow. We will crown the May
Queen in my orchard followed by a BBQ and cider tasting, from 3 pm. If
you are a local cider maker and would like to bring a small quantity
to donate to the cider table you will be especially welcome.
Our annual ‘not to be missed’ event in Dorset was the best yet, in my
opinion.
The sun was shining and I felt on top of the world, driving once again
over glorious Eggardon hill, then down and down the narrow rutted
little road to Powerstock far below. It was important to get there a
little early so as to get the cider set up before the event started.
On entering the school playground I was warmly greeted by Nick Poole,
who organises the event, and then by my dear Ukcider friends Ny and
Sharon, after their long journey from Leominster. Nick introduced me
to Michel, a cider maker from France and I was even more warmly
welcomed, in the traditional French double cheek manner! I marvelled
that the attraction of Powerstock has now even extended across the
Channel. Ny and Sharon’s Cyder Circle friends, Tom, Sandy and Dave had
also come with their ciders. The word must be getting around as this
year there were craft producers from Yorkshire, Oxfordshire and
Herefordshire as well as from our neighbouring counties. There was a
friend of Roy’s from Berkshire and a number of visitors who had somehow
discovered the event and come all the way from London.
The various cider barrels, kegs and boxes were arranged on tables
close to the walls inside the hall to allow the main area between them
to become the drinking and chatting area. This soon gets full of
people, so I like to use the early part of the evening to get around
and meet some of the other makers and have a taster here and there. I
spoke to several who were donating cider for the first time, including
Matt and Alan who had come from my own area. I’m beginning to have
local competition! The interest in real cider is certainly growing in
Dorset and it was good to see so many different ciders on offer. There
were many cider makers that have been going there every year from the
beginning, but that I’ve still yet to meet. There is never quite
enough time before things start to get busy. However this year I was
delighted to be able to meet Winston and Diane and the other nice
couple who run Monkton Wyld Cider at Charmouth. They had 3 very
interesting little oak barrels of cider, each very different in
flavour. The most noteworthy of these had been made in a Rioja barrel.
Winston joked that it was called ‘Wider’ and I was surprised to find
that I enjoyed the unusual taste, but then I do like Rioja. I met
James Crowden, Liz Copas, Rupert Best and Penny Whatmore (from the
Cider museum),
also enjoying a walk around and tasting.
People had started pouring into the hall so I went back to join Ny and
Sharon, to help with dispensing the ciders. My cider shared the same
table as theirs and that of their friends from Oxfordshire. As usual
it was so nice to see their little dog ‘Rosie’, tucked up, as good as
gold, in her bed under the table. Very few people even realised that
she was there. She is a real sweetie, not bothered in the slightest by
the ever increasing forest of people’s legs and the rising noise
level. Soon the hall was packed, the cider pouring out rate increased
tremendously and the little group of folk musicians started their
playing with obvious pleasure. One of them, a small lady in a green
dress, played the fiddle with a furious delight. She was amazing, the
wailing notes from her fiddle
seemed to cut into your very soul. A great feeling of sheer happiness
seemed to envelop everyone there. It was not long before we were all
singing along to the tunes. ‘Drink thee zider’ was of course the best
sung of all!
I caught a worried look on Nick’s face as he looked out of the hall
into the playground. I went over to him and remarked what a great
success his evening had become. “Look out there”, he said. “I’ve
created a monster!” In the playground a four or five person wide,
snake like queue of people could be seen, snaking all the way to the
hall from the village road. Nick decided that he would have to go and
lock the gates before the hall became completely overwhelmed. I’m not
sure if he actually managed to do this, but things never became a real
problem. In the hall a mass of people seemed to flow in continuously
from the main door, with an never ending sea of arms reaching out for
their plastic tumblers to be filled. They were mostly young adults but
were all well behaved, many of them taking their cider out through the
other door to enjoy in the playground. They looked so pleased to be
there and were obviously enjoying themselves. I never saw any trouble
at all and was pleased that Nick’s success had not become a binge
drinking problem. Perhaps it was his wise choice of small glasses and
the fact that the sheer number of people soon exhausted all the
available cider, but I’d prefer to think that cider drinkers are just
nice people. Whatever the reason, the visitors numbered 800, compared
with 700 last year. A lot to squeeze in a small hall in a tiny
village, itself squeezed within a narrow valley. I can’t begin to
imagine where they all parked!
The interesting thing, as Ny remarked to me, was the age range of
those who attended. Most were 20 to 30. Real cider has become very
popular with the younger generation. There weren’t very many grey
heads like me to be seen! Another interesting thing that I have
noticed this year, is the rising popularity of Cider Festivals
(meaning cider only!). Three sports clubs have asked if I can supply
theirs and our Sports club in the next village have asked me if I
could help to start one as a regular summer event. I also supply
several events where cider is the only drink provided.
I have an increasing conviction that there is a new awareness of
Real cider. It is gaining the presence that we have all hoped for and
people do know the difference between it and the supermarket stuff.
What is more I’m sure that the existence of the UKcider website for
the last ten years has had much to do with it. We must overcome our
difficulties and keep up the good work!
Rose.
BTW. For those who are wondering what has become of Ny. He IS still
with us, but has an intractable spam filter problem. His ISP does not
seem to want him to see any UKcider postings at the moment. (A good
thing, maybe! )
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