Welsh Perry & Cider Society festival 2012

Its that time of year again. In a few weeks, the annual Welsh Perry & Cider Festival will be held at Blaengawney Cider Farm (Hafodyrynys, NP11 5AY) over the Jubilee Weekend (1st - 4th June.) What a great way to celebrate anything - trying as many ciders and perries as possible at the top of a Welsh mountain! They have over 70 to try so sensible drinkers can easily to spread their liver damage out over the three days, rather than try for all of them in one day. Its a great chance to meet the producers, most of whom will be there at some stage so you can cheer their ear off one way or another should you feel the need!

I went last year where it was held at the lovely Clytha Arms but could only stay for a few hours. I REALLY wanted to stay for longer and vowed to come back. 

Having visited Blaengawney before, I can vouch for the spectacular views and generous hospitality of the owners, its a proper taste of Wales and is well worth a visit. Bring your tent and banjo too. The atmosphere was very family and very friendly last year - there was camping and sunshine and music and cheese and pies and smiles...

Amazingly - its only 4 quid to get in and that includes a free half pint glass full to the brim with a cider or perry of your choice too. I think camping for the weekend costs a little more but that includes entry into the festival too.

Here are some photos from last year (apologies if you've seen them before.) See you at the bar for some proper 'iechyd da.'

Stage 2: Michigan & the Great Lakes

'Be careful and good luck..' was our euphemistic farewell at the airport by the smiley lady who we showed our boarding cards too as we'd just told her we were heading to Detroit that night. As if that wasn't enough to shit us up a bit, two blokes in the lift at Detroit airport were swearing about how much they 'hate this goddamn city, got mugged for five bucks last time I was here.' So Pete and I were well chuffed... where's Axel Foley when you need him?

Actually Michigan is a lovely place and somewhere I'm keen to return to, its my kind place and it's people are my kind of people. They kept telling me that it was recently voted the most beautiful place in America and by the end of our journey I could see why. It was sunny, very welcoming and the whole place felt geared up for making sure visitors want to come back. Tourism seems to account for alot of what their businesses are good at. Detroit has had a hard time of it in recent years so a certain air of gloom is to be expected. But its funny how, the combination of a good nights sleep and daylight make a place seem a whole lot friendlier.

Anyway, the morning after our flight Dave Grohl lookalike Rob 'Rockin Cock' Nelson walked into our hotel reception. He looked up, smiled and said "Pete...? Bill...?" He'd kindly aranged to pick us up and drive us to his family business.  Parmenters Northville Cider Mill have the biggest squeezebox press I've ever seen. No idea of production figures in terms of output etc, but it made me chuckle.

The cider donut is a phenomenon these guys do really well, I reckon they must sell a few thousand a day here as do a few places, they had a decent production area out the back. Cider'n donuts would appear to be as much of a partnership in America as Cowboys & Indians or Bonnie & Clyde. I had no idea how strong that link was in US apple growing regions until I encountered my third cidery that made donuts and I started to think about it a bit more. And here's another, but something I know nothing about: Johnny Appleseed, not Johnny Knoxvilles cousin from Traverse City but an original American hero (more on him another day - when I have more of a clue.)

Rob kindly drove us further north to meet Jim Koan at Almar Orchards  who is a fascinating guy. I could listen to him all day and all night, and probably for the rest of the week. I've never met anyone like him and think he's quite inspirational. He claims his 'main thing isn't making cider' although he does do a good job of making a respectable amount of it. He prefers growing apples and orcharding so I thought it was best to take a portrait of him in his specialist heritage apple nursery plantation, amongst his children. He makes a popular and tasty cider called JK's Scrumpy, and although not for everyone and far from what would we might call Scrumpy here in UK, I enjoyed it. It was certainly the appliest 'scrumpy' I've ever had.

And then it happened. Without us realising it, the main man arrived in the shape of Mike Beck, a giant of a man and the friendliest chap you could ever hope to meet. Mike has been instrumental in our trip to the States; he invited us over officially, he organised alot of our schedule, he sorted beds, food, visits, lifts - he even provided us with pre-paid credit cards to help us with travel expenses on the way! We have a massive amount to thank him for, he's the kind of guy you meet and wish you were a little bit more like. He's an effective host and the GLCPA are lucky to have him running the show I think. Mike's own business is Uncle Johns Cider Mill, a successful family fun farm that makes its own wine, spirits and cider - something for everyone there. These guys make even more donuts and cider than the last place. Mike reckons they get about 7000 cars in their car park on a busy day... thats alot of cider n'donuts.

Another chap we got to know was Dick Dunn, an interesting person. He runs the Cider digest an online cider resource that helps people who want to know more about fruit and cidermaking in USA. He's based in Colorado and is well known in US.

The Great Lakes Cider & Perry Festival was a fun day and we met loads of people, I spent all day talking to people and didn't shoot as much as I could. One of the benefits of the festival is that I got to try a cider or two that isn't available yet. Their craft cider movement takes influence from their ragingly fearless craft beer movement and new cidermakers seem to be popping up all over the place. They're really passionate about it and they can take it both seriously and with a pinch of salt at the same time, something I admire in anyone.

Our last evening in US was spent at Tandem Ciders. This is somewhere I could happily drink myself to death. If that day ever comes, I'll see you at the bar. Its lovely. Nikki & Dan are so friendly and they are an interesting story as to how and why they started making cider that I'm not going to spoil. About 15 of us had a lovely dinner there sat outside by candlelight and feasted on Nikkis home cooked food and drank as much cider as we could hold. Eating outside on a warm mid west evening by candlelight made me feel a bit like an extra in The Waltons or Little house on The Prairie until we all realised how wasted we were (I was.) John-Boy would never get this high...

Anyway there are so many other people we met and I want to mention but I will shamefully just have to list them for now: Left Foot Charley made some excellent ciders and wines and Brian is alot of fun too - please visit him and say hi from me. The boys at Vander Mill (the only people in the history of the world to add candied pecans to a cider and get away with it!) Chuck from Albermarle Ciderworks in Virginia who I barely got to talk to. Aeppeltreow in Wisconsin makes some excellent ciders and meads too. They've got lovely orchards, worth a visit, I''m sure Charles will make you welcome.

Because I'm childish, I find it difficult to write objectively like a 'writer' might, I tend to get excited about alot of things (everything) especially when it involves cider so I want to say that I'll sum up then shut up and get to the photos. I wish I could express more clearly my heartfelt thanks to the people that made this trip possible and the sheer effort they all put into making me as informed and comfortable as possible. The kind cider folk of New England, Michigan and Wisconsin gave up their time, money, cars, beds, fridge, pantry and cellar contents for us... thankyou everyone we truly appreciate every bit of it.

It rocked.

Jim from Almar Orchards

Mike Beck and daughter

The kind of guy you want organising your stag weekend

Great idea, nice price.

Jeff Carlson (or Oliver Reed?)

Dick Dunn du Cider Digest

Nacho, Orchard manager

Bar at Tandem

 

Nikki at Tandem

The Waltons

Dan at Tandem

Ain't it purty

'Pow, right in the kisser'

The United Hard-Cider States of America

Yes, its true, America makes cider and I have one of the best jobs in the world. I'm heading State-cide (ho ho!) on a trip to have a good look a whats happening up in the north east region of the US.
 
Back in June, the morning after my wedding, the very trustworthy and American sounding treasurer of the formidable Great Lakes Cider & Perry Association USA, mister Mike Beck, got in touch to invite my sore-headed self and iPhone-drowning author Pete Brown on a whirlwind 8 day trip to document the cider scene in the area at the top of the States between New England and the Great Lakes. It felt like the most unexpected of wedding gifts, something I wouldn't have dared hope for and was about the only thing that could actually make that day better. That and some pain killers.

We'll be kicking off our trip the day after my 36th birthday in September and whilst the final details are being sorted, its shaping up something like this so far.. 

Stage 1: A roadtrip around the beautiful New England area to get the low down on cidermaking there. We start by visiting Steve Wood of Farnham Hill Cider (NH) and then head out to meet a few more likely types including Eden Ice Cider (VT), Slyboro Ciderhouse (NY), West County Cider (MA), and Green Mountain/Woodchuck Cider (VT.)

Stage 2: We're then flying over to Detroit to meet up with Mike Beck and attend the Great Lakes Cider Festival at Uncle Johns Cider Mill in Michigan. (I know nothing about Michigan other than it gets very cold up there in winter, there is wildlife that can eat you and its full of interesting settler type history.) The following day we head right up to the very northern part of Michigan for a very special cider dinner hosted by Tandem Ciders. Then south to Muskegon on the western part of the Lower Peninsula to tour Vandermill Cider with the whole trip culminating in a ferry trip over a massive lake to visit  AEppelTreow cider in Wisconsin (another state I also know less than nothing about) to finally arrive back to earth with a slump as we crawl vaguely towards Chicago to find an airport home.

The more of this cider travel we do, the more often we meet people that assume their own culture is the only that makes cider, or the original one anyway (with the notable exception of Americans so far.) I first noticed it a few years ago when I was chatting with a French barman in Brittany and he was genuinely surprised to hear that we make cider here in UK. After some convincing he simply shrugged nonchalantly muttering something about everyone wanting to be French 'zeezse days' which made me laugh out loud in his face. In a Monty Python moment, being typically French, he became the stereotype we British seem to grow up with that all Frenchman have a very French Franco-centric outlook on rest of the world (Is it pride? Being British, its hard to tell -we're crap at it) I then realised I am as guilty at being Anglo-centric about the things I assume to be British, as I'm sure many cultures are. Its good to be reminded that the assumptions we hold onto (even without realizing it) can be wrong and nothing points that out quicker than traveling. Even those amongst us that realise other cultures make decent cider, are convinced that they can't possibly make it as well as us. When I told a friend 'I'm off to the States to have a look at their cider scene' his (standard UK) response was "America? What the **** do they know about cider..?" to which I replied as honestly as I could "I dunno, but there are an awful lot of them doing it and I think they've been making it for ages, so I intend to find out. I'll let you know." 

If there is one thing I've come to realise before I've even checked in online, it's this: I dare anyone, here in UK or anywhere else, to say that they don't take cider seriously in the States, they really do. They may not have the ancient heritage of other cultures or billions of the familiar cider apples or a large cider drinking market (yet), but they have passion and that counts for more than the rest put together. Indeed, those (our) traditions can can be limiting and not having them can make progress more forthcoming. Have you seen their cider map, its somewhat convincing... that's alot of cidermakers and the fact they have kindly offered to fly us over, put us up, feed us and show us around indicates a high level of commitment and seriousness to me! Much of the original cidermaking traditions and skills the US had, which came over with settlers, may have been lost during the prohibition era, not something we've ever had to experience thankfully. I envisage similar things to what happened in US craft beer movement and look what the Americans did for that... these are exciting times my friends.

The trip will give us both a chance to collect good material which I hope to share here upon my return. Shooting from the hip as you travel is something I'm used to doing to a certain extent, but this is a massive trip with a huge amount of personal interest for me. We have been invited to the 2011 Great Lakes Cider & Perry Festival right in the middle of it and I hope my trigger finger can handle it. My liver might be a little more swollen by the time I arrive home but I should hopefully have enough recuperation time before another visit to Brittany, meeting and photographing some of their cideries, 10 days or so later.

I have also been asked to represent the Bath & West Show Orchards & Cider committee as an ambassador to encourage some entries for the 2012 show from these US producers. The international section of the B&W show raises an interesting predicament. We had something like a whopping 3 entries this year (2 from Spain and one from France) which makes the judging somewhat less stimulating. As a section, it would have a wider benefit everyone involved in cidermaking as more entries would allow artisan producers from overseas to push the boundaries of what we think cider is and can be here in UK. It would be great to see other styles from another countries enter the scene, spread their word and maybe win some an awards. Competition is the life blood of success and has been so at the Royal Bath and West Show since 1777. For the simple act of sending over a 750ml bottle of cider (for a measly $32) the winners receive a certificate boasting of their success at one of the oldest and most respected cider competitions in the world. As well as it looking great hanging in the cider shed, it'll really raise awareness here in UK and Europe that the US cider scene has not only arrived, but is thriving.

The main aim of the trip is for us to gain a greater understanding of what cider means in USA. I anticipate its a culture that'll be familiar and new at the same time. It'll give me the chance to collect lots of photography, the very best of which I hope to share with you all upon my return. It'll give both of us a chance to report back to Europe (Hörst du mir zu? ¿Estás escuchando? Etes-vous écouter? Hmmmmm?) on whats happening there and our common future. I really think we're going to see US Hard Cider here in UK over the coming years (they call it hard - we call it cider.)

I caught up with Steve Wood briefly when he was over here at the end of March visiting Julian Temperley from Burrow Hill cider (some snaps below.)