The Cider Diaries-1/2/09
Ever since we started our cider challenge, there is one question that people have been asking me. 'Are you going to make your own cider?' My stock answer to this question has been 'We're looking in to it.' So far, 'looking into it,' has involved little more than Fog suggesting we visit a friend of his who makes his own ciders as a 'research trip'. We had the best of intentions but those intentions weren't getting much done. However, this week we have made some exciting steps towards our own cider brewing.
A few days ago my friend and colleague Nick Shepley kindly volunteered some of his own apples from his own apple trees for us to use to make our own cider. I gratefully accepted this offer, not realising that Fog would have some similar good fortune over the weekend. I don't know what variety of apples Nick grows but if their good enough for Nick to make apple crumble with, and apparently they are, I'm sure they'll be more than good enough for us to make our own cider. Apparently this year's crop should be ready in july/August which should give us plenty of time to prepare.
It was short sighted of me but I considered Fog's trip home to Leicester something of a hindrance to our cider challenge. How could we possibly make any progress with Fog in a different country to me?
Of course, if I stopped to think about it for a moment I might have realised that at the very least Fog's trip might be a chance for him to find some new ciders and bring them back with him. As it turned out, Fog achieved much more than I could have hoped for.
Much of the credit must go to Fog's mum. Apparently, while Fog and his dad enjoyed a rugby match on TV Fogs mum took the time to read all of the cider diaries so far and after the match she offered to take Fog to a local off-licence with a fine selection of ciders where she proudly introduced him to the shopkeeper and explained the cider challenge.
According to Fog this shopkeeper was a lovely chap called John who told Fog all about the cider making process and also gave him prices for the equipment we would need to make our own cider. One of the key things you need is a press for juicing the apples. I know of one guy who brews his own cider with a press made from the drum of a washing machine. I figured that if people were cannibalising household appliances to make these things buying an actual press of our own might prove to be prohibitively expensive. Not according to John, who reckons he can sell Fog everything we need, including a press, for under £100.
So, from having nothing a week ago, we now have a supply of apples, a source for cider making equipement and that's not all. Ceri has also pitched in with an exciting contribution. He has a giant, novelty money box in the shape of a beer bottle(I'd prefer a bottle of cider but what can you do?) He's been saving up all his coppers in it for months and reckons there's already about £80 in there, roughly speaking. He said to us this evening that if me and Fog wanted to start contributing to it we can put these savings towards our cider making. Despite little real effort it seems everything is coming together for us. It goes to show, sometimes good things happen to lazy people.
As well as introducing Fog to John, Fog's mum also helped us by buying six bottles of cider for Fog to bring back and enjoy with me and Ceri. So thanks Fog's mum, if you're reading this, your help is much appreciated. We tried the first of these this evening and I was genuinely excited when a handed me a bottle of...
46. Thatchers Wurzel Me Cider
According to the bottle this is the official cider of somerset band The Wurzels. The Wurzels of course are famously cider drinkers. There are clues to be found in their music, in the lyrics of such cryptic songs as I Am A Cider Drinker, Drink Up Thy Zider, Drink Drink Yer Zider Up and I'll Never Get a Scrumpy Here. Not only that but Thatchers have been behind some of the finest ciders we've tried all year so I was expecting good things from this cider and I wasn't dissapointed.
The label claims "Thatchers ciders have real character and are full of Somerset flavour and tradition-just like The Wurzels." Personally I'm in no rush to taste a Wurzel so I'll take their word for it about the Somerset flavour but Wurzel Me Cider is certainly a tasty drop. It's not quite as lovely as Thatchers Katy but it's still very enjoyable and refreshing. Fog and Ceri enjoyed it too.
These days it seems like almost anyone will put their name to almost anything if the price is right. It's good to know that The Wurzels are only endorsing good quality cider products and not simply taking big money to sell poor quality rubbish. Another bonus is that for every bottle of Wurzel Me Cider sold 5p is donated to the BUI Prostate Cancer Care Appeal. Another good reason to try it if you get the chance.
I looked up "I Am A Cider Drinker" on youtube where I found a clip of The Wurzels playing their anthem to our favourite refreshing beverage on what appears to be a kids TV show. There are even children in the background singing along to the chorus. I'm pretty sure that these days they have guidelines that prevent that sort of thing.
With such a good start me and Fog were settling in for a good evening's cider drinking but Ceri had promised his girlfriend Claire that he would go round to her house in Barry. It was with a heavy heart that he headed into the cold night toward the train station leaving me and Fog to enjoy our next cider.
47. +46 Apple cider
Maybe this should have been our 46th cider, given the name. I've tried visiting their website(www.plus46.co.uk) but I can't find anything that tells me +46 what?!? "This is very appley isn't it?" was Fog's first reaction. It was indeed appley, and sweet and fizzy. It was, on first taste, delicious but it was too sweet. It was like an apple flavoured cousin of the Broadoak Pear Cider. Fog really liked it but thought it was probably a bit sweet to have more than one pint at a time.
Having enjoyed both of the ciders Mrs Fog had bought us it was time for my contrubution to the evening. A while ago I was walking past Marks and Spencers when I had a thought. M&S famously sell all own brand foods, no Heinz beans or Kellogs cereals etc. So it seemed to stand to reason that they'd have their own ciders. I was right, they had two. The first of which I brought round to Fog's this evening.
48. Marks and Spencer Organic Cider
A pretty good cider too I thought, so I was suprised by Fog's reaction. "It's alright, not great but what do you expect from organic stuff?"
"What!??!" I asked, ever so slightly scandalised.
"You know when you have organic stuff like apples or whatever and it's not as good as the regular stuff?"
"No," I was suprised, my experience of organic food was pretty much all positive. When I was at uni my friend Sarah used to have organic vegetables delivered and she cooked for me on occasion. Those parsnips and carrots I had in her stews and stir frys were the finest I have ever tasted. Full of flavour. Fog remained impassive and unconvinced by my telling him this.
"For me organic just means a less good version. This is ok but it's lacking something, I don't know what." Oh well, I liked it.
49. Special Vat medium dry Cider
This was another cider from a two litre plastic bottle, most of which are pretty average. I had slightly higher hopes for this one because unlike most of the ciders we have found in bottles like this Fog had actually seen this one on tap somewhere. Apparently they used to serve it in The Central bar in town a few years ago. Fog used to drink it because it was both cheaper and stronger than Strongbow. So, we poured it out and tasted it and it was...pretty average.
A few days ago my friend and colleague Nick Shepley kindly volunteered some of his own apples from his own apple trees for us to use to make our own cider. I gratefully accepted this offer, not realising that Fog would have some similar good fortune over the weekend. I don't know what variety of apples Nick grows but if their good enough for Nick to make apple crumble with, and apparently they are, I'm sure they'll be more than good enough for us to make our own cider. Apparently this year's crop should be ready in july/August which should give us plenty of time to prepare.
It was short sighted of me but I considered Fog's trip home to Leicester something of a hindrance to our cider challenge. How could we possibly make any progress with Fog in a different country to me?
Of course, if I stopped to think about it for a moment I might have realised that at the very least Fog's trip might be a chance for him to find some new ciders and bring them back with him. As it turned out, Fog achieved much more than I could have hoped for.
Much of the credit must go to Fog's mum. Apparently, while Fog and his dad enjoyed a rugby match on TV Fogs mum took the time to read all of the cider diaries so far and after the match she offered to take Fog to a local off-licence with a fine selection of ciders where she proudly introduced him to the shopkeeper and explained the cider challenge.
According to Fog this shopkeeper was a lovely chap called John who told Fog all about the cider making process and also gave him prices for the equipment we would need to make our own cider. One of the key things you need is a press for juicing the apples. I know of one guy who brews his own cider with a press made from the drum of a washing machine. I figured that if people were cannibalising household appliances to make these things buying an actual press of our own might prove to be prohibitively expensive. Not according to John, who reckons he can sell Fog everything we need, including a press, for under £100.
So, from having nothing a week ago, we now have a supply of apples, a source for cider making equipement and that's not all. Ceri has also pitched in with an exciting contribution. He has a giant, novelty money box in the shape of a beer bottle(I'd prefer a bottle of cider but what can you do?) He's been saving up all his coppers in it for months and reckons there's already about £80 in there, roughly speaking. He said to us this evening that if me and Fog wanted to start contributing to it we can put these savings towards our cider making. Despite little real effort it seems everything is coming together for us. It goes to show, sometimes good things happen to lazy people.
As well as introducing Fog to John, Fog's mum also helped us by buying six bottles of cider for Fog to bring back and enjoy with me and Ceri. So thanks Fog's mum, if you're reading this, your help is much appreciated. We tried the first of these this evening and I was genuinely excited when a handed me a bottle of...
46. Thatchers Wurzel Me Cider
According to the bottle this is the official cider of somerset band The Wurzels. The Wurzels of course are famously cider drinkers. There are clues to be found in their music, in the lyrics of such cryptic songs as I Am A Cider Drinker, Drink Up Thy Zider, Drink Drink Yer Zider Up and I'll Never Get a Scrumpy Here. Not only that but Thatchers have been behind some of the finest ciders we've tried all year so I was expecting good things from this cider and I wasn't dissapointed.
The label claims "Thatchers ciders have real character and are full of Somerset flavour and tradition-just like The Wurzels." Personally I'm in no rush to taste a Wurzel so I'll take their word for it about the Somerset flavour but Wurzel Me Cider is certainly a tasty drop. It's not quite as lovely as Thatchers Katy but it's still very enjoyable and refreshing. Fog and Ceri enjoyed it too.
These days it seems like almost anyone will put their name to almost anything if the price is right. It's good to know that The Wurzels are only endorsing good quality cider products and not simply taking big money to sell poor quality rubbish. Another bonus is that for every bottle of Wurzel Me Cider sold 5p is donated to the BUI Prostate Cancer Care Appeal. Another good reason to try it if you get the chance.
I looked up "I Am A Cider Drinker" on youtube where I found a clip of The Wurzels playing their anthem to our favourite refreshing beverage on what appears to be a kids TV show. There are even children in the background singing along to the chorus. I'm pretty sure that these days they have guidelines that prevent that sort of thing.
With such a good start me and Fog were settling in for a good evening's cider drinking but Ceri had promised his girlfriend Claire that he would go round to her house in Barry. It was with a heavy heart that he headed into the cold night toward the train station leaving me and Fog to enjoy our next cider.
47. +46 Apple cider
Maybe this should have been our 46th cider, given the name. I've tried visiting their website(www.plus46.co.uk) but I can't find anything that tells me +46 what?!? "This is very appley isn't it?" was Fog's first reaction. It was indeed appley, and sweet and fizzy. It was, on first taste, delicious but it was too sweet. It was like an apple flavoured cousin of the Broadoak Pear Cider. Fog really liked it but thought it was probably a bit sweet to have more than one pint at a time.
Having enjoyed both of the ciders Mrs Fog had bought us it was time for my contrubution to the evening. A while ago I was walking past Marks and Spencers when I had a thought. M&S famously sell all own brand foods, no Heinz beans or Kellogs cereals etc. So it seemed to stand to reason that they'd have their own ciders. I was right, they had two. The first of which I brought round to Fog's this evening.
48. Marks and Spencer Organic Cider
A pretty good cider too I thought, so I was suprised by Fog's reaction. "It's alright, not great but what do you expect from organic stuff?"
"What!??!" I asked, ever so slightly scandalised.
"You know when you have organic stuff like apples or whatever and it's not as good as the regular stuff?"
"No," I was suprised, my experience of organic food was pretty much all positive. When I was at uni my friend Sarah used to have organic vegetables delivered and she cooked for me on occasion. Those parsnips and carrots I had in her stews and stir frys were the finest I have ever tasted. Full of flavour. Fog remained impassive and unconvinced by my telling him this.
"For me organic just means a less good version. This is ok but it's lacking something, I don't know what." Oh well, I liked it.
49. Special Vat medium dry Cider
This was another cider from a two litre plastic bottle, most of which are pretty average. I had slightly higher hopes for this one because unlike most of the ciders we have found in bottles like this Fog had actually seen this one on tap somewhere. Apparently they used to serve it in The Central bar in town a few years ago. Fog used to drink it because it was both cheaper and stronger than Strongbow. So, we poured it out and tasted it and it was...pretty average.
posted by Chris Chopping @ 3:19 PM
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