Tom Oliver chats on hopped cider and the best of what the US and UK have to look forward to in the cider market.
What he saw in US hopped ciders back in 2013 ignited his desire to try his hand at adding hops to cider to his bittersweet cider. He worked with 3-different cider blends and Cascade hops, and in turn “ramped up” the bittersweet element to give a bit more of the drying finish. The hop from the Czech Republic Kazbet was also used and provided a very different profile and balance to the Cascade.
I had a chance to taste his At The Hop pictured below and it was delicious.
What makes cider unique?
- “Sharing our techniques or what some might consider trade secrets.”
Tom’s “Free suggestion” for a cider that will conquer the world???- “If you make a bottle fermented cider with Wickson Crab Apple and put it in small bottles with just enough sweetness to balance it out – it will be the perfect celebratory wedding drink!
What does a US cider offer that is different than the UK cider?
- The “massive fruit aroma” which helps compensate for the absence of the bittersweet in the US.
Other topics discussed in this chat:
- The implications of the CiderAct.
- Concentrated juice’s use in cidermaking
- Real cider and a probable definition of craft cider
- Who can call them self a craft cidermaker?
For Tom only one things matters: is it a good cider, which he says is the starting point.
What is good cider?
When you smell it, it does this…
When you taste it, it does that…
and overall this is what you get with it…
What Tom says about getting into the business of making cider.
- Need to look carefully and set your goals. Is it to make cider and perry or to make money?
- AND -Thank goodness for the course he took with Peter Mitchell in 1999 on principles and practices, so that he knew fully what he was getting into.
“I get no satisfaction from huge amounts of money. What I do get satisfaction from is knowing that you have enough, to make the best cider you can. If you are making the best cider, you see the reaction of people tasting the cider.”
Contact info for Oliver’s Cider and Perry
Website: https://oliversciderandperry.co.uk/
Address: Moor House Farm, Ocle Pychard, Hereford HR1 3QZ, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 7768 732026
Twitter: @oliverscider
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oliversciderandperry/
Thank you to our Founding Sponsor Cider Cellars Importers of real cider from the UK.
