DrinkBritain

Champion Beer of Britain brewer Adrian Redgrove, receiving the trophy from Roger Protz for his Harvest Mild

Wondering whether to head to CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court this year? My advice – Go. More than once if you can. Because I bet there’ll be more you want to try than you manage on your first trip.

This year’s event is as awesome as ever, and I use that word in its truest sense. Having been there yesterday for the opening trade day, I’m not surprised 47,000 pints were sold. With over 700 real ales, ciders & perries including a strong foreign contingent, it is a drinker’s paradise.

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From grape to glass, from hop to heritage

Within striking distance of the big smoke, Kent has it all on the drinks front. For many beer lovers, it’s the home of hops, with now legendary tales of East Enders holidaying to pick the crop. For others, the cider apples are the fruit to applaud and appreciate, while more recently grapes have made a strong appearance.

Biddenden Vineyards already produces both cider and wine. To make the most of your Kentish day out, it has teamed up with the Hop Farm in Paddock Wood across the county for a combined group visit. continue reading…

Hampshire’s Food Festival is heading towards the half-way mark, but don’t let the word “food” put you off – there’s more than a few liquid events included on its list of activities.

Take Wickham Vineyards in Shedley for example, halfway along the coast from Southampton to Portsmouth. In the news this year for buying some of the former wine shops from the now defunct First Quench chain, it continues with its original business – an 18-acre vineyard complete with celebrity chef, Atul Kochar’s out-of-town restaurant, Vatika.

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More than just music: Glastonbury Abbey revives cider magic

Festivals have played as much a part in sharing the joy of cider with a wider audience as any amount of ice-cube inspired campaigns. So, as tents get pitched and guitars are tuned, the news that a Glastonbury Cider beat off 360 rivals at the Royal Bath & West Show to be named Supreme Cider Champion might not be too surprising.

What is unusual is its origins: the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey. Apples have been grown here since medieval times with records showing the monks enjoying a tipple or two, but 2009 was the year the Abbey teamed up with cider revival pioneer, Julian Temperley of the Somerset Cider Brandy company.

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Brit Beer takes over at Tate Modern

Forget Brit Pop, it’s Brit Beer turning heads at the UK’s leading galleries. The Tate Modern is trialling an all-British beer list with a view to extending the concept to all its other bars and restaurants.

The 20-strong list reads like a Who’s Who of the new British beer movement, with Punk IPA and Paradox from Scots rebels, BrewDog, alongside Lovibonds’ summery wheat beer, Henley Gold, and Sambrook’s Wandle from up the Thames in Battersea. continue reading…

Simon says... winemaking techniques come in handy for producing good perry

What luck! News in mid-May that Simon Day’s Ribston Lawn Sparkling Perry 2008 had been crowned joint Sparkling Cider & Perry champion in the annual Hereford Cider Museum’s International Cider & Perry Competition came the day I had – guess what – nestled in my fridge? Yep, said beverage. The other category winner in this, one of the top three shows in the cider and perry world, was Oliver’s Herefordshire Cider.

To be honest, the Ribston Lawn had been in my possession a while but I had been waiting for a suitable occasion to crack the smart-looking bottle. And a birthday picnic in the delightful environs of Reigate’s Priory Park with our Argentine friend, Juan, his family and international coterie of friends provided just the setting. continue reading…

The welcoming party

So the scene was set – an array of fine British drinks ready to welcome their French fromage shaped cousins.  A little nervous perhaps. As our Vive le Cheese ambassador, food & wine writer, Katrina Alloway, had said, what grows together goes together. So were we attempting too much?

But, I reasoned, we Brits have never been shy about exploring. And there had been many interesting sightings from fellow flavour-nauts – the malt maestro himself, Dave Broom, broke off from finalising his World Atlas of Whisky to say that Lagavulin 16yo [a traditional smoke-fest from Islay] was ‘a killer’ with Roquefort.

A tweet exchange with thewinesleuth suggested that Astley’s late harvest sweetie – a new discovery for both of us at the recent English wine trade tasting – might go well with a light blue or crumbly goats cheese. Artisanal cidre is such a legendary cheese partner, it would be rude not to see if the affinity crosses the channel. And as for beer…

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Out in the cold: Once upon a Tree's little sweetie

The elegant bottle with its apricot-coloured liquid had been peaking seductively at me for a little while now. But then you need to prepare yourself for something rather different like a dessert cider. I’m not talking about limbering up or putting on the glad rags, more having the right grub on offer, and I have to say that’s a challenge I hadn’t faced before.

But then I won’t be alone in this dilemma — this is after all the first dessert cider to be produced in the UK.

The brainchild of Simon Day, founder of the award-winning Once Upon a Tree, his Blenheim Orange (after the apple) dessert cider is made from fruit from his family’s inspiringly named Dragon Orchard in Herefordshire’s apple growing heartland of Putley near Ledbury. continue reading…