IT’S great to see the city taking cider so seriously. The proper artisanal stuff. At the forefront has been Manchester Cider Club launched from a sold out cider tasting in the spring and now a regular fixture every second Tuesday in the month at the Crown and Kettle, Ancoats.
Out of this has sprung has sprung Manchester Cider Week, a whole seven days (September 9-15) of events to clear away any cloudy preconceptions of Strongbow, Magner’s and dog rough scrumpy.
For aficionados and novices alike there’s plenty on offer… from world famous Tom Oliver to US cider innovator Rev Nat, from tastings to a cider Party at the Green Space at Stretford Mall. Highlights below:
Tue 10 ‘Planning meeting for a Winter Wassail 2020’ – Marble Bar, 57 Thomas Street,7pm.
Wed 11 ‘Introducing Local Ciders’ – Beatnikz Republic, Dale Street, 7pm, with Chris Hewitt from Dunham Press Cider.
Thu 12 Mcr Cider Club with Tom Oliver - The Crown and Kettle (Sold out). Long term sound engineer with The Proclaimers, Herefordshire-based Oliver brings his harmonising skills to blending cider. he has also collaborated with prominent cider makers and brewers around the world. The club meets on the second Thursday of each month and in the following months will feature: Dunham Press, Ascension, Little Pomona, Ross Cider, Hogans, Find and Foster, Hawkes Cider and Nightingales Cider.
Fri 13 ‘Cider in Stalybridge’ – Cider bar at Tameside Beer Festival, Stalybridge Civic Hall from 12pm. Continues on Sat 14.
Sat 14 Rev Nat US Cider on tour – The Font, Chorlton,3pm.Talk and tasting with Rev Nat one of the great innovators and experimenters with flavour. Followed by a tap takeover with Rev Nat at The Crown and Kettle from 6pm
Sat 14 Portland Cider and Craft Beer, Q&A with Jeff Allworth and Rev Nat – Intimate one hour discussion from 7.30pm in the C&K isnug tickets only (from Crown & Kettle or Beer Buzz Mcr). Jeff Allworth @beervana is a renowned beer writer, based in Portland, Oregon
Sun 15 Stretford Cider Party – 2pm to 8pm – Green Space, Stretford Mall. 2pm-8pm.
Cider bar with an exciting range of keg ciders, craft ciders and natural ciders. Wood-fired pizza, cheese stand and sausage van with a specially designed sausage for the Cider Party. Live music, Morris dancers and even a clog dancing workshop; there will also be family fun, children’s events and apple pressing – bring your own apples! Oh, and there will be guided cider tasting sessions as well, including and introduction to cider for beginners.
Other events:
Sat 14 Cider Tasting 12pm – The Silly Country, Droylsden. Local ciders with Chris Hewitt, Dunham Press Cider and Cider Pub of the Year presentation.
Sat 14 Summit in the Orchard – Platt Fields Park. 9.30am to 6pm. Join the Orchard Project for a day of networking, talks, workshops and loads more; all about community orchards and orchard culture. Includes a guided cider tasting with Dick Withecombe from Cider Week organisers Cider Buzz Mcr.
Dick (he tweets a @ashton1848) told us: “Craft quality cider is beginning to create a buzz with a wide range of drinkers, but particularly among women and younger 'Generation Z' drinkers. It has a different gender profile than beer, around a half of cider drinkers are women.
“Locality, provenance and authenticity are critical aspects for drinkers, according to research by GS1 for Waitrose. And it is the younger drinkers who in particular want to know where there drinks came from and look for transparent branding. Cider also scores high with this group of drinkers who are looking for lower alcohol drinks, coming in with a lower ABV than wine. And yes, it’s great with food.
“This interest has been accompanied with increased innovation and the launch of a number of co-fermentations such as Once Upon A Tree 'Dabinett and Pinot' Cider and the Tom Oliver/Mills Brewing Lambic ciders: Foxbic (Foxwhelp apple) and Lambinett (Dabinett apple). The craft beer world is eagerly awaiting the launch of the Tom Oliver collaboration with Cloudwater.”