Real Cider

Only locals can save the local

Posted on 21. Feb, 2010 by Jim C..

“Only locals can save the local”
That was the observation of social expert, Dr Rick Muir, when he addressed a meeting held as part of the Pig’s Ear festival on 4 December. Dr Muir is author of the recent Institute of Public Policy Research report, Pubs and places: The social value of community pubs.
The report [...]

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Pubs still calling time, but not so quickly

Posted on 18. Feb, 2010 by Jim C..

It would be an exaggeration to say the pub trade has been restored to full health – but recently the numbers of pubs closing has slowed down.
The figures from the British Beer and pub association (BBPA) shows that 39 boozers are shutting each week. That’s down from 52 a week at the height of the [...]

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Links of the Month – February

Posted on 15. Feb, 2010 by Jim C..

Here is our regular monthly collection of cider links, from newspapers, food web sites that we find with interesting content, and  articles that appear in our RSS feed tagged “Cider”
These articles are hand picked issues and topics that are of interest to cider producers, publicans and cider fans.
Here are February’s collection:

Cider is to apples as wine [...]

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Jamie Oliver’s Food Wish – Teach every child about food

Posted on 12. Feb, 2010 by Jim C..

As you know we normally always write about cider, however every now and then there always an exception. This video is Jamie Oliver’s keynote at the TED conference who was the prize winner of the event.
Watch Jamie’s stark warning to American’s about bad health and obestity, and the stark warning to all countries.
Every 18 minutes [...]

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How to prune an apple tree

Posted on 21. Jan, 2010 by Jim C..

As a follow up to the orchard management post, I thought it would be useful to publish a 3 minute video on why, and how to prune apple trees.
There is a whole art and science behind managing and maintaining that your fruit trees stay healthy all year round, however the basics here are [...]

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Weekend of orchard management

Posted on 21. Jan, 2010 by Jim C..

Last weekend it was my pleasure to run a volunteer project for BTCV where along with 8 other passionate volunteers from all walks of life, we cared for a historic orchard in Somerset.
I have been volunteering on nature conservation projects for 15 years now, in all corners of the world. The most special projects are [...]

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Cider types around the UK

Posted on 17. Jan, 2010 by Jim C.

There are two broad main traditions in cider production in the UK – the West tradition and the Kent and East Anglia tradition.
The former are made using a much higher percentage of true cider-apples and so are richer in tannins and sharper in flavour. Kent and East Anglia ciders tend to use a higher [...]

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The future of Scottish orchards

Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by Jim C.

UK apple orchards have been in decline since the 1980s, with Britain losing nearly two thirds of its commercial and private orchards in the last three decades.
With the market dominated by cheap imported fruit, a narrower choice of varieties have been available. Smaller orchards have been replaced by housing and business developments. But in Scotland, [...]

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