Australian

Custard & Co just keep delivering. The tiny company have 3 ciders in their standard range. Today I’m trying something a little different with my Real Cider Review, I’ve tracked down a pub that sells Custard & Co, so I’m doing a taste test of the Custard & Co Vintage Dry Apple Cider live from the bar.

Read More

Chances are you have eaten a Batlow apple; they are one of Australia’s biggest apple producers. Established in 1922, the cooperative is also one of Australia’s oldest. With this bountiful supply of apples, a cider was sure to follow. In fact ciders have been in Batlow almost since the beginning of the co-op. Just recently they re-entered the market as the demand for cider in Australia reaches an all time high, producing both a cloudy and the Batlow Premium Cider. Lets have a look at the premium.

Read More

Two Metre Tall is probably the most diverse producer that I have reviewed. Not only do they produce top notch cider but beef and beers as well. The 600ha small farm is in a pretty unique position in the Derwent Valley, low rain fall but access to the Derwent River. The apple are grown in the Huon Valley . But one of the most interesting things about this cider is the example that it provides to other Cider makers and the Australian government in regards to what should be on a label.
Read More

Recently I had a meet with Luke Tilse of Tilse Cider. We got chatting about the cider industry and how it is growing rapidly in Australia. The growth, however isn’t without its’ challenges. One of the challenges was bottling enough product. That challenge has made the Tilse’s Pear Cider, in this form, somewhat of a limited release.
Read More

Dickens Cider, such a pun worthy name for a cider company. Today I’m reviewing the Dickens Old English Cider.
Like most of the other guys from the Tassie, the cider is made from real apples. And why wouldn’t you. The state has, what are probably Australia best apple growing conditions.
The Dickens family had a few drinks back in 2008 in their home which just happened to be a converted apple cold store. They decided to make cider. Today they now own a cider house and produce a range of ciders. Today I’m trying their Old English.

Read More

Red Sails Medium Dry Gold Cider is the first bottle conditioned, keeved cider I’ve reviewed. When a medical researcher retired he set about cider making. Pairing together some of England’s best cider making apple varieties, with a cider making technique so intricate it could have only have come from France. So what is keeving and how does it taste?
Read More

The guys down at Willie Smith’s have a new cider. Willie Smith’s Bone Dry Cider, is, as the name suggests, it’s a dry cider. While their first cider I reviewed was based on the French farmhouse style, the Bone dry is based on a traditional Herefordshire style. The big difference between the Herefordshire and this Tassie cloudy is the apples used. Here we have eating apple and not the traditional cider varieties. Sam Reid, the head cider maker at Willie Smith’s told me, the Bone Dry is a favourite among the local farmers when served at The Apple Shed. It’s earned itself the nickname “The Knee Bender” as its easy drink and quite strong. Read More

In this real cider review it’s all about wild yeast, open fermentation and unfiltered cider . This is as raw as cider gets. The guys over on the west coast at Custard & Co have made a Scrumpy. Some say scrumpy cider is the pinnacle of traditional cider making, others get the impression that is gut rot cider and is best avoided, not the case here. The Custard & Co Scrumpy are heavily influenced by the British cider making styles and techniques. The head cider maker trained in the UK where scrumpy is more common than on the Aussie cider market. Read More