In the second part of our series on the drinks that shaped our journey in cider, it’s Albert’s turn to reveal the bottles that have most impacted him. Shockingly, three of them are Ross-on-Wye – though Albert didn't actually press the apples in any of them, though he helped bottle and shape the latter two. Even more shockingly however, two of the ciders aren’t Ross-on-Wye's at all! In this episode we learn the bottle ‘that did it’ for Albert and the two Ross-on-Wyes that shaped his cider making trajectory. Plus the British cidery that’s most impacted him and a recent cider that inspired him to ..read more

In our new episode we finally sit down and get properly technical (ish) thanks to Laurence Cocking, former winemaker now cidermaker extraordinaire at @littlepomona. In other news, we get an earth-shattering four emails from listeners – and it turns out we’ve had one of them since February. Justin and Adam refuse to skip the banal bit. Laurence brings traditional method know how, ably supported by Justin’s advice on ‘blasting the dead yeast cells out’. And Albert wants to know just how damn big champagne bubbles are. In an epic instance of poor co-ordination Justin and Adam both taste ciders fr ..read more

This time, Justin, Adam and Albert go on a walk through the complex world of bittersweet (and bittersharp) cider. Armed with questions, praise and a few fairly satisfactory answers, our earnest trio attempt to define dryness, get technical about tannins, try to figure out polyphenols, and ponder the platonic ideal of corner shop snack pairings... with only a mere couple of digressions about punts and cheese. Ciders from Skyborry Cider & Ross-on-Wye Albert is bitter @rosscider Adam is sharp @adamhwells Justin is sweet @justinwells1346 ..read more

In this mini-episode Adam runs out of both co-hosts and synonyms for superlatives as he sits down to chat with two of the pod's best friends, Helen Anne Smith and Rachel Hendry of Burum Collective. We talk through their newly-launched collaboration ciders with Little Pomona: what they are, why they were made, what the process was and how come one of them just wouldn't sparkle? Along the way we touch on Burum's ongoing work to promote free education and inclusivity in hospitality, the importance of time in cider and the number of days' toil needed to become a proper cidermaker. (We settle on tw ..read more

Adam has written a book! It’s called Perry: A Drinker’s Guide (guess what it’s about), and it’s out at the start of May. So in this episode we’re indulging him by chatting all about it. Why write a book about perry? How did it all come together? What were the challenges and surprises? And who wrote that AMAZING foreword? Meanwhile Justin is on his own mission for perry. Listen out for crunching sounds next time you pass a hedgerow, that’s all we’ll say! You can pre-order a copy of the book here: https://shop1.camra.org.uk/product/perry-a-drinkers-guide/ Book a ticket to the launch event at Ros ..read more

With Albert back in the fold and Justin finally having picked his ciders up from his friend's house we journey back in time into cider's murky past via a fantastic conversation with Elizabeth Pimblett of the Cider Museum – no, Museum of Cider! We learn about cider in the Civil War, Bulmers Pomagne, the hidden history of women in cider, riots and crystal glassware, and along the way dig into archery on football pitches, apples named after people and why Albert thinks the old Pomonas are useless. Contribute to Our Pomona Albert makes cider @rosscider Adam writes about it mostly @cider_review Jus ..read more

What are the ciders that have shaped the way you look at the drink, and possibly changed your life? In this episode, Albert hands the pod keys to Justin and Adam, who sit down to answer this very question. In the process they discuss their seminal ciders and perries, with only a moderate number of seismic conversational segues to discuss mid-20th century Japanese cinema, what you’d top up a Raison d’Être bottle with and how a paucity of sand is actually dooming us all. Get in touch on Twitter, Instagram or email us at albert@cidervoice.com Albert is king of the sandcastle @rosscider Adam plays ..read more

Today we take another massive step on our ‘cider with food’ adventure as we jet off (not literally, guttingly) to the Basque Country for a chat with Haritz Rodriguez, the cider artist best known as @Ciderzale. With a mere several segues for conversations about scurvy, neolithic wheat harvesting and the proper looms for making 16th century sails, we learn about one of the world’s greatest cider cultures as well as the legendary ‘txotx’ celebration that runs from January to April in the Basque Country and where food and cider pairing scales its Olympus. Basically, if you’re hungry, don’t listen ..read more

In our mini episode for this week, Justin gets back at Adam for being muscled out of the last episode, to sit down with Albert as they two talk about group cider tastings. Justin has been planning a tasting to host with his friends, and we talk about why that's a good idea and how you think about formatting your tasting! Find out Albert's one simple trick to always have an amazing time in a cider tasting. Albert makes cider @RossCider Adam writes cider @Cider_Review Justin is gonna get his mates into cider @JustinWells1346 Get in touch via Twitter or instagram Or email us - albert@cidervoice ..read more

Today's pod features Albert and Adam chatting all things nerd with Lydia Crimp and Tom Tibbits of Artistraw Cider! We get an introduction to how their journey into cidermaking began, and from there, how they both came to be involved with the Three Counties Cider & Perry Association. The TCCPA is organising the 4th annual CraftCon event as this podcast goes live, where our very own Adam is giving a keynote speech to open the conference. CraftCon is April 5th & 6th at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, and tickets are available now via the CraftCon website. It's a must-att ..read more