029: Tom Oliver | Oliver's Cider and Perry, UK

Tom Oliver chatted on hopped cider and the best of what the US and UK have to look forward to in the cider market.

What he saw in US hopped ciders back in 2013 ignited his desire to try his hand at adding hops to his bittersweet cider. He worked with 3-different cider blends and Cascade hops and in turn "ramped up" the bittersweet element to give a bit more of the drying finish.  The hop from the Czech Republic Kazbet was also used and provide a very different profile and balance to the Cascade.

I had a chance to taste his At The Hop and it was delicious.

What makes cider unique?

• "Sharing our techniques or what some might consider trade secrets."

Tom's "Free suggestion" for cider that will conquer the world - "If you make a bottle fermented cider with Wickson Crab Apple and put it in small bottles with just enough sweetness to balance it out - it will be the perfect celebratory wedding drink!

What does the US cider offer that is different than the UK ciders?

• The "massive fruit aroma" which helps compensate for the absence of the bittersweet in the US.

Other topics discussed in this chat:

• The implications of the CiderAct imp
• Concentrated juice's use in cidermaking
• Real cider and  a probable definition of craft cider
• Who can call themself a craft cidermaker?

For Tom only one things matters: is it a good cider, which he says is the starting point.

What is good cider?

When you smell it, it does this...

When you taste it, it does that...

and overall this is what you get with it...

What Tom says about getting into the business of making cider.

• Need to look carefully and set your goals. Is it to make cider and perry or to make money?
• AND -Thank goodness for the course he took with Peter Mitchell in 1999 on principles and practices, so that he knew fully what he was getting into.

"I get no satisfaction from huge amounts of money. What I do get satisfaction from is knowing that you have enough to make the best cider you can. If you are making the best cider, you see the reaction of the people tasting the cider."

Contact info for Oliver's Cider and Perry

Website: https://oliversciderandperry.co.uk/

Address: Moor House Farm, Ocle Pychard, Hereford HR1 3QZ, United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 7768 732026

Twitter: @oliverscider

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oliversciderandperry/

Thank you to our Founding Sponsor Cider Cellars Importers  of real cider from the UK.

Fine the show notes to this episode at ciderchat.com