Acid Jazz

Cider isn't just about tannin don't you know.....

The saga of Heineken and the destruction of a whopping great orchard containing heritage (aka Western Counties tannic) apple varieties continues to rumble on. And with good reason for this loss feels like something more than a change of land use. For some, these apples are an integral part of what cider is all about.

Away from the brutally harsh light of reality and meandering down shady lanes of storytelling, these apples, and the ciders that they create, are at the root of the cider culture of the region that I was born in. They were responsible for my first dabblings (Westons Vintage Organic - sadly a brand no longer around), my true cider epiphany (bone crunching dry cider straight from the barrel at the old cellar at Broome Farm) and some more forgettable moments (Mark, I'm still sorry I drank 7 cans of Blackthorn and vomited in your parents spare bedroom and then ran home because I was scared of your mum). 

A passion for tannin, and a lamentation of the decline of varieties bearing these characteristics does not mean that I inherently regale against apples, and ciders, that do not contain them, of course. I'm The Ciderologist don't you know! I am a man of the Cider World. And the world of cider is mostly filled with apples bearing lower amounts of tannin and higher levels of acidity.