Cider & Comedy, who'd of thunk it
As I walked upstairs to raucous laughter my heart sank and
nerves kicked in as I was entering a room full of comedians already in action.
You just knew, as you bumbled through to find seats you’d be like sitting ducks
ready for their gag target practice. But after a sip of my first cider of the
day a Rich’s Farmhouse Cider at 6
per cent it quelled the nerves and steadied the feet, only to find out that the
last remaining seats were right at the front!
Cider has been produced by the Rich’s family business for
over 50 years down in Highbridge, Somerset and it was a welcome surprise to
find The Red Lion (on Warstone Lane, JQ) had added it to the selection of
twenty ciders and perries on offer as part of their well planned tie in with
Birmingham’s week long Comedy Festival (7th-15th
Oct).
Right, one down, nineteen to go! Luckily there were five of
us doing the tasting duties and with seven comedians on the bill that worked
out, as roughly, well, I don’t know, but the odds were good I’d be drinking
cider all day.
The Mad Cow Comedy Club now seemed like an apt collective to
be taking over the upstairs room of the pub and as I glanced over to the
comedians’ table (making sure not to make eye contact) I noticed a gaggle of
half empty pints of cider. At least we were all going to be on the same
wavelength.
Local Brummie comedian Lovdev Barpaga filled the room with
laughter through his cheeky and surreal one liners delivered in such a deadpan
yet heart warming way with the likes of; ‘I thought I found a body under a
bridge, turns out it was a jumper’.
As round one finished, and the compare jumped back on mic
duties – shivers went down my spine as the passing resemblance to Justin Lee
Collins with his mane of hair, lumberjack beard and Arthur Daley eyes forced me
to quickly retreat to the downstairs cider bar. For an assured good choice I went for multiple award winning
Welsh maker Gwynt y Ddraig’s Haymaker.
A clear 6.5 per cent, dry cider with the longest lasting burst of apple flavour
I’ve had in a good while. A thirst quenching farmhouse cider, you can imagine
drinking after a day of haymaking back in the time before machines.
A few days earlier whilst sifting through BBC Iplayer I
discovered and watched a documentary by horticulturalist Chris Beardshaw called
‘British to the Core’ all about our
nations love affair with the apple. It made me realise whilst I sat supping my
newly poured Sarah’s Medium Cider
(6.5 per cent) how much cider and perry are indigenous drinks to this country.
Proven by the fact that Sarah is the grand daughter of Bill Symonds (when
‘Scrumpy Jack’ was a naturally produced scrumpy cider before Bulmers took over
in the late 80s). The apple has a more complex genetic make up than any other
fruit and as it requires pollinators this means every single pip just from one
apple could turn into a new variety (check out the list below that Tom Oliver
cultivates to prove!). Also today’s global apple industry uses rootstocks
developed in the early 20th century by a group of scientists in
Kent.
On further contemplation I decided to go for an Oliver’s Perry next (6.3 per cent). Tom
Oliver is keeping cider and perry making alive and kicking in his local
Herefordshire and it’s nice to drink something grown, panked, picked, milled,
pressed and fermented only an hour away.
There’s a great video on Oliver’s website about perry production if
you’re interested in how it differs to cider making (link listed below).
Cotswold Cider’s bright orange scrumpy style nectar No Brainer (6 per cent) is definitely a
rival for Thatcher’s Cheddar Valley in the colour stakes and finished the day
off nicely. This one was a favourite with Fun Boy Frankie and I wonder how much
it helped him become the unofficial star heckler of the Mad Cow Comedy Club!
A big shout out to Dave
Lewis at The Red Lion for putting on a crackin’ Cider and Perry Fest. With 2011’s bumper fruit harvest I’m already
looking forward to what’s in store for next year.
Tom Oliver’s Cider
Apple Trees: Broxwood Foxwhelp, Improved Redstreak, Slack ma Girdle,
Tremletts Bitter, Bulmers Norman, Ashton Bittersweet, Sweet Alford, Kingston
Bitter, Yarlington Mill, Ashton Brown Jersey, Brown Snout, Golden Harvey,
Breakwell Seedling, Kingston Black, Cider Ladys Finger, Gennet Moyle, Nehou,
Dymock Red, Sercombes Natural, Sops in Red Wine, Sheeps Nose, Somerset
Redstreak, Fillbarrel, Harry Masters Jersey, Frederick, Ellis Bitter, Chisel
Jersey, Stoke Red, Hangy Down, Vilberie, White Jersey, Tom Putt, White Norman,
White Beech and Dabinett.
Perry Pear Trees:
Taynton Squash, Thorn, Moorcroft, Oldfield, Yellow Huffcap, Hendre Huffcap,
Blakeney Red, Gin, Winnals Longdon, Brandy, Hellens Early, Butt, Barland, Red
Pear, Barnet, Greggs Pit, Teddington Green, Harleys Gum, Greenhorse, Judge
Amphlett, Parsonage, Bartestree Squash, Coppy, Ducksbarn, Early Griffin,
Holmer, Judge Amphlett, Knapper, Newbridge, New Meadow, Red Longdon, Rock110,
Turner's Barn, White Bache and White Longdon.
NACM: http://cideruk.com/
UK Cider: http://www.ukcider.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Oliver’s Cider &
Perry: http://www.theolivers.org.uk/page4.html
The Red Lion: 95
Warstone Lane, Hockley,Birmingham, B18 6NG www.theredlionbirmingham.com/
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