Monday 23 February 2015

Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival 2015

Like the gridlock and panic of an English snow-flurry, the arrival of the Leicester CAMRA Beer & Cider festival is something we can both rely on, and sneak time off work for, every year without fail. For this we give thanks to the hard working organising committee, and small platoon of willing volunteers which make this annual jamboree run so smoothly, punctually, and most important of all, fragrantly.

It's all reassuringly similar to successful festivals of the past, details of which can be gleaned from the flyer reproduced here. Over there. On the right.

Top cider and perry enthusiast Susan has assembled a collection of fruit-based drinks any medium-sized rock festival would be proud of, including many sourced so close to Leicestershire, they could quite accurately be described as being from... well, Leicestershire. Surrounding counties are well represented too, with only poor old Warwickshire absent. And Staffordshire.

Exclusive early access to the cider and perry list is something I've come to rely on. Lord-knows I've got little else to blog about on here these days. And in time-honoured fashion, I've not hesitated in breaking the trust Susan has placed in me, by sharing everything I know with you the reader. So here it is, the 2015 Cider & Perry list, as usual, subject to change without notice or excuse.

UPDATE: Susan has 'finessed' the cider list, the latest version uploaded here. Some notable changes, including the sad loss of early-season Torkard which is so early-season it may still technically be apple juice!

Cider and perry 2015

Bottle Kicking, Hallaton, Leicestershire
Dry cider
Rambler medium cider 6%
Charnwood Cider, Leicestershire
Pure Charnwood medium Cider 5.6%
Apply Ave Another medium cider 5%
Disco Cox medium cider 5.6%
Gold medium cider 5.6%
Farmer Fear, Leics
Thirsty Farmer medium
Farmhouse strong medium
Jollydale, Lincs
Medium cider
Rockingham Forest, Northants
Home Orchard medium dry cider 7.4%
Malvern Hills medium perry 8.4%
Three Cats, Morley, Derbyshire
Medium sweet cider


Abrahall, Shropshire
Dry cider
Crackling Rosie perry
Barkers, Worcestershire
Medium dry cider
Cadogan, Gloucestershire
Medium cider  
Medium perry
Chant, Somerset
Singing cider
Chucklehead, Devon
Medium cider
Double Vision, kent
Sweet cider
Sweet perry
Green Valley, Devon
Medium Cider 6.8%
Grey’s Devon
Medium cider
Gwatkin, Herefords
Yarlington Mill cider
Farmhouse medium perry
Hecks, somerset
Port wine of Glastonbury
Blakeney Red perry
Heron Valley, Devon
Medium cider
Marshwood Vale, Dorset
Sweet cider
Olivers, herefordshire
Shezam  cider 6%
Medium perry 6%
Orchard, Gloucestershire
Medium cider
Ross, Herefordshire
Medium cider
Perry
Tricky, Somerset
Medium cider
Sweet cider
Ventons, Devon
Whisky cask cider
Westcroft, Somerset
Janet’s Jungle Juice
Winkleigh Cider co, Devon
Sam’s sweet
Sam’s dry
Worley’s, Somerset

Farmhouse medium cider