CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has announced the winners of its National Cider and Perry Championships at the Reading Beer and Cider Festival.
The competition featured ciders and perries from across the UK, with each cider and perry judged on its individual taste, aroma, flavour, after-taste and overall appeal. The top awards were selected by a specially chosen panel of experienced judges, drinks writers and CAMRA members.
The winner of the Cider Gold medal is 3 Peace Sweet produced by Harding's which was described by judges as possessing an aroma of ripe dessert apples. They commented that it's a truly ‘appley' cider, and has a flavour that's fresh and summery with plenty of crisp bite. Harding's Cider is based near St Neots in Cambridgeshire.
The winner of the Perry Gold medal is Hartland's Farmhouse Perry, which has previously been a gold medallist. This small family operation is based in North Gloucestershire. The judges described it as having a sherry, raisin and fruit cake aroma, and being a refreshing drink with a lingering sweetness.
Dereck Hartland, owner of Hartland's, said, 'Winning this has just made my day. It's a terrific commendation for our product.'
Andrea Briers, CAMRA National Cider and Perry Committee Chairman, had this to say on the quality and diversity of entries, 'The ciders and perries that we had to judge offered a diverse selection, not only in terms of taste and style but also in the varied locations where they are produced. These winners highlight how drinkable real perry and cider can be. It also demonstrates why more pubs and clubs should be offering real ciders and perries to their customers.'
Reading CAMRA Beer and Cider Festival serves over 550 beers, plus 150 ciders and perries (from nearly 100 producers), as well as a selection of foreign beers, English wines and mead.
During the four day festival almost 14,000 attendees will drink over 35,000 pints of beer and 11,000 pints of cider.
The full list of winners are as follows:
Cider
GOLD – Harding's 3 Peace Sweet (Cambridgeshire)
SILVER – Dunkertons Cider (Herefordshire)
BRONZE – Green Valley Cyder (Devon)
Perry
GOLD – Hartland's Farmhouse Perry (Gloucestershire)
SILVER – Burnard's Stray Perry (Norfolk)
BRONZE – Hecks Perry (Somerset)