Cider Competition 2018

The 9th Haddenham Cider Competition, run by the Haddenham in Transition group was held on Saturday 6th January at the Rising Sun pub.

One of the objectives of the competition is to promote the appreciation of nature's abundance in our village and making best use of it.

The judges agreed that this year's competing ciders were of a very high standard. Each of the eight ciders were assessed by three judges on seven criteria which included smoothness, aroma and fruitiness of taste.

At the end the 168 scores were totalled up to give the eight final scores.

The rules of the competition state that the cider must be made with apples grown in Haddenham. One of this year's ciders also had strawberry and redcurrant juice from the allotment: this was in compliance with the rules.

The first prize certificate is awarded with the Haddenham Cider Competition Wassail cup trophy which the winner gets to keep for the year....and will try to win again next year! The Wassail cup was provided by the Haddenham
Beer Festival to promote local cider making and was made by Paul Jessop of the Barrington Court pottery.

• 1st Bridens Bramley, Patrick Malein
• 2nd Red Berry, Jorj Zieja
• 3rd Adam & Eve, Jorj Zieja
• 4th Red House, Greg Smith
• 5th Temptation, Richard Moore
• 6th Dancing Rat, David Lyons
• 7th Apple Thwack, Dave Watkins
• 8th Diggs Downfall, Karen Dauncey

Haddenham in Transition is very grateful to Liam and Sylvia for accommodating the cider competition at the Rising Sun, a pub which draws people from far and wide to appreciate craft cider and ale from local producers.

Next Year's Cider Competition

The next cider competition will be held on Saturday 5th January 2019: look out for details here on Haddenham.net.

There has been an upsurge of interest in apples in Haddenham (perhaps in connection with the Community Orchard) and cider making. It is proposed to hold a Master Cidermakers workshop in early September to discuss best practice and how to make best use of the surfeit of apples we have each year and the resources available in the village. We are particularly interest in attracting women and younger adults into village cider making.

For further information contact David Lyons on 01844 296714.

Photographs courtesy of Russ Naylor. More images are displayed in our GALLERIES section.