Page 44 - Phonebox Magazine July 2011

award winning cider brewed right here on your doorstep
I’m a bit of a cider drinker I have to admit. I run a mile from the likes of Strongbow or Magner’s, but point me in the direction of Aspall, Addlestone’s, Rattlers or better still a true scrumpy, and I’ll settle happily by the bar. So discovering ‘Hard Core’ at the Bell and Bear was rather a nice suprise. What’s it got going for it? Well, it’s produced just a few miles away at Wolverton Mill by Virtual Orchard. And it’s 7%. And it tastes just like freshly squeezed apples that bite back. If you like your cider sweet, this is not for you. Its very sharp. It appears that I’m not the only one who likes it. It recently won the gold award at the CAMRA National Cider and Perry Championships who described it as a bold, flavoursome cider, eminently drinkable, with a balanced, dryish finish.
The Phonebox Foodie caught up with producer Laurence Conisbee:
Why cider making then Laurence?
When we moved into our cottage 10 years ago I strung up a mexican hammock between two ancient, and perfectly spaced apple trees tucked away in a quiet corner of the garden. Many a late summer's afternoon I lay in the hammock and contemplated making cider from the vast annual crop. Eight years later, I finally bought a press and got on with it.
What apples do you use to make Hard Core?
Hard Core is an East Anglian style cider, so unlike West Country cider made from specialist cider apples, our cider is made with your common or garden culinary and dessert varieties. The cookers are good for acidity and tannins, the eaters for sweetness. All our apples are sourced from local, private orchards which, by their nature have not been treated with herbicides and pesticides, so we are very pleased to be able to produce a very natural product with mininal human intervention. Nothing goes to waste either. After pressing the apples, the pomace goes to the rare breed pigs at Springfields Farm near Potterspury and, arguably, their meat takes just that little bit sweeter for it.
How long does it take to produce from collecting the apples to pouring the first glass?
The apples are collected from late September until early November and will ferment slowly during the winter months. By Easter fermentation has typicaly ceased and we are into the maturing phase until around August when the cider is ready to be drunk. However, the cider will continue to mature and improve with age in the vats, much in the same way as a good wine will. As I increase production over the next few years I would like to keep some of the cider a full 18 months before making it generally available.
When you are not drinking Hard Core, what is your cider of choice?
This will probably sound really bad, but when I'm not sampling my own cider I do enjoy a good real ale, Adnams Broadside being an old favourite having been brought up in the Eastern Counties. That said, there are a few other cider makers in and around Milton Keynes and they are
producing some great ciders. It would be fantastic if they were able to offer alternaitve local ciders in 2012.
How did you feel when you won the award?
Winning awards
like the CAMRA
Gold Medal just
isn't the kind of
thing that you
expect as a small producer when competing with the 'big boys', so taking top prize was just a surreal but great experience. The great aspect of this accolade is that it has given me the confidence to scale up production, firstly because I know I can produce a drink that people enjoy, and secondly becasue I've discovered there is a huge demand for a true local cider, and who'd have thought that of Milton Keynes?
Where can we get it?
At the moment the Bell & Bear, Emberton is the only regular outlet for Hard Core. However, we will be supplying the local beer festivals and our facebook page (www.facebook.com/VirtualOrchard), or twitter feed (@virtualorchard) are the best places to keep up to date with when and where it is available. Once the 2010 vintage is ready, I'm hoping to have a couple more retail outlets in Milton Keynes and near Buckingham.
red lion, bozeat - worth a visit?
We had heard that the Red Lion at Bozeat had recently enjoyed a makeover, so stopped by for a quick snack one day last week. Still very much a local’s pub, the new owners are clearly trying to turn it into a restaurant led place. We chose the simple stuff - ham, egg and chips and handmade burger. It was all nicely done and the burger was still moist and pink and served in quality bread. Things I liked? Well most of the main courses can be taken as a small size (so my mini burger came in at just £4.95 and was quite big enough for me) and we were given nibbles of mozzarella balls and wasabi peas whilst waiting for food. We’ll go again, for sure.
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braised PorK ChoPs in hard Core Cider
4x Rare breed pork chops (from Springfields Farm of course)
6 rashers of unsmoked bacon
1tsp thyme (fresh preferable)
Around 6 shallots or 1 large onion cut into rings
700g sliced potatoes
1 large or 2 small apples (preferable a sharp eater or a cooker, sliced)
1 or 2 chopped garlic cloves
1 red bell pepper, or sweet red pepper cut into long thin slices
Half a pint of Hard Core dry cider (i'm not sure there is an alternative!)
Salt & freshly milled Pepper to taste
I'm a bit of a lazy cook so I just sear the chops in a pan with butter until nicely brown, and then place in the bottom of
a deep casserole dish. I then fry bacon and then lay over the chops with any remaining juices. Then layer on the shallots/onion, sliced apple and red pepper, sprinkle over the thyme and chopped garlic, salt and pepper and pour over the cider, then layer over the potatoes with a few dabs of butter on top. Cover dish with greaseproof paper and put on a tight-fitting lid. Put into the oven for around 3 hours. Take off lid near end of cooking and put under the grill to brown and crisp off the potatos. Job done.
This recipe makes enough for four and was supplied by Laurence Conisbee producer of Hard Core. Thanks Laurence, and no doubt it washes down well with a bottle too!
44 Phonebox Magazine