As they’re just down the road from the Love Beer HQ, I thought I’d jump in the van and head down into the heart of Kent to visit the family-run Turners Cidery in Marden.
If you’ve read my previous posts on Cyder, you’ll know that my cider drinking career has been based mainly around Scrumpy – the variety brewed in plastic barrels, quite often in a shed by an old boy picking a few apples off the ground after harvest. The last lot I picked up even had a few bits of apple and a couple of fruit flies floating about in it (which added to the experience). So Turners very professional operation was a pleasant surprise; they even have metal conditioning tanks!
I love to get to see a bit of the production process; it’s one of my favourite things about having a close relationship with producers. So fortuitously, when I dropped in to Turners, they were bottling their dry cider!
These guys are very knowledgable and can talk with great enthusiasm for hours about their cider. It instantly filled me with confidence to have someone so passionate about cider at the operation’s helm.
I’m not normally a fan of Perry (pear cider); I find it too sweet and think it often leaves a taste in the mouth that’s hard to get rid of. Turners had given me 7 different products to try, so I decided to ‘try the one I’m going to like the least first.’ That way, I figured, I’ve got 6 more nicer options to sample after.
However…
The Pear Cider was fantastic! It’s still a very sweet brew compared to Turner’s Dry cider, but compared to most other Pear ciders it’s very dry indeed – which is a really really good thing in my opinion. This Pear Cider is so good that it’s actually restored my faith in Perry, and I will be seeking out some more to try in the near future. The perfect balance of the crisp, refreshing dryness, and a little bit of pear sweetness to create that equilibrium, really is a winning combination.
If you’re based in London, you’re in a good position to be able to pick up a bottle or two of this at your local store. You can find your local stockist turnerscider.co.uk/buy/ and they even have their own festival that we’re in talks about getting a place at next year. So why not come down next harvest and enjoy a little slice of Beertopia in beautiful Kent!