The trip:

2026 Totally Cider Tour UK Blossom Time by Cider Chat ciderchat.com/2026-blossom-time-totally-cider-tour-uk/

Why:

Having tested over 150+ apple and pear varieties in my original home orchard and now my small farm orchard, I am beginning to dial in my cider fermenting experiments. And in order to know how to ferment good cider, you need to taste good cider. In Ontario and Quebec we do have some good producers but given that the majority are using dessert apples the cider produced is quite different from that made in the UK, France and Spain. There are VERY limited options in the SAQ and LCBO thus the impetus for this trip.  A chance to taste commercial and small farm producers ciders directly in the UK.

Day -1: Dublin then Bristol, UK Jetlagged.

Flew into Dublin via Toronto then a couple hour layover before the flight to Bristol. P.S. Aer Lingus has an AMAZING lounge and I got to taste some great Irish Whiskey from their open bar.

I am staying at the Holiday Inn Bristol City Center – great location.

Walked over to The Orchard Inn and saw 3 Banksy paintings on the way.

The Orchard Inn – www.orchardinn.co.uk/

It is a nice small community pub with a primary cider focus.

Thankfully they also do ½ pint pours so I could sample most of their list without over intoxication (and even at ½ pours I mostly just sampled). Note that there is not much in the way of food options (they had 1 cheese and onion pies left in the heater) so eat something on the way.

 (AI used on interior pub photo to remove people for their privacy)

Here is their cider listing:

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom. 10 commandments, Yarlington, Browns Apple, No 8, Riches dry (oaked and comes as dry, medium and sweet options), Antigravity, Them Apples, Corker.

10 commandments

Slight cloudy. Pale yellow. Moderate Brett aroma. Farmhouse style with some definite Brett. Mild tannins. Very low acid. Slight sour finish.

Yarlington

Cloudy orange. Hint caramel nose. Not a lot of flavour. Off dry. Mikd-moderate tannins.

Browns Apple

Clear, pale yellow. Again, not a ton of flavour. Off dry. V mild tannins.

No 8

Clear gold. Moderate sweet. Not much flavour. Mild tannins.

Riches dry (oaked)

Cloudy deep gold/orange. Nice apple aroma. Slight Brett nose. Not much flavour and feels slightly thin. Mild tannins.

Antigravity

Golden. Hint Apple nose. Not much flavour. Mild tannins.

Them apples – carbonated – on tap

Sparkling amber. Slight Brett nose. Carbonated. Off dry. Farmhouse style with some apple notes and a pleasant mild-moderate Brett. This is what they had on tap and seemed to be a crowd favorite.

Corker

Pale yellow. Mild apple aroma. Off dry. Thin tasting but some interesting tropical fruit flavours. Mild tannins.

Favorites

After repeated re-tastings, my favorites were in no particular order: No 8, Them apples (carbonated) and Antigravity.

Not a bad start to the trip!

Next

Link to compiled list of reports