Episode 503 takes you through England and Wales with audio snapshots from the UK Blossom Time Totally Cider Tour while exploring one big question: What is a proper cider?

Travel orchard roads through Somerset, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Wales as tour guests share reflections on traditional cider, perry pears, wild fermentations, farmhouse hospitality, blossom-covered orchards, and the people keeping cider culture alive. From Ross on Wye and Oliver's Cider and Perry to Gwatkin Cider Mill and beyond, this episode captures the feeling of living inside cider country for a little while.

Time Stamps

00:00 Proper Cider Defined
01:42 Tour Craft and Group Flow
04:07 Season Updates and UK Teasers
07:22 Pouring Quince and Rolling Clips
08:50 Trevor's Tour Takeaways
13:25 George and Marla's Cidery Story
20:18 France vs UK Cider Culture
24:35 Tom's Cider Journey via Spirits
32:28 Richard and Elizabeth's Mountain Cidery
39:36 Tour Gratitude Recap
40:52 UK Apple Diversity Takeaway
41:39 Cider Kindergartner Graduates
44:19 Cheese Box and Stinking Bishop
45:55 Perry Pear Center Passion
46:43 Usk Castle Cider Picnic
47:27 Blossom Tour with Syracuse Duo
49:11 Far Orchard Mystique and Bees
50:22 Cask Cider Hospitality
53:03 Gwatkins Bag in Box Secrets
55:21 Why Guided Tours Work
59:16 Last Minute Traveler Gene
01:01:08 Farmhouse Cider and Beer Overlap
01:06:33 Proper Cider at Wilkins
01:10:24 Signing Off and Theme Song

Find the full show notes for Episode 503 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/503-uk-blossom-time-proper-cider/

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Travel with Cider Chat to Hungary for audio snapshots from the country's first Cider Salon, featuring makers from across Central and Eastern Europe, orchard visits, and a look at why Hungarian cider is a region to watch.

00:00 Budapest Travel Update

02:24 Cider Salon Plans

04:13 Litke Champagne Caves

06:34 Hungary Surprises and Lessons

09:44 Meet Andrew at St Matthias

11:35 Election Energy at Castle

16:13 Turul Bird and Innovation

18:53 Hungarian Cider Roots

22:23 Salon Maker Zuhatag

26:57 Asturian Sidra Reunion

30:06 Cidery Near Ukraine

31:27 Tom Oliver in Pécs

31:44 Why Hungary Matters

34:15 Cider Salon Worldwide

35:20 Natural Wines at Balaton

36:02 First Palinka Tasting

37:19 Teachers Cider Table

38:13 Czech Cidérka Spotlight

40:24 Dark Cider Origins

43:24 Bosnia Bohorina Ciders

45:43 Serbian Cider Shop

47:52 Cider Has No Borders

48:51 Orchard Visit and Paprika

50:36 Quince and Wild Ferments

52:47 Next Hungary Salon and UK Tour

54:12 Strange Apples Outro Song

Find the full show notes for Episode 502 at CiderChat.com
Direct Link: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/502-hungary-uncorked/

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Welcome to Season 11 of Cider Chat.

After 500 episodes exploring how cider is made, Episode 501 brings it back to the glass—how to taste cider in a way that actually feels natural.

No jargon. No pressure. Just a simple, sensory approach:

• What do you smell?
• What do you see?
• What do you feel?
• Do you want another sip?

Includes a quick mention of Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition and why judging is very different from everyday drinking.

00:00 Pommeau Snowy Epiphany

01:26 Stop Overexplaining Cider

02:59 Taste With Feelings

04:05 Season 11 Kickoff

04:34 Tours And Community News

05:52 Glintcap And Judging

09:38 Pour A Glass Together

10:13 Aroma First Impressions

11:58 Look And Notice

13:34 First Sip Reaction

14:07 Structure And Mouthfeel

15:59 Memories Around The World

18:49 Finish And Another Sip

20:30 Buy A Second Bottle

22:32 Final Sip And Wrap

24:03 Strange Apples Outro

Find the full show notes for Episode 501 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link at: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/501-how-to-taste-cider/

Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

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In this milestone Episode 500, we return to a simple question that has come up again and again over the past ten seasons of Cider Chat:
How is cider made?

After hundreds of conversations with cider makers, orchardists, historians, and fermentation experts around the world, this episode brings together the core lessons shared across 500 episodes - from orchard to bottle.

This episode walks through the cider making process step by step, including:

• Apples and cider apple varieties
• Milling and pressing
• Fermentation and yeast
• Malolactic fermentation
• Barrel aging and lees aging
• Blending
• Bottling and conditioning
• The science behind cider making

Throughout the episode, listeners are directed to past Cider Chat episodes where these topics are explored in depth with cider makers and experts from around the world.

Episode 500 also reflects on the growth of Cider Chat, the global cider community, and the people who make up Ciderville.

Thank you for listening, supporting, and being part of the journey to 500 episodes.

00:00 Welcome Episode 500

00:36 Season Voices Montage

01:51 Why Cider Chat

06:12 Cider Back To Basics

08:07 Orchard And Apples

11:10 Apple Stories And Resources

13:11 Milling And Pressing

16:57 Fermentation Essentials

18:27 Barrels And Oak Choices

19:30 Blending Art And Science

24:58 Time Bottling And Patience

25:43 Episode 500 Reflections

28:15 Thanks And Season Eleven

29:14 Outro And Bonus Banter

Find the full show notes for Episode 500 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link at: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/500-how-cider-is-made/

Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

Prefer to watch?
Find Cider Chat on YouTube for more cider stories, orchard adventures, and global cider culture.

💛 Enjoy cider? Help keep #ciderGoingUP - by supporting Cider Chat.
Your support helps keep the podcast on the air and makes it possible to share more conversations like this one.

Episode 499 of Cider Chat looks at the "Omnia Era of Cider" - a time when everything is happening at once in modern cider, from traditional methods to new styles and experimentation.

Using art history and the Pommes in Art story as a guide, this episode explores how we often don't realize we are living in an important era until years later.

This episode serves as a pause before Episode 500, where we return to the beginning and talk about how cider is made.

00:00 Episode 499 Prelude

01:00 Chaos Then and Now

03:31 Omnia Era Explained

05:46 Art as Cider Lens

06:13 Michelangelo David

08:45 Renaissance to Cider

11:13 Arcimboldo Fruit Portraits

13:35 Pomona and Vertumnus

16:35 Sack of Rome Shift

18:29 Mannerism and Omnia

23:17 Talking Pommes Banter

25:53 Looking to Episode 500

Find the full show notes and photos for Episode 499 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link at: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/499-the-omnia-era-of-cider/

Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

Prefer to watch?
Find Cider Chat on YouTube for more cider stories, orchard adventures, and global cider culture.

💛 Enjoy cider? Help keep #ciderGoingUP - by supporting Cider Chat.
Your support helps keep the podcast on the air and makes it possible to share more conversations like this one.

In this episode of Cider Chat, we visit Heeman Cellars in Ontario, where a multi-generational strawberry farm expanded into cider and mead production focused on heritage apples, terroir, and experimentation. We taste blends, single varietals, and rare apples including Wayne, Swayzie – Pomme Grise, Yarlington Mill, and crab apples while discussing Ontario cider history, barrel aging, Pet Nat cider, and what it means to make cider that comes from somewhere.

00:00 Somewhere Cider Idea

02:17 Episode Setup Tom Heeman

03:44 Cider Travel Updates

06:16 Road To Episode 500

10:19 Heeman Farm Origins

11:18 Orchard Plans Partnerships

12:04 London Ontario Location

14:13 Apples Bees Cider Bug

15:28 Cider Mead Beginnings

17:18 Launching During Covid

19:58 Style Shift Toward Dry

23:26 Ontario Terroir Apples

25:48 Family Buy In

27:51 Tasting Flight Begins

30:10 Magic Apple Story

34:52 New Traditions Pet Nat

36:14 Somerset Blend Deep Dive

37:55 Ontario Blend Origins

38:23 Aging Takes Time

39:04 Yarlington Mill Pour

40:28 Terroir and Acid Balance

41:51 Somewhere Cider Philosophy

42:12 Happy Space Mission

45:16 Wayne Apple Discovery

47:13 Old World Notes Explained

51:32 Swayze Pomme Grise

55:15 Ontario Apple Golden Age

58:59 Sweet Crab Apple Shock

01:04:21 Clamping and Carbonic Trials

01:08:27 Wrap Up and Credits

Find the full show notes for Episode 498 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link at:https://ciderchat.com/podcast/498-heeman-cellars/

Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

Prefer to watch?
Find Cider Chat on YouTube for more cider stories, orchard adventures, and global cider culture.

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This archival episode of Cider Chat brings together five experienced cider makers answering real-world questions from beginners at CiderCon 2019.

Originally released as Episodes 174 and 175, this combined feature presents a comprehensive Q&A covering everything from fermentation and stabilization to business strategy, equipment, and scaling a cidery.

The discussion bridges the gap between hobby cider making and commercial production, offering practical insights grounded in real experience.

• Marcus Robert – Tieton Cider Works, Washington
• Tim Godfrey – Golden State Cider, California
• Eleanor Leger – Eden Specialty Cider, Vermont
• Brent Myles – Sly Clyde Cider, Virginia
• Ben Calvi – Vermont Cider Co, Vermont

Moderated by Cider Chat MC Ria Windcaller

00:00 Cider Choices Matter

01:27 Episode Setup

03:02 Ciderville Event News

05:41 Support The Podcast

06:31 Patron Shoutouts

10:34 Panel Introductions

14:34 Defining Cider

15:32 Lessons Learned

18:55 Residual Sugar Safety

23:51 Contract Vs Taproom

27:13 Ice Cider Deep Dive

33:11 Settling Juice Tips

34:40 Solids and Enzymes

35:06 Plastic Fermenters Tips

36:41 Profitability and Distribution

40:54 Learn on Someone Else

41:27 Core Ciders Strategy

45:43 Tasting Room Location

49:43 Funding and Crowdfunding

52:07 Essential Lab Gear

53:54 Filtration and Hopbacks

58:05 Fermentation Temperature Control

01:01:03 Wrap Up and Sign Off

Find the full show notes for Episode 497 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link at:https://ciderchat.com/podcast/497-beginner-cider-makers-qa/

Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

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Find Cider Chat on YouTube for more cider stories, orchard adventures, and global cider culture.

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Liberty Ciderworks in Spokane, Washington is an urban cidery focused on traditional methods. While located in the city, their cider reflects deep agricultural roots.

Cider maker and founder Rick Hastings ferments with wild yeast, ages cider for 3 to 12 months, and source fruit from nearby orchards. This approach creates cider with structure, balance, and regional identity.

This interview is with Jamie, who is a certified pommelier, and her husband Ben Pratt who both partnered with Rick in 2019. This interview was recorded at CiderCon in 2026.

00:00 Cider Eyes Open

00:40 Meet Liberty Cider

01:58 Ciderville News Kanga

04:46 Western Mass Cider Stop

07:51 Tour Prep And Pacing

12:53 Spokane Urban Cidery

15:09 Orchards And Sourcing

17:20 How They Joined Liberty

21:54 Tasting Room Third Place

23:29 Cider Series And Flights

29:33 Educating New Drinkers

31:07 American Apples Lineup

32:01 On The Table Golden Russet

32:22 Golden Russet Terroir

33:22 Tasting Notes Compared

35:31 Wild Yeast Unfiltered

38:43 Reserve Versus Core

39:19 Cider Club Shipping

41:59 Future Growth Strategy

44:14 Visit Spokane Taproom

46:38 Events Puzzle Festival

49:21 Barrel Program 55 Chain

52:39 Wrap Up Ciderchat

54:13 Closing Orchard Song

Find the full show notes for Episode 496 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link at: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/496-liberty-ciderworks/
Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

Prefer to watch?
Find Cider Chat on YouTube for more cider stories, orchard adventures, and global cider culture.

💛 Enjoy cider? Help keep #ciderGoingUP and support this podcast Cider Chat.
Your support helps keep the podcast on the air and makes it possible to share more conversations like this one.