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Tharg drinker of cider
Cider Bus Convert
Borneo
184 Posts |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
 Posted - 23/02/2005 : 14:57:07
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Thanks for that Tharg, I've read a few articles about Asturias before (there is a good piece in CAMRA's last Good Cider Guide), and it sounds great - not just because of the Sidra, but obviously thats a big draw for me!
I would love to go there and check it out one day. Not the most convenient place to get to from Bristol but if you ever find yourself in Madrid or Barcelona they have their own Sidra areas too, that sell the stuff made in Asturias and they are really cool places. The staff don't often pour the cider themselves but there are weird machines on the walls dotted around the bars that you stick your bottle in and sort of pump your Sidra out.
It's got a very sharp taste and takes a bit of getting used to, but is pretty tasty.
Spain's cider region sounds quite like England's cider region -Somerset - to me: we both make cider, all the neighbouring villages hate each other, and people from the capital laugh at our accents.
Ive also read that on Wednesday afternoons in Asturias the men stop working and drink cider in the main Square of the village or town for the rest of the day! Sadly this doesn't happen in Somerset.
ZIDER! |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 23/02/2005 : 19:24:22
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<<Spain's cider region sounds quite like England's cider region -Somerset>> What about the Three Counties?
<< - to me: we both make cider, all the neighbouring villages hate each other, and people from the capital laugh at our accents. >> That sounds just like Hereford to me.
<<Ive also read that on Wednesday afternoons in Asturias the men stop working and drink cider in the main Square of the village or town for the rest of the day! Sadly this doesn't happen in Somerset.>> This definitely happens on Weds afternoons in Hereford. It's market day, so what else is there to do after you've sold the cows?
If you want to start this venerable tradition off in Nailsea, then I'd be happy to come and add my thirsty throat to your efforts.
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 24/02/2005 : 09:31:26
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quote:
Originally posted by Ivanhoe Martin
<<Spain's cider region sounds quite like England's cider region -Somerset>> What about the Three Counties?
Ah ha, I wondered if anyone would pick up on that controversial statement! I should of course said "England's cider capital -Somerset" instead 
I think rather than attempting to start the tradition in Nailsea (where most of the pubs don't even sell cider anymore), it would be a better and easier option all round to move to Asturias and join them for their afternoon cider-drinking and 7 Euro 4-course meals in the sun. I have considered this before, and went as far as ringing the ferry company to find out how much the Plymouth-Santander ferry cost (it was £84 at the time) on a particularly miserable day in Plymouth, sadly the next one wasn't for 2 weeks and by that time i had admitted to myself that it probably wasn't the most sensible option.
ZIDER! |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 25/02/2005 : 10:43:40
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<<Ah ha, I wondered if anyone would pick up on that controversial statement! I should of course said "England's cider capital -Somerset" instead >>
That's not so much "fighting talk" as (so nonsensical that the only possible explanation is that you've been drinking) "White Lightning talk"
Quick! Someone get round to Gents' with some scrumpy. This delirious banter could be a symptom of something very sinister.  |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 25/02/2005 : 10:50:15
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| Oh, and joking aside, you might want to check out cheap flights to Bilbao for handy access to the region |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 25/02/2005 : 12:11:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Ivanhoe Martin
Oh, and joking aside, you might want to check out cheap flights to Bilbao for handy access to the region
Easyjet started doing cheap flights from Bristol last year but they've stopped now! Looks like you can only get budget flights from Stanstead now.
I do quite like the idea of the Plymouth-Santander ferry for a number of reasons:
- you can stop at Newton Abbot on the way to Plymouth
- you can drink your own cider on ferries.
- you can con a friend into taking car and driving you around the cider region (i suspect its a bit tricky getting around if not)
- ferries only run every 2 weeks, so you'll have to spend a minimum of 2 weeks in cider-heaven.
- stanstead if hard to get to, and there is marginally more cider in Plymouth than Essex.
- I hate flying.
I would really like to do this one day, its all about money and time tho.
Yes, Ive been feeling a bit ill this week, but ive been trying out the new medicine - Thatcher's Single Variety Lemsip - and im feeling better now.
ZIDER! |
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Smithy
HMZ God
Solomon Islands
1073 Posts |
Posted - 25/02/2005 : 12:24:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Gents
- you can con a friend into taking car and driving you around the cider region (i suspect its a bit tricky getting around if not)
I think you may have some trouble trying to get a friend to do that as well......you can count me out for a start!
 
Hannah More Zider......
In the Dogging Tent |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 25/02/2005 : 12:35:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Smithy
quote:
Originally posted by Gents
- you can con a friend into taking car and driving you around the cider region (i suspect its a bit tricky getting around if not)
I think you may have some trouble trying to get a friend to do that as well......you can count me out for a start!
-Go on! It's not like you'll be drinking cider anyway!
ZIDER! |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2005 : 10:48:52
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Just back from a great few days in Madrid. Found the place packed with Sidrerias (well, "packed" might be an exaggeration, but we did manage to wander past a different sidreria every day without even trying).
Had plenty of both still and sparkling sidra. Still was much nicer, to my tastes, but both were way preferable to what we get in most pubs here.
Tried lots of times to do the pouring thing that they do (pour the sidra from above your head into the glass, which you hold at about waist height). Had no success at all, but found it was a great ice-breaker (or at least that's my story as to why all the Spaniards generally started laughing when I tried to do it).
Next stop, Easyjet to Asturias. |
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Tharg drinker of cider
Cider Bus Convert
Borneo
184 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2005 : 13:35:13
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I'm very happy to stand corrected on this one, I'd expressed doubts to Ivanhoe regarding how common sidra may be in Madrid, given its distance from traditional sidra producing areas - of course I was judging Spain by our own shoddy standards, and the unfortunate fact that our own capital city has only a handful of real cider outlets.
And you will know us by the trail of empties.... |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2005 : 14:51:57
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As much as anything (the impression we got was that) it's to do with Asturian cuisine (and drinks) being something that is perceived as quality and the sort of thing that people brand as a speciality. We saw quite a few specialist Asturian restaurants, and they often were next to (or incorporated) a cider bar.
We ate in one magnificent place with a bar in the front and a dining room in the back, covered with photos of the owner and his place in Asturia (orchards, fields of veggies, etc). In the corner of the room where we were sat, there was a montage of half a dozen or so photos showing all the stages in killing a pig and turning it into sausages. In each one, the owner was grinning at the camera (as he stuck the knife in/cut up the carcas/was up to his elbows in minced pork/etc). It was quite a contrast to the kind of pic's you'd find in a UK restaurant, and all the better for it.
And the food was delicious. |
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Tharg drinker of cider
Cider Bus Convert
Borneo
184 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2005 : 16:22:26
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I swear we don't have vegetarians in the Forest of Dean. It would seem the Spanish are still very much in touch with their native food producers, as opposed to our city dwellers, who seem to think that food magically appears in Tesco, or is delivered from Waitrose. Do you remember the looks of astonishment on people’s faces when they wandered into Surrey Docks Farm and found us pressing? We should kill a few of the animals next time – make it a bit more real!
And you will know us by the trail of empties.... |
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Ivanhoe Martin
Cider Bus Convert
Oman
273 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2005 : 09:46:15
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We loved it, but neither of us had ever been in a restaurant before where they proudly displayed pictures of the chef killing a pig. It certainly wasn't London any more, Toto.
The other great food difference we saw was the tradition of having a glass display case of your meat/fish/etc on view to passers by to show them what you've got and how fresh it is. I can't imagine anywhere in England proudly hanging a couple of gutted piglets i nthe window as a means to attract custom (and I mean piglets. They were about as long as my forearm at the maximum.) |
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Tharg drinker of cider
Cider Bus Convert
Borneo
184 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2005 : 11:27:43
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I still remember the time I decided to make my own bacon. I bought a pig at Smithfield, and then brought it home during the morning rush-hour on the tube – after one stop, I had the carriage to myself!
And you will know us by the trail of empties.... |
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Gents
HMZ God
Trinidad and Tobago
2214 Posts |
Posted - 13/04/2005 : 19:31:50
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Sounds like a fine weekend of sidra and sausage. I have only spent a day in Madrid before and would love to go back for longer. I found a few siderias that were really packed and lively, with quite a young crowd, right amongst the trendier bars - shame you don't get similar places in England. Had no luck with pouring either, did you see those pouring devices that they have on the walls? I had enough trouble using them even.
The Spanish are definitely more in touch with where thier meat comes from then us, seeing pictures of a pig being killed can't shock them too much when they've grown up with bull-fighting, its almost like a celebration. Probably not the best thing to have in a restaurant if they want to attract English tourists, but I doubt thats such an important thing in Madrid as it is in the Spanish holiday resorts.
ZIDER |
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Cider in Spain
