Long Meadow Oak Aged Irish Craft Cider - Beer of the Month

KRISTIN JENSEN, co-author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders - introduces us to Long Meadow Oak Aged Irish Craft Cider  

ABOUT THE CIDER MAKER

Long Meadow Cider is produced by father and son duo Pat and Peter McKeever in the heart of Ireland’s Orchard County, where their family-run farm has been growing apples for fifty years. Talking to the Portadown Times, Pat said making cider was a natural progression when they decided to diversify back in 2010.

‘We were growing apples for the processing and packaging markets and also supplying apples to a number of cider-producing companies in the South and thought it would be nice if we could start producing our own brand of cider and so we started looking into that.’

They started out with two ciders – a medium and a sweet – made exclusively from their own apples and using traditional methods for a ‘plant to pour’ product, as they call it. The range has since expanded to include a mulled cider, a Blossom Burst cider and a limited edition oak-aged cider as well as an apple cider vinegar and both sparkling and still apple juice.

They’ve racked up an impressive number of awards along the way, including Great Taste Awards in 2014 and 2015 and a silver at Blas na hÉireann in 2015. They are going from strength to strength – ones to watch.

ABOUT THE CIDER

Barrel-aged and oak-aged beers have become increasingly popular in recent years, to the point where used barrels were getting hard to come by in the industry, so it was inevitable that the trend would eventually extend to cider. And it turns out that it’s a wonderful match.

Besides the obvious apple aroma, there is some caramel and brown sugar and even a hint of something floral too. There’s a lovely soft carbonation and a slight citrus zip with a dry finish.

The first sip is all appley sweetness, but by the time the cider hits the back of your throat, the smoky woodiness comes through at the end. It’s a very well-balanced cider, evocative of brisk, golden autumn evenings with the smell of a wood fire in the air. It’s the kind of cider you’ll want to sip all throughout the autumn. It’s a limited edition, though, so snap it up as soon as you can.

This cider would be brilliantly suited to roast pork to complement the smoky char or a ploughman’s platter of salty ham, nutty oatcakes and a strong, mature Cheddar.

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Kristin Jensen is a freelance editor specialising in cookery and food books and has worked with many of Ireland's top food writers and chefs. She writes the Edible Ireland blog and is a co-founder of the Irish Food Bloggers Association and, together with Caroline Hennessy, is joint author of Slainte! The complete Guide To Irish Craft Beers and Ciders .