Summer is slowly coming to an end, the evenings are cooler and you can feel the autumn in the air. So if you want to remind yourself hot weather, sun and excitement, read our recap of cider summer in Poland.
So, before the summer, the great news broke – Polish ciders won (again!) many awards in cider competitions.
The first one, The International Cider & Perry Competition was held at the Cider Museum in Hereford on Wednesday 15th May 2019. A total of 189 entries were received from 42 cidermakers from throughout England, Wales, France, Germany, Poland and the USA.
Polish ice cider made by Cydr Chyliczki received the first prize in Class 13 Speciality Cider or Perry. The comments by judges were: Wow! Toffee, dates, sherry, coffee, raisins, lemons… An absolute taste sensation. Bravo!
The second competition was The International Cider Championships during The Bath and West Show. Cydr Chyliczki won 12 (sic!) medals and we had also an award for Cydr Lodowy by Krzysztof Winnicki who won a bronze.
Results as follows:
05 Bottle Fermented Cider
Bronze CYDR CHYLICZKI – Jesienny Sad
Bronze CYDR CHYLICZKI – Antonowka
Bronze CYDR CHYLICZKI – Stary Sad
06 Flavoured Cider
Silver CYDR CHYLICZKI – Chmielona Landsberska
Bronze CYDR CHYLICZKI – Chmielony Sad
Bronze CYDR CHYLICZKI – Czarny Sad
07 Ice Cider
Silver CYDR CHYLICZKI – Lodowy
Silver CYDR CHYLICZKI – Lodowa Gruszka
Bronze Wini Krzysztof Winnicki – Cydr Lodowy Ice Cider
08 Speciality Cider
Gold CYDR CHYLICZKI – Lodowa Beczka /joint with Angry Orchard /
Silver CYDR CHYLICZKI – Sweet Oak
09 Perry
Silver CYDR CHYLICZKI – Perry /winner, no gold was awarded/
010 Bottle Fermented and Bottle Conditioned Perry
Silver CYDR CHYLICZKI – Perry KEG /winner, no gold was awarded /
The last but not least, The Royal Three Counties International Cider & Perry Competition at The Royal Three Counties Show with over 150 entries – we didn’t win awards but one Polish cider was commended in Class 8 – Bottle Conditioned Cider; cider Reneta 2018 made by Restaurant Tabun in Otomin.
Cydr Chyliczki also won a Golden Egg by KUKBUK Recommends – an award from the culinary& lifestyle magazine KUKBUK. They were awarded for using apples from old orchards, especially those that felt autumn chill and the first-night frosts. For the creative approach to the artisan cider – perfectly arranged, it delights with mature, expressive taste.
The beginning of summer started with the first Polish conference about Polish craft cider. Organized by Przemek Iwanek (a blogger and cidermaker) on the 26th of June in Warsaw, gathered many people from the industry. The subjects discussed during the conference were: Polish tradition of making cider, organic, natural and vegan ciders, culinary trends, the art of creating cider, Polish legislation related to setting up a cidery.
Journalists from traditional media, bloggers, people from catering and FMCG industry came to the meeting. Interestingly, cider seems to connect two, rarely interpenetrating worlds: wine and beer. The amount of media from these two industries was evenly distributed.
In June we have also a premiere by Cydr Chyliczki – they made first-ever Polish rose cider. It was a very limited edition, described by journalist Mariusz Kapczyński It is a slightly sparkling rose made from apples with red flesh. Ingenious cider, attractive – fresh, fragrant with flowers (rose notes), fresh fruit (wild strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries). It has great acidity, is dry, light and ultra-refreshing.
In July there were Open Days in cidery Cydr Ignaców, there was also a release of their new ciders – Jabłkowity and Czarny Ignac 2018 which is a premium cider made form very old orchards. Families, friends and all cider lovers came to Iganców, a little village near Grójec, to learn about how cider is made and to taste some great ciders with local food.
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So as you can see, it was a quite busy summer. Many cidermakers promoted ciders on the villages fairs, festivals and in restaurants. Follow our blog for more news.
PS. Some Polish makers will be in Asturia (Spain) in September to attend the SISGA event.
