Batlow heritage cider wins inaugural trophy at national awards

A traditional cider handcrafted in the hills around Batlow has picked up a prestigious trophy at the 2024 Australian Cider Awards.

Made from a heritage variety grown in the national apple capital, the Kingston Black cider made by local cidery, The Apple Thief, was named Australia’s top scoring single varietal cider at the awards presentation lunch in Melbourne last week.

Single varietal ciders are made from a single varietal of apple or pear, as distinct from most ciders made from a blend of different apples.

Gold medal winning entries that contain a minimum 85 per cent of the named variety were eligible for the inaugural trophy, named for Orange industry researcher and cider apple orchardist, David Pickering, who passed away in July.

The Apple Thief founder, David Purcell said he was thrilled and extremely proud of the win with a heritage variety he found by chance on their Batlow orchard.

“When The Apple Thief took over the Wilgro Orchards in Batlow, we discovered it held some special secrets,” he said. “Tucked away between the rows of Batlow’s famous and familiar apples such as Pink Lady, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith were small parcels of rare heritage cider apples.”

As the new custodians of these orchard rarities, Dave and Apple Thief’s cider maker Campbell Meeks, a graduate of Wagga’s Charles Sturt University wine science program, had to wait patiently for the ’23 harvest to get their hands on the fruit.

The Apple Thief’s first foray into small batch heritage cider production immediately proved successful with three of their heritage ciders, including the Kingston Black, recognised with medals at the 2023 Australian Cider Awards.

“The Kingston Black cider being named from our Kingston Black apples grown only a few metres from our cidery – it has complex aromas of ripe apples and butterscotch with a burnt toffee character reminiscent of vanilla creme brulee,” he said.

The David Pickering Memorial Trophy for Best Single Varietal Cider was one of many awards the Batlow cider house picked up this year in Melbourne, the Kingston Black also winning Best in Class, their Pink Lady Cider winning a silver medal, and a swathe of bronze medals for four other ciders, including the Braeburn Gala, Granny Smith, Orchard Blend and Apple and Lemon Myrtle.

“We would like to extend a huge thank you to our industry colleagues, suppliers, wholesale partners and, of course, our amazing customers,” Dave said.

The brewery has gone from strength to strength since its move from the NSW Southern Highlands back to Dave’s hometown of Batlow following the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires.

Right now the Purcells are in the throes of seeing their vision, construction of The Apple Thief Cider House, come to life.

The new building, which will offer an immersive experience to visitors, as well as casual dining and cider tastings, is set to open in 2025, but for now they’ve extended the opening hours of their temporary cafe and shop from 9 am to 3 pm to six days a week.

Cider Australia president Warwick Billings said The David Pickering Memorial Trophy for Best Single Varietal Cider was introduced in response to the increasing number of producers making and entering single varietal ciders in the Australian Cider Awards.

“We have quite aptly named the new trophy in honour of industry champion David Pickering who passed away in July this year.

“David was a true gentleman and cider pioneer whose expertise and generosity shaped Australian craft cider, especially with regards to the cultivation and use of purpose-grown cider apples,” said Warwick.

David Pickering was a highly regarded expert on cider apples with a passion for educating and connecting people.

He was also instrumental in the establishment of Cider Australia and the Australian Cider Awards more than a decade ago, and was awarded Cider Australia’s Champion of the Industry Award in 2018 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Australian cider industry.

The Australian Cider Awards is the largest cider show in Australia, attracting 190 local and international entries this year. In all, 20 gold medals and 10 trophies were awarded.

Original Article published by Edwina Mason on Riotact.