An intimate sit down with James Forbes of Little Pomona to talk about grief of losing his wife and business partner Susanna Forbes, the growth of the cidery, and the evolving identity of one this select cidery.

Susanna Forbes, co-founder of Little Pomona, passed away in 2024. Her warmth, encouragement, and belief in others shaped the cidery from day one. As James puts it,

“She was always trying to build up and support others – including me.”

• Champagne Method Quince Wine – Possibly the second of its kind globally, due this summer.
• Champagne Method Egremont Russet – One of his favorite apples, now sparkling.
• Keeved Ciders – A new path, with mixed results but promising bottles.
• Distilled Projects – Collaborations with Capreolus and Pleasant Land to craft pommeau aged in chestnut barrels.
• Annual Disco Nouveau – Returning with the 2022 and 2023 vintages.
• Natural Yeast Ferments – Used throughout, except the second ferment in méthode champenoise.

• Hereford Beer House | Hereford
• Museum of Cider | Hereford
• Specialist shops in London, Manchester, and Glasgow
• Press Then Press –
• Select U.S. locations via Anxo (Washington D.C.)

• Totally Cider Tours – UK Edition
• Vermont and New York Cider Tour/Road Trip
  • 1000 Stone Farm
  • Saint Lawerence Nursery
  • Frosty Twig and Canton Apples
  • Pierrpont Cider
  • Inn at Lake Champlain

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Sophie Horstink of De Groote Wei, which means The Great Meadow in Dutch, is crafting Dutch cider as a value added project at her family’s farm. Located in the eastern Netherlands near Arnhem, the farm spans 16 hectares and has long produced dessert apples and pears.

The Horstink family market is well-known and is a go-to place for locals to shop and would be considered a grocery store.

She released her first cider in 2022. The early response was enthusiastic, selling out quickly and prompting her to scale production. She now ferments around 5,000 liters annually in what is called the ‘cider cave” on the family farm.

• Appel Vink (Apple Finch)
  • ABV: 6.5%
  • Notes: Lightly sparkling with fresh acidity and a hint of sourness. Made entirely from eating apples including Elstar, Jonagold, and Belle de Boskoop.
• Groente Vink (Green Finch)
  • ABV: 6.5%
  • Notes: A blend of apples as used in the Appel Finch and 30% Conference pears. Also bottle-conditioned, this cider has a rounder mouthfeel and delicate fruit aromatics.

• Website: https://www.degrootewei.nl

• VT & NY Cider Road Trip
• Totally Cider Tours
• SpaceTime Mead and Cider Works set to close June 22, 2025 – listen to the Space Time episode 288 with Dan Schreffler

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Donatas Genys didn’t set out to launch Lithuania’s first keeved cider. But after trips to England and Normandy, years of experimentation, and the planting of over 6,000 cider apple trees, that’s exactly what he’s doing. At Sodo Sidriné, located just a few kilometers from the city of Kaunus, Donatas is into a whole new era for cider Lithuania’s cider revival

Lithuania has deep agricultural roots, but apple trees which at many of the homes are desired more for eating or making apple wine while vodka and beer under Soviet rule flourished.

Note: Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990, becoming the first Soviet republic to do so, an act made possible in part by the loosening of Soviet control under Gorbachev’s Perestroika reforms.

Donatas is using both local varieties like Auksis and imported cider apples such as Yarlington Mill, Harry Masters Jersey, and Marie Ménard. His orchard-first philosophy ensures every cider is estate grown and rooted in place.

The hallmark of Sodo Sidrine’s offerings is a naturally keeved cider. Donatas showcased his keeved cider at CiderCon 2025 and received a lot of praise from attendees, including this Cider Chat Producer Ria Windcaller. Genys admits it’s the most labor-intensive process, but also the most rewarding. This method yields a semi-dry cider with natural sweetness and long-lasting complexity, a rarity in a country where most consumers only know industrial cider.

With a production facility nearly complete, Genys is preparing to scale up. His vision includes:

• Stainless steel fermentation
• A small tasting room with potential for expansion
• Fruit wines and hopped ciders to appeal to a wider audience
• Apple brandy aged in sherry casks for future release

Despite legal gray areas (there’s no craft cider license in Lithuania), Donatas is pushing forward — blending tradition, research, and experimentation with quiet determination. He expects his licensing process to be completed by the summer of 2025. Stay tuned!

• Website: https://sodosidrine.lt/

• Totally Cider Tour_UK Edition
• Bent Ladder | Doylestown Ohio – Events
• Locust Grove Brewing – Mother’s Day Brunch – Live Music, Food Truck 11-2pm

At the base of Colorado’s Grand Mesa, the world’s largest flat-top mountain, five generations of fruit growers have worked the land. Today, Snow Capped Cider carries on that legacy, crafting estate-grown ciders from fruit nurtured at elevations between 6,130 and 7,000 feet. The high desert sun, volcanic soil, and pure snowmelt water combine to create vibrant apples and distinctive ciders.

What began as a small experiment soon blossomed into a full-fledged cidery. Sparked by a disappointing store-bought cider, Kari Williams and her family leaned into their winemaking background and deep orchard knowledge to create cider reflective of their exceptional terroir.

At Snow Capped Cider:

• Only estate-grown fruit is used.
• Over 100 acres are dedicated to cider-specific apple varieties.
• The extreme UV exposure at high elevation leads to apples with higher sugars, acids, and tannins, setting the stage for rich, complex ciders.

Managing a shorter growing season, spring frost risks, and labor-intensive frost protection methods has shaped their unique approach to farming and fermenting.

Snow Capped produces:

• 16 canned ciders distributed across four states.
• 54 distinct bottled ciders, from single varietals like Kingston Black and Harrison to blends featured in the Elevation Series.
• Botanical infusions and experimental ferments, all handled with precision and passion.

Their Gold Rush cider, a blend of French and English apples, showcases the vibrant flavors that their terroir imparts — a naturally complex, award-winning cider approachable for all levels of cider drinkers.

Ciders are available via:

• Retail in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and California
• Online at VinoShipper
• Their exclusive cider club offering small-batch, estate ciders.

Website: https://snowcappedcider.com

• Totally Cider Tours

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John Edwards, longtime cider maker and integral team member at Ross on Wye Cider & Perry Co., and the creative force behind his personal label Fly be Night Cider was last on the podcast in 2019.

ohn is part of the tight-knit crew at Ross Cider who keep things running from orchard to bottle. The team has embraced a belt press system, which John finds surprisingly nimble—even for small batches. While Ross is rooted in tradition, they’re also evolving their process to match the scale and diversity of their orchard.

• Transitioning to stainless steel fermentation tanks
• Working with old and rediscovered apple varieties
• Committed to wild yeast and natural fermentation
• Managing fire blight
• Diversifying the orchard’s apple stock with varieties like Kingston Black, Golden Ball, and Cider Lady’s Finger.

Fly by Night remains John’s personal cider expression—just a few barrels a year, shared with friends. Each release gets a new label (last year’s was “Space Goat”), and while the iconic “0% Sh*t” label is retired, the spirit of fun and integrity lives on.

John has one cider still in the cellar: a 2014 Foxwhelp that might just see bottles soon. Whether blending at Ross or bottling at home, John’s work reminds us that cider thrives on community, curiosity, and a bit of mystery.

• Episode 195: Fly Be Night Cider | 0% Sh**, UK
• Totally Cider Tour UK Edition

Walking into the barrel room at Oliver’s Cider and Perry Company, you might think you know what to expect. But surrounded by whitewashed stone walls, standing beneath the old Hessian sacking floor, and facing rows of aging barrels, I quickly realized this wasn’t just a cidery—it’s a living, breathing creative space for cider making.

Tom Oliver sources fruit both from his farm and from local orchards across Herefordshire. This isn’t an estate cidery where everything is grown on-site—but what sets Oliver’s cider and perry apart is Tom himself. A master blender with an instinct for balance, he brings character to every bottle. And while the farm may not produce every apple, it certainly imparts its own terroir through the land, the barns, and the quiet, purposeful rhythm of the work.

Blending Tradition with Innovation

• Tom is now experimenting with distillation: apple brandy, pommeau-style blends, and barrel-aged perry into brandy too!
• He’s careful with naming, refusing to call something a “Pommeau” unless it honors French tradition.
• Barrels sourced from rum, sherry, port, bourbon, and white wine shape each unique blend.

Tasting in the Barrel Room

We tasted perries straight from the barrel—some from single ancient trees, others blended with gin pears or red pear varieties. Each sip revealed:

• Confectionary sweetness
• Banana, melon, pineapple notes
• Mellow malolactic fermentation

This isn’t a showpiece cidery as Tom puts it, “It’s a working farm“, evolving from a hop yard and now cider. Tom calls it “just a part of the agricultural calendar.” No pretense, just purpose.

Tom Oliver straddles the line between tradition and experimentation with ease. Whether it’s a single-varietal showcase or a spirit-kissed blend, the goal remains the same: make cider that speaks of time, place, and people.

• Website: https://www.oliversciderandperry.co.uk

• 2025 Totally Cider Tour_UK Edition
  • Send an email to info@ciderchat.com to get on the wait list for the next cider tour!
• Tom Oliver Featured episodes:
  • 029 Tom Oliver| Oliver’s Cider and Perry, UK
  • 105 Tom Oliver on Making Perry | UK
  • 366 Acclaimed Cider w/Minimal Intervention | Tom Oliver

Tom Oliver began his keynote by saying, "At this year’s Applefest Banquet, I had the honor of lifting a glass to the people behind the pear—specifically Perry. It wasn’t just a toast to the drink itself, but to the incredible commitment behind its preservation and craft."

Charles Martel

• Known for his Stinking Bishop cheese and peri-based products.
• Catalogued disappearing peri pear varieties, creating the first national collection at the Three Counties Showground.
• His book on Gloucestershire pears remains a landmark work.

Jim Chapman

• Solicitor turned perry champion.
• Discovered the Hartbury Green pear and launched the Hartbury Orchard Centre.
• Now curates over 100 varietals displayed annually at the Malvern Autumn Show.
• Prefers dry, still perry—no bubbles, no fuss.

Kevin Minchew

• Perry pioneer bottling single varietals long before it was fashionable.
• Crafted standout perries like Gin and Huffcap in whiskey barrels.
• His final release, Last Hurrah, is a 23-year-aged marvel at 11% ABV.

"Each of these individuals helped elevate Perry to something worth saving, savoring, and sharing. Their legacies shape not just what’s in our glass—but how we think about heritage, land, and tradition.

Let’s keep their torch lit. Raise your glass—Perry!" quote from Tom Oliver

• Website: https://www.oliversciderandperry.co.uk

• Website: https://herefordcitycouncil.gov.uk/hereford-applefest-2025/
  • The AppleFest will be taking a pause for 2025 - stay tuned for 2026

• Totally Cider Tours - UK Cider Tour 2025
• Ciderganza at Ross Cider and Perry Co.
• Gabe Cook - Ciderologist
• Hereford Beer House - United Kingdom
• Jane Peyton Keynote Episode 440: Jane Peyton Keynote |Hereford AppleFest Banquet