VIDEO: Tasting ‘Cider of the Year’ from East Sussex company

I love cider. I worked on a cider farm one summer in the middle of university which involved a lot of hard work and several wasp stings, but I got paid for being out in the sun all day and got free cider so overall it was pretty good.

When I found out a local cider company had been recognised in some industry awards, I jumped at the chance to meet them and try some of their winning blend!

Ascension Cider was named ‘Cidermaker of the Year’ and their Pilot blend was named ‘Cider of the Year’ at the Pellicle Beer and Cider Awards. The Pellicle Awards come from a well-respected magazine and podcast devoted to exploring beer, cider and other beverages, hosted by Matthew Curtis.

Ascension produces at Ringden Farm in Etchingham and has offices in Polegate.

Head cidermaker Matthew Billing started making cider when he was 14 in his mum’s shed because he was attending punk gigs and couldn’t get anyone to buy him alcohol so decided to just make it himself.

He said: “I found a book on home-brewing in the library and it went from there. I tried out all sorts of weird combinations and I’ve just never really stopped since then. Cider is who I am!”

In 2017 Matthew started Ascension with his dad, Martyn Billing. Now as Ascension grows, so has the team. Matthew’s partner Lauren Bartlett has joined full time, and Ben Hoare-Smith too.

Ascension only uses South East apples rejected from supermarkets, and doesn’t use chemicals or artificial sweeteners. Matthew said: “The more process you have, the more it strips away the flavour - we keep it simple and let the apples shine through. We focus on the apples we get each week, whatever’s on the market - this means each batch we make is slightly different.”

Matthew said he found out about winning the awards by listening to the podcast. He said: “It was a shock. I respect [Matthew Curtis’] opinion. I had to rewind to check what he was saying. It was pretty big for me really, we’ve never had that industry spotlight on us before.”

Despite this, Matthew said he doesn’t actively enter competitions because the recognition that matters the most to him is someone trying Ascension for the first time, and then going back for another one.

Ninkaci (within the Enterprise Centre), Bottle Grove (Grove Road), Beerarama (Bolton Road), and The Eight Bells (Jevington) all stock Ascension Cider so you can try it for yourself. You can also go to their website to find out where else it is stocked. Check out my review in the video. I highly recommend it.

East Sussex village beer wins gold at national awards