Presentation to the Three Judges : Scottish Cider Pub of the Year 2008 : 30 June 2008

Pictures by Euan Fraser

Your branch chairman had only returned from a holiday in Iceland a matter of hours, when a telephone call informed him that the award to The Three Judges for Scottish Cider Pub of the Year was to be made that very night - Monday 30th June. The decision having been made in his absence. Talk about short notice! Thankfully, he and several other CAMRA members including Colin Valentine made it to that great West End pub in good time. Alistair made the presentation to the deserving manager Angela Bradley, and Colin added some well chosen and received words.
This is the first such award in Scotland and even though cider is not traditionally a Scottish drink, recent interest in cider has resulted in many more Scottish pubs serving traditional farmhouse ciders. So the Three Judges did well to come out top. One feature which may have helped them is that they keep the ciders in the cellar and serve them through handpumps, rather than having them sitting at room temperature on or behind the bar. Plus the fact that traditional ciders (and perrys made from pears) are consistently available. They also serve a wide range which in addition to West Country ciders made with true cider apple varieties, also includes ciders from the east of England made from the dessert apples grown there. This does increase diversity and provides something for everyone, from those with an addiction to ciders of lip puckering acidity to those with a less dry pallet.
The Three Judges has proved first with dark beers and milds and now with traditional ciders, that if you provide good quality, well made products served in good condition, old ideas about what will and will not be popular go out of the window. Other pubs take note.