Isolation Libations - Virtual Cider House Tour

Perth Cider Tour - From Hill to Valley

No tastings in venues, bars set to re-open but only serving alcohol ancillary to a meal - it's a cider the times!

We bring you our final ISO tour as restrictions thaw in WA and we can start to move around more freely.

This one is all about them apples - as we travel through the Perth Hills to the Swan Valley and meet the orchardists, cider-makers and owners of Perth's cider houses.

Chris Buckee from Chris Buckee Reviews Beer joins us again to chat cider and offer a local perspective as a long time Perth Hills resident.

We kick it of in the infinitely 'grammable Raeburn Orchards - the birthplace of Roleystone Brewing Co as we talk to Adam, 3rd generation orchardist and director of Roleystone Brewing Co.

Raeburn Orchards & Roleystone Brewing Co

It is the PERFECT time to visit Raeburn Orchards if you want to see the gorgeous persimmon trees turn orange.

​They also grow pomegranate, apples, pears, stone fruits and citrus on this and their two other properties...but back to the cider!

​Adam met us under this orange canopy of leaves to chat about the history of the Roleystone Brewing Co. We walk through the crunchy leaves and jump on the buggy to head up the hill to the lawn where you can picnic, attend an event (when they are allowed to happen again) or hire to host your wedding!

We meet Chris in the very busy fruit shop where we chat the two varieties of cider that Roleystone Brewing Co make, and how they're low sugar and minimal additives mean the fruit really shines through.

Next off, we get naked. Erm, I mean - we visit Naked Apple Cider.

Naked Apple Cider

It wouldn't be a trip to the Perth Hills without some internet issues...and we did have some connectivity concerns at Karragullen. But it's so beautiful there, and cosy by the fire with the mulled cider that we didn't mind too much!
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We met Will by the fire to chat mulled cider, walked through the gorgeous grounds to meet Holly who chats weddings with us, and then back to Will and Chris for a run through of the cider range and the feature ciders.

You can pick them up at the venue in growlers, but unfortunately you have to also order food - well, it's not really unfortunate at all, because their food is apple-solutely delicious!

Next up we head over to Core Cider House and go backstage to the production area!

Core Cider House
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John, Justin and Ryan take us through the history of the venue, how the cider is made and we go through the range of tasty ciders from this stunning venue overlooking the orchards.

See how the apples are crushed in the production area with Justin, then walk through with us past the original apple truck with owner and 4th generation orchardist, John and then meet Ryan at the cellar door where we walk out onto the verandah to chat ciders with Justin and Chris.

We can't wait for their incredible line-up of events to get up and running again once it's safe to do so!

You can grab their ciders online here or visit the cellar door to pick them up for yourself.

Next we mosey down to Carmel Cider Co!

Carmel Cider Co

Here we see Monique (our director of Merriment) don a Carmel Cider Co beanie and introduce us to Libby - who's grandfather started the apple love on the property all those years ago!

Libby explains the history of her family and the venue (they're the same) and we go to Andrew who shows Chris through the range, their awards and mixes up a tasty cocktail!

Some of these ciders are made methode traditionelle which is the same way you make champagne.​

We say goodbye to Libby, Andrew and Coconut the cider dog and leave the Perth Hills for the Swan Valley and the funky Funk Cider!

​Funk Cider

We meet Martin, one of the founding brothers of Funk Cider who tells us his cider philosophy and takes us on a tour through the production area - high vis and all!

Martin and Chris chat all things cider and the correlation to cider and craft beers. It's a gorgeous sunny day in the valley and the grassed area we film from would normally be heaving with thirsty guests, getting into the apple juice.

But it's not just apples here - the brothers also use passionfruit, pineapples and more to make their signature ciders in those eye-catching black cans.

You can get them delivered (by the owners, in their funky shorts) here, pick some up for yourself at the cellar door, or get them at select bottleshops.

That's where we leave the final ISO Tour. We've visited 22 producers in 4 weeks across wine, gin, beer and cider and toured their facilities, talking to the people behind the booze. It's been an incredible ride, and so rewarding to do something to keep you all entertained and to keep sales coming through the tills of some of Perth's best producers.

We'd love it if you'd shop local next time you're buying drinks, and to book an IRL (in real life) tour with us once we get the go ahead that we can do so safely.

Thanks for joining us - we couldn't have done this without you all and it was great to see you tuning in from across the globe, sharing your photos, asking questions and generally supporting us and the local people who bring you the bevvies.