Nick and Jannene Geoghegan's Small Acres Cyder wins big at Royal Show

The cidery's 2017 The Cat's Pyjamas headlined Small Acres' efforts, winning the Champion Cider and Champion Bottle Conditioned Perry or Cider.

This is the second year Small Acres has taken home champion bottle conditioned after winning the medal in 2019, the last time the Royal competition was held.

Owner Nick Geoghegan, who runs Small Acres with wife Jannene, was delighted with the success which comes after the couple took over the business about 15 months ago from Gail and James Kendell, who have since moved home to the UK.

"We're delighted, it's very exciting to get the recognition from amongst your peers," Mr Geoghegan said.

Mr Geoghegan described The Cat's Pyjamas as a "very much a labour of love", with the 2017 vintage started before his family took over the cidery and produced using the method traditional.

"With a wild ferment cider it's always a bit of a risky bet, there's a lot of things out of your control. But when we started to finish the cider we realised it was really good," he said.

"There's lots of hand riddling (shaking the bottle to move sediment every few days) and hand disgorgement (freezing the neck of the bottle so the sediment can be removed)," Mr Geoghegan said explaining the fruit pressing was first fermented in oak barrels.

"That gives you the amazing colour and depth and everything else. Then you do a second ferment in the bottle so you actually have yeast in the bottle with the cider."

Mr Geoghegan admitted The Cat's Pyjamas' big and "funky" flavours weren't for everyone but its popularity has made the 2017 vintage scarce.

Small Acres also took out a silver medal at the show with its Norfolk still cider, and bronze medals with its Pommeau 2017, which Mr Geoghegan described as "an apple port", and its Pomme and Poire ciders.

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