Neutral Cider Hotel

Latest Episodes:

An Incestuous Jar Of Eggs (Mini Episode - Pandemic Chat, Pickled Eggs, Pub Quiz) Aug 08, 2021

Show notes

Grab a pen, put a pound in the pot and grab a quiz sheet with Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman at the Neutral Cider Hotel!

Up first, a quick update on our live show at the Bristol Cider Salon scheduled for this Thursday, the 12th of August. Unfortunately, it’s been postponed. For more info on why (COVID) as well as updates on when and where it would be rescheduled, please follow us on our social media pages for the latest news.

In this week’s episode, we unlock for you the final never-before aired episode from Patreon vault and it's called “Pub Life”; the guys chat about pubs returning to normal in spring, service and having a baby in lockdown. Then, a ludicrous tale of pickled eggs and The Cock Tavern, and as promised; all the flavours are here. Then, it's onto a quiz to celebrate all pubs around the world.
Finally, the guys revisit there pandemic conversation from April and then get into their experience in the world with vaccines!

There are still three episodes left before the Season 1 Finale of the Neutral Cider Hotel at the end of August, so please continue to listen and share with your friends. We absolutely appreciate you and your continued support. We also have some great guests lined up for the last three episodes including one "nationally" known that we think you’ll like.

Also, please leave us a voicemail on our Speakpipe page as soon as you can so we have a chance to air them before the season ends.

The Team:
Gabe is a cider expert: The Ciderologist
Grant has two cider businesses: Re:Stalk and Aeble Cider Shop
Martyn loves to write about cider: CiderShit
The Rest of The Team:
Executive Producer/Editor: Scott Riggs
Music: Billy Kennedy
Connect:
Instagram: NeutralCiderHotel
Facebook: NeutralCiderHotel
Twitter: NeutralCiderPod
Listen and share episodes on our website: https://www.neutralciderhotel.com/
Leave us a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/neutralciderhotel

THE TEAM
Gabe is a cider expert: The Ciderologist / Substack
Grant owns a cider shop: Aeble Cider Shop
Martyn loves to write about cider: CiderShit

Executive Producer/Editor: Scott Riggs
Music: Billy Kennedy
CONNECT
Instagram: NeutralCiderHotel
Facebook: NeutralCiderHotel
Threads: NeutralCiderHotel
Bluesky: NeutralCiderHotel
YouTube: NeutralCiderHotel
Linktree: NeutralCiderHotel
Listen and share episodes on our website: https://www.neutralciderhotel.com

Leave us a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/neutralciderhotel
Join the conversation: https://www.reddit.com/r/NeutralCiderHotel/...

Hot Dog Flavored Cider (Mini Episode - Our Favorite Music, Ross On Wye Blind Tasting) Aug 01, 2021

Show notes

Join hosts MC G. Sizzle, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman as they get wiggity wiggity whack at the Neutral Cider Hotel.

Up first, we want to remind you that the Neutral Cider Hotel LIVE show is right around the corner. Please join us Thursday, the 12th of August at the Hen & Chicken in Bristol for our first live recording of the show. Get your tickets soon as we want the placed packed for a night of fun, cider and prizes. For more details and to purchase tickets, go to our Eventbrite page.

In this week’s show, the guys chat Two Belly and Ross on Wye’s collaboration blend, drainpours and the true nature of hip hop. Music takes a front seat in this week’s show, with the guys discussing albums they were playing ten years ago, so feel free to listen to their suggestions, but only after the episode has finished!

Then, it’s onto our feature this week, where once again we opened up the Patreon vault and found a never aired feature called “Hot Dog Flavored Cider”; a blind tasting game featuring the beautiful bottles of Ross on Wye. Expect teamwork, treachery, confusing scoring, and high production values! Also, we’ve finally answered the #releasethefoxwhelpcut by actually releasing some foxwhelp content. We hope our foxwhelp fans (especially Cath) are happy, but also are completely indifferent about it if they’re not happy.

This episode closes with a musical epilogue that, I won’t spoil here, but sweet jesus is it good.

There are still a few episodes left in Season 1, releasing through the month of August, so please continue to listen and share with your friends. We absolutely appreciate you and your continued support.

And, please reach out and leave us a voicemail on our Speakpipe page before the end of Season 1 so we can hear your comments, answer your questions and take whatever you have for us!

Stuart’s Inquiry (Mini Episode - Martyn’s Memory Game) Jul 25, 2021

Show notes

Join hosts Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman as they hold back family insults at the Neutral Cheat Hotel.

Up first, we start things off with a plug. The Neutral Cider Hotel LIVE show is happening this year at the Bristol Cider Salon. Join us Thursday, the 12th of August at the Hen & Chicken in Bristol for our first live recording of the podcast. For more details and to purchase tickets, go to our Eventbrite page.

In this week’s show, the guys try to remember what the episode is about, discuss the history of Gabe’s glorious moustache, one of Gabe’s better features, Martyn’s caterpillar, and what could have been. Get your guess in now for Gabe’s job title, if he wasn't the Ciderologist, and also rest in peace David Bellamy.

Then it’s onto our feature this week, where once again, we opened up the Patreon vault and found a never before aired feature called “I Can’t Remember.” Martyn, saving the show again, has pulled together clips from previous episodes highlighting tasting notes of ciders they sampled on the show and putting the guys to the test to see if they can identify the cider from the notes. Featuring reluctant adverts, some orrorible stories wilst being trapped in a room, places not being places, Gabe googling in a game again, and just pure memory.

There are still episodes coming through the month of August, so please continue to listen and share with your friends. We absolutely appreciate you and your continued support.

And, please reach out and leave us a voicemail on our Speakpipe page! We’d love to hear from you.

Le Stinky Poo Poo (Mini Episode - Our Good, Bad and Ugly Cider Experiences) Jul 18, 2021

Show notes

Join hosts The Good, The Bad and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman as they gear up for the end, at the Neutral Cider Hotel!

Up first, with the recent announcement of season one coming to an end and the uncertainty of what’s next, the guys get to work on the live show to make sure they make all of their fans that attend, have an amazing time. The Neutral Cider Hotel LIVE show is happening at the 2021 Bristol Cider Salon. If you are going to be at the Cider Salon or are willing to journey to Bristol on Thursday, the 12th of August, please plan to join guys for a live recording of the show. It’s happening at the Hen & Chicken. Show will start promptly at 8pm. For more details and to purchase tickets, check out our Eventbrite page. Tickets are limited and they will sell out, so get yours now!

In this week’s show, the guys take a jab at star signs in place of Mystic Meg, and Gabe gets caught in a cider avoidance scheme, before they discuss the good side of cider. Gabe’s trip to Norway and a surprise apple at Balholm Cider, Martyn’s guest blending with the likes of Pilton and Little Pomona with a new one with Nightingale Cider, and Scott’s gateway through the pod to this little world called cider all make up their favourite moments.

Then it's onto this week’s mini episode, which followed on from our conversation with the wonderful Rachel Hendry, so check out her wonderful blog at https://mailchi.mp/23163f3ab868/jadoreleplonk!

Our feature this week, we opened up the Patreon vault again and found a never aired feature called “Bad Cider.” Martyn asks the guys about their worst experiences in the world of cider, featuring such hits as boats and service, festival drinking and guided tours gone wrong! And before the guys leave, there’s a message on the Speakpipe, from an anonymous Irish robot...

There are still episodes scheduled for release through the month of August, so please continue to listen and share with your friends. We absolutely appreciate you and your continued support.

And, don’t be afraid to leave us a message about the podcast, the live show, any of Gabe’s books, auto repair questions or anything else at our Speakpipe! We’d love to hear from you.

Set The World To Rights (Mini Episode - Sandford Orchards, Kentish Pip, Scottish Slang Game) Jul 11, 2021

Show notes

Join hosts Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman as they ponder the fate of the Neutral Cider Hotel!

Up first, with the recent announcement of season one coming to an end and the uncertainty of what’s next, the guys get to work on the live show to make sure it's literally the best show anyone has seen in 2021. The Neutral Cider Hotel LIVE show is happening this year at the Bristol Cider Salon on Thursday, the 12th of August, so please plan to join guys for a live recording of the show. For more details and to purchase tickets, go to our Eventbrite page.

In this week’s show, the guys are putting the world to rights. Pulling back the curtain on what it takes to run a hotel, the guys drink the wares of guests that weren’t and ciders that were had but no one heard they were had.

We finally taste Sandford Orchards Vintage Series, with a dial-up delay and the wonderful Kentish Pip, featuring the movers and shakers Discovery, and the ever easy Skylark. We also note some cider makers we didn’t have on the show, but had hoped to and want you to check them out. Those include Angry Orchard, The Son of The Smiths Cider in Japan, some traditionalist ciders from the likes of Julian Temperley or Roger Wilkins, Raging Cider & Mead in San Diego and Tanuki Cider. And, for the record, this is not Kingsbury Episcopi!

Then, for our feature this week, we opened up the Patreon vault again and found you another great, but never aired feature called “Scotta Get Through This.” Grant challenges the boys on their knowledge of Scottish slang and, let’s just say someone needs to shoogle some sense into them. This is a mini-episode, shorter than usual, but no less fabulous.

And, don’t be afraid to leave us a message about the podcast, the live show, any of Gabe’s books, auto repair questions or anything else at our Speakpipe! We’d love to hear from you.

Drawing To Conclusions (Mini Episode - Martyn's Drawing Game) Jul 05, 2021

Show notes

Join hosts Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Greatest-Showman as they are put on notice from the Neutral Cider Hotel!

Up first, big news from the amateur hoteliers as their hotel has given them until the end of August 2021 to vacate the premises. This leaves the future of the Neutral Cider Hotel in jeopardy, but, for now, the boys will carry on.

Eviction or not, the first (and possibly last) LIVE recording of the Neutral Cider Hotel is happening this year at the Bristol Cider Salon. If you are going to be at the Cider Salon or are willing to journey to Bristol on Thursday, the 12th of August, please plan to join guys for a live recording of the show. It’s happening at the Hen & Chicken and the show will start promptly at 8pm. For more details and to purchase tickets, check out our Eventbrite page. Tickets are limited and they will sell out, so don’t be like a Cidershit and wait until they are sold out before you try and get yours!

For the show this week, we opened up the vault at the Neutral Cider Hotel and selected one of our favorite, but never aired features called “Drawing To Conclusions.” This is a mini-episode, shorter than usual, but no less fabulous. And before you listen, please go to our Instagram page and find the drawings we posted for this episode. It’ll be much more fun if you play along.

The guys are busy planning that live show and trying to figure out what this eviction means for the future of the show, but there’s still plenty of poscasts in the diary before the end of August and we appreciate you and your continued support.

And, don’t be afraid to leave us a message about the podcast, the live show, any of Gabe’s books, relationship advice or anything else at our Speakpipe! We’d love to hear from you.

Addictive: Great For 16-Year-Olds (Tom Stephens, Rebel Root) Jun 27, 2021

Show notes

Join hosts Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Greatest-Showman as they pitch up in the mud, with the Neutral Cider Hotel!

Up first, the guys celebrate the missing event from the cider calendar; Glastonbury Festival. This year’s celebration is cancelled for obvious reasons, but the guys go through their festival stories including backstage antics, Grant’s joyless view of the magic, and Gabe’s brother and the terror of the murderous horses. Ten points for guessing correctly which host brings up the toilet humour first! Martyn then cracks a bottle of Little Pomona’s Table Perry, with a playlist from our own Grant, and Scott takes the guys through his highlight of years in the festival game.

Then, in the news, it’s a maker from the fruit episode; Kopparberg in the news! Freedom of speech and fake news in the world of cider, before Original Sin’s New York Dry Cider comes onto the market, with targeted advertising for the product. And finally, Grant’s opinion is needed on the smoky chill of a new product.

This week’s interview is with an apple grower, pro-juicer and cider maker with a passion for regenerative agriculture. From his family farm in Sussex Tom Stephens has created a multi-award winning juice brand with Wobblegate, one of the first modern cider tap rooms in the country, and a progressive, unapologetically West Sussex cidery in Rebel Root.

Featuring all the book plugs in best ways, the guys chat about all things; traditional cider vs new world, branding and ethos, Bramley and the cider drinker and running businesses with a young family. This week's tasting is two new ciders from Rebel Root, in cans! Down Time and Gypsy Soul are cracked, studied and questioned properly in the Hotel!

Then it's time to dive into your Listener Questions including a Speakpipe message from a certain fan in Washington DC, and some inquisitive words from New Zealand! Featuring copper pipes and Italian advice, the guys have a good time with this one!

Thank you for listening and please leave us a message at our Speakpipe as well as join us on our socials below!

Magimalus (Polly Hilton From Find & Foster) Jun 20, 2021

Show notes

Join hosts Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman as they sing along to the dial up tone, in the Neutral Cider Hotel!

Firstly, Gabe has moved house, again, for another time, and dropped out of Nempnett Thrubwell, Martyn has been torn by the first episodes of his favourite comic Sweet Tooth, and Grant has an exciting delivery of some East Coast beauties with Eve’s Cider!

This week’s news is one with a deep dive into language, and what people get wrong with cider, by way of Angry Orchard’s Ryan Burke, featuring Scott’s playthrough of GTA 3 and Gabe’s rudimentary understanding of weaponry.

This week’s interview is with the wonderful Polly Hilton of Find & Foster. Working alongside her husband Matt, Polly seeks to find rare varieties in old Devon orchards and creates drinks using specialised techniques, such as bottle fermentation and keeving, to showcase the value of this heritage. The guys chat about everything, including the start of the company, cidery cider, ex-racehorses, label choices, 80 year old cider and shameless plugs! During the chat, the guys crack Find & Foster’s newest bottle; the return of Saison Pomme. Check out which critiques Polly remembers from the guys last chat about it!Then it's onto the Listener Speakpipe messages, featuring a glowing endorsement of fruit ciders from Timothy Jay and the wonderful Turdlinger in response to last week’s episode, prompting a discussion about what fruit ciders the guys enjoy.

Thank you for joining us at the show, and leave us a message at our Speakpipe and join us on our socials below!

One Cheeseburger Per Bottle (Fruit Ciders Special, Tasting Pilton's In Touch 2, Strongbow, Kopparberg and Rekorderlig Ciders) Jun 13, 2021

Show notes

Join hosts Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman as they get very merry with berries in the Neutral Cider Hotel!

Firstly, the first draft is almost right closely nearly coming to be given in on Gabe’s new book; Modern British Cider! We’re wondering if gabe went over the wordcount! Martyn’s new blend with regulars on the show Little Pomona, Glad to be Plaid is out in the world, with MAD CYDER HYPE! And finally Grant keeps the guys all regular with the news of the Museum of Cider reopening again, before the guys split to the news.

This week’s news is filled with more piss and vinegar than the usual fair, featuring cures for the hichoueps, correct use for foxwhelp single varieties and the aromas of Scottish Scalps. Then the guys get ready for some unadulterated fruit ciders!

This week things are slightly different, as the guys delve deep into the dark world of Fruit Ciders! Drinks with a huge sway in the cider market and mostly loathed by dentists, this was a category that the guys couldn’t ignore any longer! And it's a go big or go home situation, as the guys try three of the biggest in the UK market, with Strongbow Dark Fruit, Kopparberg Strawberry & Lime, and Rekorderlig Strawberry Lime. Get ready for some wild reactions from the hypercritical triumvirate, high blood sugar, insane analysis and some Jackass Lite stunts!

Then onto the other end of the flavoured cider market, with Martyn’s blend In Touch 2 with Pilton. The fruit on show is Bacchus grape skins, brought together with keeved ciders and Dabinett, so the fruit is brought to life by the cider, but don't take my word for it, I just write the show notes and blend the stuff!

Then it's onto the game, which Martyn has brought to the bunch with some wild rules! Drink along with your guesses, and slide into our DMS with the results! I’ll buy anyone a drink who gets the whole lot! - Gabe

Thank you for joining us at the show, and leave us a message at our Speakpipe and join us on our socials below!

Stigmata Cider (Simon Wright - Founder and Former CEO of Hawkes Cider, Pearson's Dry Cider Tasting) Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

Join hosts Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman as they welcome you, for the first time, to the Neutral Cider Hotel!

But first, the guys congratulate the team at Cider-Review for their launch party, which brings to light something that was missing from the Hotel. A drink every time the guys make a reference throughout this section will surely see you right!

Then it’s onto this week’s featured cider, Pearson’s Dry, which the guys give their swift views on before it's on to the news. There’s a lot to digest, with Sassy Cider making their way into Majestic, a few stray cats and some hopped juice, not so yum sounding flavoured cider, and some from across the pond, a collab of sound and cider brings Road Apples to life!

This week’s guest is the original Saviour of Cider, Simon Wright. From a small archway in East London to a bigger archway on the Bermondsey Beer Mile, Hawkes Cider quickly became a by-word for bold and contemporary branding, fresh, modern ciders and London’s finest tap room. Attracting the attention of Brewdog back in 2018, he left the company last year to pursue ventures new, so let’s see what’s on the horizon. The guys chat about everything, from the open arms of the cider community, the nature of selling a business, the difference between the US and the UK and more.

Then it’s onto the speakpipe, featuring a message from Sam from Vessel Beer Shop in Plymouth, and it’s all about the homebrew side of cider!

Thank you for joining us at the show, and leave us a message at our Speakpipe and join us on our socials below!

The Team:
Gabe is a cider expert: The Ciderologist
Grant has two cider businesses: Re:Stalk and Aeble Cider Shop
Martyn loves to write about cider: CiderShit
The Rest of The Team:
Executive Producer/Editor: Scott Riggs
Music: Billy Kennedy
Connect:
Instagram: NeutralCiderHotel
Facebook: NeutralCiderHotel
Twitter: NeutralCiderPod
Listen and share episodes on our website: https://www.neutralciderhotel.com/ Leave us a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/neutralciderhotel