Craft cider is having a moment across the world right now, but, sadly, Hong Kong still hasn’t arrived at the party. The Hong Kong Cider Festival hopes to change that.
The festival is the brainchild of the folks behind The Globe and local cider specialists Authentic Cider and Wanderer Cider. The latter two have collectively brought about 60 different kinds of ciders and perries (cider-like drinks made from fermented pears) to Hong Kong over the years – organic, strawberry-apple, whisky cask-aged and more. Slowly, they're working to reveal the depth of flavour a real cider should have while shattering the stereotype of it being little more than alcoholic, additive-laden apple juice.
Between March 28 and April 3, you can try dozens of different ciders at participating venues. But it won’t be only imports at the festival. Hong Kong currently boasts four of its own nascent cider makers: HK Whistle Cider, Neonotic Cider, Maks Cider and Dancing Lion Cider, a new sister company to local craft beer brand Moonzen.
Curious? Visit Moonzen on March 30 for a mini festival featuring ciders from three of those local producers. And if you’ve never experienced real cider before, you’ll have plenty of other opportunities to do so during the festival, which kicks off with a party at The Globe on March 28. Confirmed events include a cheese and cider event hosted by the founders of Cheese & Wine HK and Authentic Cider on April 3, as well as pop-ups at Craftissimo, Momentai, The Ale Project and more. There will also be a deep dive into the ciders of Herefordshire – one of the UK’s most prominent cider-making regions – at HK Brewcraft on April 1.