A husband and wife duo are set to open Edinburgh’s first cider only taproom in Stockbridge at the beginning of May.
Alison, 58, and Jim, 41, Lamb, from Morningside had spent three years over the pond in Alaska where they developed a taste for dry cider.
On returning to the capital they realised that the current market was a bit too sweet for their taste.
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Jim, who works in the tech industry, has always had a keen interest in home brewing and so the couple set about making their own home brew which ended up being a hit with friends and family around a year and a half ago.
Following their initial success, the pair ended up brewing bottles to sell at local markets and festivals, with customers raving about the product.
They soon set up a website and decided to make the move to open their own taproom in Stockbridge after spotting a vacant unit whilst selling their Edinburgh Cider Co. product at the local market.
Alison, who has now given up her career in social work to focus on developing the business, said: “We enjoyed drinking dry ciders when abroad but struggled to find variety within the market in the UK that suited our palate.
“Jim has always been a keen home brewer so we decided to try to make some of our own cider recipes which were on the drier side of the scale.
“Our idea was to utilise craft brewing techniques into the cider production, making them quite unique products.
“Home brewing in a garage sized building at our home resulted in the creation of our flagship product Arthur’s Apple followed by Grassmarket Hopped.
“We started out by testing on family and friends who gave really positive feedback and the idea to make this into a business was born.
“All the ciders are produced locally and are gluten free, we name some after iconic landmarks in Edinburgh.
“We are pushing the boundaries of what craft cider is, and believe we have created a pretty unique product.
“We started selling at local markets, then were asked to do food and drink festivals and now we are also stocked in several bars and shops in Edinburgh.
“The idea to open a small tap room came last year and we are excited to announce the opening of The Cider House Stockbridge - Edinburgh’s only cider pouring tap room.
“The Cider House is located at 42 St Stephen Street Stockbridge and we will showcase eight of our own ciders that will rotate as the product cycle changes, to enable us to bring our customers lots of choice.
“Customers will also be able to enjoy a variety of different street foods to accompany flights of cider, as The Cider House Stockbridge is collaborating with local vendors on a rotational basis to again offer customers lots of choice.
“We are really nervous and I think you would be crazy not to have apprehension considering the circumstances of the world.
“Every penny counts but we knew when an opportunity arose that we would have to go for it.
“A lot of work has gone into renovating the unit but there truly is nothing like it in the capital.”
Her advice to anyone thinking about giving up their day job to follow their passion was: “You just have to have faith that you have a product that people want.
“Trust when the feedback is good and it has helped us to have a genuine following of people who love the product.”
The couple will have their grand opening on May 6 and plan to open the taproom from 2-10pm Thursday to Sunday.
You can learn more about the Edinburgh Cider Co. via their website here and Instagram here.
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