Hawkes, London’s first urban cidery turning unloved, ‘wonky’, or surplus apples into delicious real-apple cider, continues its annual drive to turn vast amounts of otherwise ‘waste’ apples into planet-friendly cidery goodness with its inaugural #AppleDonorFest, 8-11 September, at the Hawkes Cidery & Taproom.
A celebration of the cidermaker’s annual Apple Donors campaign, in collaboration with The Orchard Project – the only national charity dedicated solely to the creation, restoration and celebration of community orchards – will see donors from around London, the South East and beyond, invited to deliver surplus stock from orchards, apples that have fallen from trees in the garden, or even those that might be on the turn in the fruit bowl, to be turned into cider.
Attendees and donors will also be treated to cider flights, pizza, cheese boards, guided tours of the Cidery and all-round apple focused fun, including the chance to win your very own potted apple tree!
Having saved 130,000 (twelve tonnes) of ‘waste’ apples in 2021, including seven tonnes of apples from urban orchards in London and the South East, donated by The Orchard Project, and a running total of 60 tonnes worth of apples over the past seven years, Hawkes hopes to salvage a further twelve tonnes of apples in 2022.
Anyone can support this very worthy cause, and for every three kilograms of apples donated, Hawkes will offer a free pint of its delicious real-apple cider. Becoming part of a special community, Apple Donors will also benefit from a lifetime discount at the Hawkes Taproom and will have access to exclusive events, including secret cider tastings.
Any type of apple goes – no matter the shape, size or variety. So as soon as the apples start to fall naturally, get the kids collecting from the bottom of the garden, inform neighbours with apple trees, or even go foraging… Got 12 kilos? Enjoy four free ciders!
Donations can be delivered to one of Hawkes’ four compass-point donation hubs; The Heathcote & Star pub in East London (E11 4EA), The Arnos Arms in North London (N11 1AN), and the Hawkes Bermondsey based Cidery & Taproom in the South of the capital (SE1 2HQ), as well as Forest Green Rovers New Lawn Stadium (GL6 0FG) in Gloucestershire – the world’s most sustainable football club, and set in the heartland of British apple growing.
For anyone across the UK unable to visit the London hubs during the six-week harvest campaign, apples can be packaged up and sent to the Hawkes Cidery & Taproom via post, addressed to: Apple Donors, Hawkes Cidery & Taproom, 86-92 Druid St, London SE1 2HQ.[1]
“#AppleDonorFest is a chance to kick off our annual Apple Donors campaign with a celebration of all things apple,” says Elliot Allison, Hawkes’ General Manager, “and help us on our way to saving twelve tonnes of apples – a double decker bus worth – from going to waste this harvest season.
“Climate action NGO WRAP, has confirmed to us this summer that as many as 800,000 apples are thrown away every single day from UK homes. That’s simply too huge to ignore.
“We’re hoping that #AppleDonorFest will encourage even more people to join us on our mission to save delicious apples from going to waste by turning them into pints of refreshing cider.”
All of Hawkes core cider is made using discarded, “wonky” supermarket fruit – too big or small for the shelves, but perfect for juicing. The annual Apple Donors harvest campaign was launched in 2015 to help Brits discard of surplus supplies sustainably and allowing them to play their part in reducing apple waste every autumn.
Using only natural ingredients and never apple concentrate, Hawkes takes a modern approach to cider production, offering vibrant, fresh and flavourful products, with quality, personality and sustainability at the core of every drop.
#AppleDonorFest at Hawkes Cidery & Taproom 89-62 Druid Street, London SE1 2HQ
Thursday 8 September, 6-9pm
Friday 9 September, 4-11pm
Saturday 10 September, 12-11pm
Sunday 11 September, 12-7pm
To find out more about Hawkes and the Apple Donor Campaign, visit wearehawkes.com.
