October is National Cider and Perry Month and CAMRA has chosen this time to honour Herefordshire cider expert Mike Johnson by awarding him the Pomona Award 2009.

Hereford is famous for its cider and has many thriving makers of both cider and perry. One such is The Ross-on-Wye Cider and Perry company, owned by Mike Johnson.

CAMRA refers to Mike as

"A selfless devotee to the world of real cider and perry, and a mentor to many of the UK's successful producers"

and have given him the award, named after the Roman Goddess of apples in recognition of his work in promoting real cider and perry. They also noted hat while Johnson's extensive charity work- which has seen him donate significant sums to development charities around the world- was not a factor behind his success in the Pomona Awards 2009, his willingness to help others is nevertheless a key reason why he has contributed so much to the cider and perry industry.

One individual who nominated Mike Johnson for the Pomona Award 2009 said,

'the cider and perry community owes Mike a huge debt of gratitude for his selfless dedication to helping encourage new producers to enter the market, even though they are in direct competition with him. This attitude, combined with his interests in ecology and benefiting the local community through holding an annual Cider Festival is reason enough to give Mike this award.'

John Harris from Ciderpunk.com described the ciders and perries produced by Mike at Broome Farm as being

'masterpieces of blending. Unlike most producers, walking into Mike's cellar you'll be presented with the names of the apples used for each barrel, and generally they'll be different each time you go. Sometimes he has as little as a single barrel of a particular blend.

Mike has a fantastic palate and really enjoys discussing flavours with his customers. One of the pioneering ranges he has produced is a set of bottled single-varietal ciders, along with blending notes, so his customers can mix the precise blend they like for themselves.'

The presentation of the award took place at Broome Farm on October 12th. Mike commented:

'I am very surprised to win as I didn't even know I'd been nominated. It's really gratifying for me and the team of people that put a lot of work into being hospitable and encouraging more people to make cider. I started producing myself in 1984, and it's great there's been a renewed interest in real cider in recent years.'