Neutral Cider Hotel – Details, episodes & analysis

Join Gabe Cook, Martyn Goodwin-Sharman, Grant Hutchison and Producer Scott Riggs at the Neutral Cider Hotel! The lads warm up for another victory lap around the specialist drink podcast circuit, regale of fatherhood, and lament using their mum’s dialup!

The guys select a drink that represents their last year, with Martyn selecting Wilding Cider’s Dabinett & Foxwhelp, Grant carefully opening Oliver’s Gold Rush 10, Gabe brings New Zealand’s finest to the table with Peckham’s Apple, and finally Scott cracks a blast from the past with Oliver’s Bottle Conditioned 2018. 

The guys diverge from tradition and plug a different book, Perry: A Drinker’s Guide by fellow podcaster Adam Wells. There’s tour discussions with The Twilight Sad and The Cure, the wonderful Cidercon and a conversation with Minnesota natives, an old friend and some new enemies. 

Producer Scott shares a tale of the tooth and some sad news about an old friend. Then, the guys close out the show by playing a little quiz that Gabe created. It's more of a slog, but feel free to scream out your answers at home!

And with that, the hotel closes for a

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
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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/...

Join Producer Scott as he chats with NCH Host Martyn Goodwin-Sharman on this special episode of the Neutral Cider Hotel podcast!

For the fifth and final stop on his 2023 UK tour, Producer Scott traveled from London back to Bristol where it all began. Sitting down with the podcast host that induced the most side-splitting laughter...The guy that told Rainn Wilson to fuck off within five minutes of their interview with him...A man with a heart of gold and the hardest working man in cider, Mr. Martyn Goodwin-Sharman.

They started out by discussing what Martyn has been up to over the past year, why his popular Cidershit Instagram account is so quiet lately, what has motivated him to be so damn fit and what's this impending baby news we've been hearing so much about.

They also talked about how Martyn's views on cider have changed, his outlook on fatherhood and what the Neutral Cider Hotel means to him.

And for this final episode, it was fucking fantastic chatting and laughing with Martyn, a genuinely funny and good human.

So, here we are. The final episode of this little mini-series checking in with the guys and a couple of cider makers we love. We really hope you've enjoyed these conversations as much we enjoyed making them.

And a heartfelt thank you from all of us at the Neutral Cider Hotel for supporting us for all of these years. We are truly humbled and grateful that you listened, wrote us, left voicemails and just always gave us the motivation to carry on.

And, we will carry on.

Please feel free to reach out to us on social media, leave us a voicemail or send us a note. We read them all and really appreciate each and every person that listens.

Also, do check out the other conversations from this trip in the podcast feed or any other episodes you've missed.

Thanks again for listening to the Neutral Cider Hotel podcast!

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
Executive Producer/Editor:

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/...

It's out with the old shameless plugs, and in with the new shameless plugs, as  Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman check back into the newly refurbished, Neutral Cider Hotel!

The guys welcome Season 2 in a wildly unceremonious fashion, but lay down the expectation of a monthly schedule, so get ready for a new and different pace for the show.  First things first though as Producer Scott has to ready the sound effects because the author of Ciderology announces his Patreon (Ta Da)! With wonderful exclusives, tier names and writing propositions, there’s plenty to get excited about with Gabe’s latest venture!

Then it's onto the news, with a cider subscription service in the UK, the chain Wetherspoons have ditched Strongbow for Stowford Press, and a certain person is not going to Cidercon, so there’s a whole broadsheet in this week’s opening of the show.

 Then, we have a brilliant chat with national treasure Olly Smith.  He’s an award winning communicator, author and podcast host and, without question, the jolliest drinks expert in town, He has regular television spots, books, and Pingu writing credits to his name! The guys chat everything, from Jason Orange, to parents loving Gabe, George Harrison and his Olly's own range of glassware! It's a full, wild ride of enthusiasm from a wine loving guy, who makes it incredibly tempting to pick up a bottle of plonk pronto!

After the chat with Olly, the guys drink Little Pomona’s collab with our own Grant; First Waltz. A rich, wild ride that the guys drink and dissect, whilst using a word that doesn’t sound right in a British mouth! The guys then break down how collaborations come together in cider

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/...

Celebrate the death of another year with Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman, as they ring out 2021 at the Neutral Cider Hotel!

It’s an episode of reflection, as our own Narcissus Gabe jumps on the cider horse and guides the guys down a winding track to hunt a certain cider mole, offending his own mum and Scotch cider makers along the way!

As 2020 was eventful to say the least, it felt right to round out the year with an episode dedicated to the sequel and all its highlights. The guys chat everything they’ve loved about the year just gone, with their top moments, tv shows, films, music and of course, ciders. Who will make the list from 2021’s guests? Which host’s tastes do you hate the most and why is it Martyn’s? All these questions and more will be answered in this deep dive into the things that kept the Hotel going, just don’t expect a live show any time soon!

And with that, the year is wrapped up officially, and with no plans for any more episodes just yet, the hotel closes its doors. Take care of yourselves, and make sure you drink enough of the good cider to give us a reason to come back at the end of the year!

-NCH x

Favorite Album of 2021
Martyn: Limp Bizkit - Still Sucks
Grant: Olivia Rodrigo - Sour
Gabe: Calibre - Feeling Normal
Scott: Bo Burnham - Inside

Favorite TV Show
Martyn: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
Grant: Mare of Easttown
Gabe: Succession
Scott: The Other Two

Favorite Film
Martyn: Bo Burnham - Inside
Grant: Luca
Gabe:

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/...

Leave out a mince pie and a glass of cider, as Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman slide down the chimney of the Neutral Cider Hotel!

After some time off, the boys felt that a one off was the only call to make for you, the listener! They’ve been counting down the seconds it seems, Gabe’s been on the tax filing, Martyn has been with friends of the show Little Pomona for harvest, and Grant has been running two businesses whilst chugging the oatnog! Producer Scott has been getting paid to produce an alternative reality version of the hotel, featuring a sport the guys are unsure of.

Gabe and Grant discuss ciders they’ve made and Martyn reveals a secret identity before moving on. 

For this special Christmas episode, the guys head back to the world of music to talk with the singer and songwriter from Manchester Orchestra, Mr. Andy Hull. With a new album released this year (The Million Masks Of God) and fresh from a recent US tour, the guys have a great conversation covering evertyhing from the anxiety of touring during a pandemic, doubting music, collaborating with Scott from Frightened Rabbit on the song "Architect," cider in Atlanta, sight-seeing in Hull (and the famous Hull accent) to what Andy's music means to a certain hotelier!

Then the guys discuss Christmas traditions highlighting some of the ciders they plan to drink on Christmas including Burrow Hill, Little Pomona, Braanland, Eve’s Cidery, Oliver’s cider, Angry Orchard, Westcounty Cider and

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/...

Grab your bags, double check you have everything from your room, and head to reception, as Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman check out of the Neutral Cider Hotel.

As Season One of the show draws to a close, the guys discuss how it started, who takes the blame for the show, and their favourite moments. Certain things pop up so keep an ear out for some surprises! Martyn finally gets his arms on a bottle of Wilding or Wildling (it’s too late to check which ones which now), Gabe can’t leave out any references to tackle and bait headphones, and grant cuts the unaired bedroom-session episode to ribbons, like a badminton net with a tomato knife.

Then it's onto the final interview of the season -- Robby Honda from Tanuki Cider! The guys chat everything: from Robby’s interest in starting a cider company with his brother even though he had no skills to offer, how his family and their history with apple orchards inspired him to start a cider business, his DIY ethic and approach to Tanuki to dry farming in a place where water is scarce, the lore of the Tanuki and the challenges of growing apples in a geography that encounters heat waves, droughts and dry lightning. Robby also turns the tables and asks Grant about drinking and playing drums which leads to a lovely discussion of how cider brings us all together.

While chatting with Robby, the guys crack two Tanuki cider bottles; Wild Fermented Gravenstein and, you guessed it, Newton Pippin! Both wonderfully different, equally interesting and downright unexpected in one way, the guys loved cracking some specifically imported stuff for the episode, so thanks again to the guys of Tanuki for shipping over the good stuff!

Then it's onto the speakpipes, and you guys honked the pipe for the last show! Featuring new voices and previous guests, you’d be safe to guess that some foxwhelp content will be

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/...

Get your indie rock sensibilities tuned up with Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman as they build a fake empire at the Neutral Cider Hotel!

Gabe kicks things off with a reflection on the Bristol Cider Salon. Beyond the cider makers that stood out (it’s a long list) they also chat about secret fleshy meetings, the awkwardness of being pseudo celebrities, the size of Sam from Wilding's arms, Grant’s overflow status at his table and Martyn’s special “Cider Dance” to the delight of Cider Jim, Gemma and anyone else nearby.

Then it’s onto our big interview where we welcomed two-fifths of one of the most successful indie rock bands in the world. The National took the long route to success with the age-old approach of touring relentlessly and writing music for themselves. They’ve worked with groundbreaking artists including Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Sufjan Stevens and most recently, Taylor Swift. Checking into the hotel this week, it’s Aaron Dessner and Scott Devendorf of The National.

The guys chat everything; being creative during the pandemic, working with Taylor Swift and her Folklore album, touring with Frightened Rabbit, the drain of touring, Martyn’s favorite song from The National, Aaron getting doxxed and the thousands of threats they received, their perspectives on streaming, Aaron’s experience producing Frightened Rabbit’s last full length album (Painting of a Panic Attack), Big Red Machine and what a tour for them might look like, when The National anticipates releasing new music, how they rep their Ohio roots, their process for writing music and their outlook on the future.

Finally, we hit the Speakpipe yet again for a couple of great calls. First up, Blair has a question about the influence of certain swamp creature on Scottish children and Timmy Towers wants to know more about terrior and Gabe is absolutely willing to blag it for his longtime friend from New Ze

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/...

Get ready to rock with Gabe Cook, Grant Hutchison and Martyn Goodwin-Sharman as they get their apologies in order at the Neutral Cider Hotel!

First off, it's a reunion of sorts, with tales of hot sauce, cocoa butter, ghost writers, Gabe’s Book and the reading ability of the Scottish! Grant is in the hotel and the gang is back together.

Then it's onto the news where Gabe’s got the facts and he’s talking rubbish. It’s GLINTCAP, and we’re celebrating friends of the show with Once Upon a Tree and previous guest Gidon of Original Sin. Then the nature of a certain live show comes up, have a guess as to who the salty one of the group is! Back onto helping friends of the show’s small side projects, with Biffy Clyro and Death Cab For Cutie both getting the Neutral Cider Helping Hand. Grant’s also got Cheggers in the house?

Then it’s onto our interview, this week, we’re welcoming one of the most important voices in US cider making.  Growing up in the apple country of Western New York State and having tinkered with home fermentation, he got his big break working for Virtue Cider in Chicago more than a decade ago before becoming the Head Cider Maker at the USA’s largest producer. Famed for collaborations with many of the world’s best producers, including NCH regular, Tom Oliver, and for winning countless awards, today’s guest is a tireless advocate for cider and has been a board member of the American Cider Association since 2014.  Checking into the hotel, it’s Ryan Burk from Angry Orchard!

The guys chat everything: Ryan’s retirement, spitting on shoes, cow sound effects, mistakes made, fermented weed, the hardcore scene, the greenest place on the planet, and what it takes to make Gold Rush It’s a chat the guys have been waiting to record, and just goes to prove how good a chat the live show would have been, not that we’re bitter or anything.

Finally, it's onto listener question

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/...

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

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/...

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!

The Team:
Gabe is a cider expert: The Ciderologist
Grant has two

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/...