Tony Thorogood was born in Woolwich, but emigrated with his family as Ten Pound Poms, washing up in South Australia. Tony’s hybrid education was a mixture of school and self-teaching resulting in a law scholarship at the University of Adelaide, which soon turned into studying “revolutions, politics and the new wave of music and theatre”.

The late seventies and early eighties saw Tony write a number of plays and undertake many lines of employment (all night waiter, painter, junk mail distributor, gardener, labourer) before embarking on an epic world tour that took him through North Africa, the middle east, India, Bangkok… and the heady sights of Stockport. Not to mention coming close to death’s door more times than he’s had good cider!

But it was in North Yorkshire Tony met Susan and they now live together down under running the successful Thorogood’s Apple Wine business and writing books together.

The Beers

Hi Tony! Which 5 beers (or ciders!) would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island, and why?

1. Thorogoods Medium Dry Sparkling Scrumpy (Australia – 11.0%)
   “I love my own apple beers and ciders and if I was to have an extended stay on a lovely sandy island of course I would take my own Medium Dry Sparkling Scrumpy, It is a fruity with a complex flavor and goes so well with food, someone described it as Angels Poo, they meant it was brilliant.”
2. Theakston Old Peculiar (North Yorkshire, UK -5.6 %)
   “Theakston’s Old Peculier is one of my all-time favorite beers, at one time I was a head Barman at the Nelson Inn in Yorkshire and when all the punters had finished their lunch I would have a pint of Old Peculier and a bap filled with onion and real Wensleydale cheese. Heaven!”
3. Hecks Kingston Black (Somerset, UK – 8.0%)
   “I went around the world in 2008 trying ciders from all the classic cider regions of the world and in Somerset I became the happy owner of a bottle of Hecks’ Kingston Black which proved to be a mouthful of flavours including the rich tannins one expects from Kingston Black apples – a very interesting cider indeed.”
4. Jehan Lefèvre dry sparkling ciders (France, ABV unknown)
   “One hears so much about French cider but I was unimpressed until I got to the farm of Jehan Lefèvre in Saint-Cast-le-Guildo in Brittany. There I tried a bottle of Jehan’s dry sparkling cider and it was the first and only bottle of real dry champagne style cider I found in France. It was very tannic but I thought that if I could get a dozen bottles and cellar them for ten years that I would have an awesome cider.”
5. West County Roxbury Russet (USA – 7.8%)
   “American cider is forgotten but the USA has a great tradition of cider and it is now being revived. I went to the Franklin County Cider Days in New England and learnt many things about American cider and I tried a sweet West County Cider called Roxbury Russet. Usually I don’t like sweet cider but this one was good. It was tart, sweet, aromatic, with a rich full flavor and a tannic base, it had very few bubbles but a good cider does not need bubbles.”

And which beer (of those selected) do you regard most highly?

“Of course I love my own stuff, that is why I make it; but if I reach for a beer it needs to have real flavour that is why I like Old Peculiar.”

Tony Thorogood A World of Cider

The Meal

You can also take one meal to go with your beers, what would it be and why?

“We created our own recipe book which is to be published very soon – Susan’s Country Kitchen – and it is packed with great food but I love simple food and for a good cider you can’t go past a really good cheddar, a French double or triple cream or in Australia Pyangana from Tasmania and one of my all-time favorite cheeses real Wensleydale from Hawes in Yorkshire. Plus a lump of fresh country bread…”

The Books

You might be waiting a long time on your lonesome on the desert island, so we will automatically allow you a few books to keep your mind busy. You can pick between two beer books and two tomes: ‘The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food’ by Garrett Oliver, or ‘Beer’ by Michael Jackson; plus The Bible, or another appropriate religious or philosophical work

”Either of the beer books sound interesting, but my choice of a religious work would be the complete Jeeves and Bertie Wooster novels by PG Wodehouse.”

And a non-beery, non-philosophical book, something a little less taxing on the brain, what would that be?

“I love great children’s literature and my all-time favorite kids book Wind in the Willows so I’d take that.”

The record

You have a CD/mp3/long player but you can only take one album. Choose wisely!

“If I took one single record I would probably take something sensible and boring. I love Bono and I also love Wonderwall by Oasis so I’d make a compilation album with both of those guys on it for starters.”

The Luxury Item

And finally, what luxury item would help make your stay on the island bearable?

“This is a hard one for me as I’m not into too many luxuries – I’d really like a flushing toilet, a hot shower and clean bath towels.”

Thanks Tony! For more information on Tony’s apple wines visit http://www.thorogoods.com.au/

This article syndicated with All Gates Brewery blog as part of our ‘Desert Island Beers’ collaboration.

James Boag’s Premium Lager – 5.0%

Brewed in Tasmania, Australia, this little green bottle has travelled some distance to find its way in my hand. I’m glad it did.

This full bodied crisp lager is becoming a mainstay in my fridge this summer. I really like the freshness of this lager, when served ice cold it seems to reach down and refresh me from the pit of my stomach rather than many non premium lagers that refresh the mouth but leave the stomach with  something of a gassy non-entity. For certain this is in no small part to the carbonisation, not only is it not overly carbonised but it is also stylised in such a way that the bubbles feel small and unimposing meaning that bloatation is bottles away.

In terms of flavour it is crisp and full, the perfect compliment to the lightness created by the texture.

If you manage to find enough sunshine this summer to get some coals on the BBQ, I think you could do far  far worse than having a dozen or so of these in  the ice box ready to go.