On Friday, August 21, the Playa de Poniente in Gijón, Spain, turned into a sea of raised glasses: 10,385 people poured cider at the exact same moment, breaking the world record for simultaneous cider pouring. The previous record, 9,833 participants, had stood since the same festival’s 2025 edition.
In Asturias, this pour has a name and a technique: escanciado. You hold the bottle high above your head and tip natural cider into a glass held low, aerating the drink and waking up its flavor before knocking it back in one go, the traditional “culín.” Doing that in unison, by the thousands, on a beach, has become one of the most anticipated moments of the Gijón summer.
The record attempt was part of the 35th Fiesta de la Sidra Natural, which runs through August 30 and brings together fifteen Asturian cider houses for tasting contests and a craft market, capped off by the Tonel de Oro award, which this year went to Sidra Canal, a house founded in 1955. Organizers had more than 9,834 bottles on hand to beat the standing record; participants just needed to bring their own glass and head down to the sand starting at 6pm, ahead of the collective pour set for 8:30pm.
The festival has a charitable side too. Tasting tickets sold during the Día de la Sidra on August 23 raised 5,660 euros for ELA Principado, an association that supports people living with ALS.
The cider and apple market, meanwhile, stays open in the Jardines de la Reina through August 30, a much quieter affair than a beach where ten thousand glasses went up at once.