Cider Making

Apples have been pressed here for hundreds of years. The original apple press and rooms are still being used.  The orchards have been replanted and apples collected and milled into a pulp. A 'cheese' is then made of this, traditionally of straw, but nowadays using washed hessian cloth.

This can be pressed and then the sides trimmed and put up again if more juice is needed. At this point we test the specific gravity which tells us the potential strength of the cider.  The juice is then placed in oak barrels in the pound house to ferment.

Fermentation can be quite fast at first and a lot froth is produced. this helps protect the cider from the air and also is part of the cleaning process. After this has slowed down a bung is placed op top and the barrel is left to ferment slowly over the winter.

In April, 6 months later, on a cold morning the juice is keeved or racked off into a clean barrel or bottles. If the juice is still sweet bottling may not be appropriate unless it is pasteurized or sulphites added.