COLD - PRUNING - WASSAILING

The cidery’s a chilly place to be at this time of year, in the outdoor fermentation area, the unheated barn and storage container, pipes and hoses freeze and any jobs undertaken result in hands turning blue!

But on a clear bright day with the low sun shining through the barn doors, as we bottle, cap and label to re-stock the shelves, it’s a lovely place to be.

January sees the start of pruning – we missed this last year so there’s quite a bit of work to do to get the trees back in shape, its going to take a few weeks. Once the Wassail is done, we will let the sheep graze the orchard – the trees have grown big enough to hopefully withstand any undesirable nibbling.

So, talking of Wassail, this year we well and truly made merry! As well as the return of Skull Drummery, we welcomed folk band Ceol Na Mara to bring plenty of noise and frivolity amongst the trees to ward off any lurking evil spirits – in addition, enjoyed the wares of the Podgy Pieman. Plus of course, hot mulled cider and a nice warming fire to gather around.

Looking further ahead, we have set dates for the 2024 Tap Nights at the cidery. If you haven’t been before you’ve missed a treat! These events have grown in popularity over the last year, musicians have already been booked for 2024. Plus we have our first Cheese and Cider tasting event. Check out the website for dates and further details, we would love you to join us for a few mellow pints in the orchard.

And lastly – an exciting announcement! After 6 years maturing in an oak barrel high up on a self in the barn, we finally decided it was time to remove the bung and bottle up. The result is amazing – a dry smooth woody flavoured super vintage cider – we’ve named it ‘Scraping the Barrel’. Its in short supply – we only have 300 Ltrs – once gone its gone! We will drop some in the club boxes next month.