Selling a barrel of cyder to the British Army today. It's going out to Waterbeach barracks for an officer's ball.

This reminded me of an amusing (to me anyway) passage from my father's book The history and Virtues of cyder about cyder as a national English drink.

"Social reform was seen as one of the major avenues to prepare for the coming of the new millennium. It was suggested that landowners should be legally obliged to plant a certain proportion of their land with fruit trees. R. Austen, who wrote a Treatise on Fruit Trees in 1653 (it included "The Spiritual use of an Orchard"), approached Cromwell with an appeal for state aid in a national scheme for the planting of fruit trees. The appeal was unsuccessful, but it embodied many of the points that were to be used many times again: the planting of fruit trees in hedges and orchards would supply timber, both for joiners and heavy use; the bark would supply the tanner's needs, which were currently raising the price of leather to a very high level; wood useless for construction would provide fuel; the general adoption of cider instead of ale would save malt, the wood used in preparing the malt (as fuel) , and the grain itself, freeing land for other purposes; moreover, cider was a such a health-giving drink that Englishmen, newly prosperous from following the above advice, "would be strong and healthy People, and Long-Lived, able to goe forth to Warre and bee a terror to all our enemies".

So cyder seems to have had great social implications in the past. To some extent many of the points made then are true today. As far as making English strong and a terror to our enemies, well I'll just have to ask the army after they have drunk some!

Herefordshire Cider at Checkley Brook

The great task of racking off 5000 liters of cyder has begun. Surprisingly enough some of the cyder from last autumn has finished fermenting and needed racking off. It was cyder I had made last September so it had had the chance to get most of the fermentation done before the very cold spell we had again this winter. Some of this is ready to sell and will be winging its way to a beer festival in Liverpool as I type.

Much of the later cyder is still cloudy and bubbling away. Hydrometer readings showed there was still sugar being fermented. I expect them to have finished by Easter.

The cold weather had another effect of bursting some pipe connectors in the kitchen and bathroom of the cottage. So it looks like I'll have to turn my had to a bit of plumbing next time I am over in Hereford ;-(

Herefordshire Cyder at Checkley Brook

Acetification of Cyder

I got a worried phone call from a worried amateur cyder maker the other day. They had found my phone number via my website (this is encouraging news for the visibility of the site). They were worried about whether to leave a gap of air at the top of the cyder's maturation tank. They should of course NOT leave an air gap. Whilst this is not a problem whilst the cyder is vigorously fermenting, all air should be excluded when the cyder has stopped fermenting and it being left to mature.

It is preferable to fill up the gap with water rather than leave it to aerate and acidify the cyder so turning it to vinegar. Of course adding water will weaken the cyder. Some people may actually do this to reduce the strength of a cyder. They only needed to add 2 litres to a 30 litre tank so the impact on the strength and taste of the cyder would be minimal.

Making cyder at Checkley Brook

Checkley Brook Cyder on Countrywise

It's been just under a week since Checkley Brook Cyder was on ITV's Countrywise Kitchen. Apart from the nervous anticipation I quite enjoyed watching. Fortunately we were only on for three minutes or so so it wasn't too excruciating. People have been taking the mike out of my accent; I was trying to sound posh - i.e. not swear on prime time TV. Anyway it was good to see more hits on the website - though no sales have materialised yet. Oh well if it had been too popular I probably wouldn't have enough for demand supplying three pubs already. A big thanks to all the Countrywise crew for making it happen.

Herefordshire Cyder at Checkley Brook

cyder on TV

Another social media advert for my fifteen minutes of fame (ti'll only
be a couple really). Checkley Brook on TV, woo! yay! Watch me trying to
be serious and not swearing. Wonderful cameo rolls for Simon Bates (le
Grand Fromager himself), Sarah tea maker par excellence and Hazel in a
wheelbarrow.
...


http://bit.ly/fliHVX

Herefordshire Cyder at Checkley Brook

Yes we are going to on TV on ITV's Countrywise programme on the 10 Dec at 8:00pm. They came over and filmed us picking apples and making cyder in October. And what fun it was too. They will also be cooking some Goucestershire Old Spot pork with our cyder too. They showed quite a lot of interest in my Dad's book 'The History and Virtues of Cyder' which was republished this year. so hopefully it might sell a few copies over the xmas period.

Herefordshire Cyder at Checkley Brook

Cyder poem

The wine they drink in Paradise
They make in Haute Lorraine;
God brought it burning from the sod
To be a sign and signal rod
That they that drink the blood of God
Shall never thirst again.
The wine they praise in Paradise
They make in Ponterey,
The purple wine of Paradise,
But we have better at the price;
It's wine they praise in Paradise,
It's cider that they pray.
The wine they want in Paradise
They find in Plodder's End,
The apple wine of Hereford,
Of Hafod Hill and Hereford,
Where woods went down to Hereford,
And there I had a friend.
The soft feet of the blessed go
In the soft western vales,
The road of the silent saints accord,
The road from heaven to Hereford,
Where the apple wood of Hereford
Goes all the way to Wales.

G. K. Chesterton


Herefordshire Cyder at Checkley Brook