146 Cider

The season is finally over...

2012-01-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

This was rather a long season of apple pressing! Still, its all done now and I can sit back and enjoy Christmas - well, that and start to plan some improvements for next year!

Getting the Voran press after the start of the season could have perhaps been better - it took a week to get it into place, and a further week to change the motor to work on non industrial electricity supply. And then the process of learning what it was capeable of and how that would affect the rest of the pressing process had to take place on the job. And it does change rather a lot! I now have to go through my list of modifications, cost them up and make sure they are done before next September.

So, sitting here in the warm (at last) and allowing the aches to recover I can now report that in all there is:

1650 litres - Hampshire Heritage Cider

Fermenting gently in a Rotoplas tank (all together). This year, there were 18 different varieties pressed; 48% cider (mostly bittersweet), 51% desert and 1% sharp. There is no Bramley used at all which should allow the more delicate but fragrant acids in the desert fruit to come through better.

1000 litres - Wild West Cider

Not quite as much as I had hoped this year, but an IBC full nonetheless! This year I have used a wider variety of cider fruit (last years contained too much heavy tannin from the Chisel Jersey); 76% cider, 10% desert and 14% sharp varieties used. Whilst I am hoping to round off some of the harsher tannins I still want to achieve a fully western style of cider - just the best western style of cider I can produce!

1600 litres - Eastern Delight Cider

This is the experiment from last year - 300 litres of a fully eastern style of cider. I anticipated it being a little less acceptable to customers than the western cider - what with most supermarkets being full of this kind of thing (well, variations on a theme I think!). However, it went down far too well and was almost all sold out within a month.

For the 2011 season, I had to introduce another supplier which came in the form of Hill Farm Orchards (about 10 miles from where I live in Hampshire). These guys supply fruit for the Capella brand of juice and also for the locally acclaimed 'Hill Farm Juice'. In honesty, I simply couldn't increase production for Eastern Delight without it - Fruitwise only have so much fruit available! And so, this year there is a stack of Russets from Hill Farm and a good measure of Cox too.

My aim with Eastern Delight is to demonstrate a high quality full juice Eastern style of cider from properly ripe heritage varieties of fruit. I don't want to use Tesco fruit and I don't want bin ends. Having pressed it I am happy that the quality is still there and am really looking forward to this drink.

65 litres - 'Batch 15' Special Cider

I am not sure how much of this will get out to customers. It was such a good blend of fruit that I had to keep some aside - mainly as a contender for my competition entry of 2012. There is an excellent balance in the three varieties; Blenheim Orange (almost overipe desert apple with lots of sugar and a mild acid), Harry Masters Jersey (moderate bittersweet cider apple) and Taylors Sweet (a sweet cider apple with a really nice character and not much acid).

Of course, the test is in the tasting once its all fermented, but I reckon that I have been very lucky in the varieties and quality of apples available this year - so lets hope that it results in some cracking cider!

Pressing Video

2011-11-23T10:01:00.001-08:00

So, this is what cider makers do when they have no apples to press...

Well, in actual fact I am in the process of updating the website ready for the 2011 season ciders - writing up the variety lists and archiving the out of stock ciders. In addition I want to add a gallery of images and clips which give further provenance to the 146 Cider Company products. No, its not 'clever marketing' - its just trying to show clearly what we go through to make the cider.

That said, if the cider turns out badly, I will have to re-adjust the site! Anyway, I hope this is entertaining, if not at least a little informing.

Hampshire Heritage... Naked!

2011-11-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

Exclusive. Well, not really - but this is what Hampshire Heritage looks like before the hard work takes place. Its all about the apples you see, and after Fruitwise have done all the hard graft in taking care of the trees and nurturing the fruit I get it and squish it!

Actually, in the picture there is some fruit for Eastern Delight too. This is all now bubbling away albeit as the weather has remained stubbornly mild its maybe not quite as slowly as I would like. As I write this, these bags have been replaced by wooden crates with the last half a ton of Heritage cider fruit from Fruitwise and the first ton of cider fruit from Dorset for Wild West.

I can report that the fruit has been very good this year, and the speed of the season has slowed a bit due to the damp weather.

Late in October I was joined for an afternoon by a number of CAMRA members who were celebrating CAMRA's October 'cider' month. After a quick tour of the business (it lasts about 30 seconds!) they rolled up their sleeves, opened some cider and helped press fruit - now you don't get that experience everywhere! It was actually very enjoyable and if I can persuade them to send me some pictures I will post them up on here or on the website.

Finally, what has changed this year so far? Well, Fruitwise have all but abandoned Bramley as a variety and have been grafting them over to cider fruit. This will help me expand and develop Hampshire Heritage in the coming years so I am very happy about this indeed. The risk for this year though is because I do not add other orchards fruit to Heritage, so there is very little Bramley to give the acid kick. This is no bad thing and I am very keen to see how the milder desert acid works - I suspect the tannin will be slightly deeper too.

Wild West, whilst good in 2010 (and Highly Commended at Bath and West!) suffered a little from the acidic afterthought. This year it is planned and will be of the desert variety too. You could say that as a cidermaker I am trying to abandon Bramley too. I think a slightly greater percentage of milder desert fruit will still do the job of protecting the cider and also mellow the Chisel Jersey's heavy tannins.

Eastern Delight is the biggest change though. With over half a ton of Fruitwise desert fruit, it is joined this year by Russets and Cox's from Hill Farm Orchards (known for their juicing apples). This is kind of an unknown until it is ready, although it is going to be a nutty cider next year as there is a lot of Egremont Russet in it. I am looking forward to trying it.

And that is that. I had better get on and finish pressing eh!

I know... its been a while

2011-10-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

Blogging about cider making is a funny ol' business. When things are quiet and there is lots of time to post info about things, there's not much to say. When things are full flow and there are stacks of things, no time at all.

This year has not been helpted much by a rather nice lady who wasn't looking where she was going and wiped the front of the van off a week or two back. However, its now fixed and hopefully things can return to normal - albeit 2 weeks behind schedule.

The apples from Fruitwise are both excellent and in vast abundance this year. So Hampshire Heritage should be taken care of nicely. I have high hopes for it. Having said that, I have yet to collect even a single apple from Strongs - though I have 4 tons booked to press. Hmmmm!

I have another Hampshire supplier too now, being Hill Farm in Swanmore. I have roughly signed up for a couple of tons of Russets and Cox's to add in to Eastern Delight. At writing I have no idea of quality, but I have it on very good authority that they make good juicers, so that is a good start!

Other news is that the Voran is installed (though yet to be used in anger). The tanks are also in - albeit with rather tiny airlocks due to the height between the top of the tanks and the roof of the Cider Garage! We shall see how quickly the airlocks dry up but it could be an interesting diversion!!!

So, are we on for 5-6000 litres? Who knows. I will give it my best. However, at this point I have a lot of catching up to do!

The ever expanding hobby/business...

2011-09-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

Having now got the problem of having to tell people that I cannot supply this year now, and having a month to go before things start to get busy pressing, I have now finally had a chance to do something about this ever growing thing called the 146 Cider Company.

Two new tanks have been purchased for this years Hampshire Heritage and Western cider. These will take 1500 litres; 50% more of each than last year. Also, the IBC's have been cleaned and will be repositioned so that I can press 1000 litres of Eastern plus one new cider(?!) or a further 1000 litres of Western.

From here on in, Hampshire Heritage is going to be as big as it is ever likely to get without actually buying all of Fruitwise's apples from them. Its a single orchard blend that works very well and I refuse to add 'other' apples to it. This may mean that I need to create a new blend... maybe a 'southern' blend. Aren't I the creative one:-)

On top of all this I am in the process of acquiring a new piece of kit that I have been coveting for some time, and will improve output capacity without compromising quality. A Voran press. This piece of wizardry will not be installed in time for the start of the season (I think) but the Goodnature is big enough to take care of the early apples. As it will shorten the pressing time from 1h 30m down to about 30m for each cheese of pomace, I think it will mean I could easily meet the limit of 7000 litres - not that this is what I intend to do this year.

So, If you have bought a pint or two of 146 Cider this year, this is where any profits have gone...

Eh... where has it all gone???

2011-08-05T04:09:00.000-07:00

Last year, when 146 Cider started, I made 800 litres or so of a single blend of cider. It lasted through to about October, with orders for a couple of festivals that enabled me to supply through to the New Year.

For this year, to make my life easier, I thought I would make 2500 litres of three blends. Surely it would last longer, ensure a more continual supply to those regular outlets that buy my cider. Pah. What-a-mistaka-to-make-a!!

I am sorry to say that orders for the 2010 cider are done. There is no more available I am afraid. Hampshire Heritage sold out recently, with the Great British Beer Festival taking 70 odd litres. And now, with a couple of final orders for Wild West, that has gone too.

Its not all glum though, as I have got orders for cider going right the way through to next March. I will make sure that the events calander is up to scratch, and there are a number of festivals in there. In fact, if you look in the cider garage, there is still 3-400 litres of cider. Its just that it is all committed.

Next year, there are plans afoot to produce 5000 litres plus. But more on that closer to the pressing season.

A lot of cider to 'bag up'...

2011-07-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

The end of this week sees the Guildford Cricket Club Festival in full swing - with a good dose of all three 146 Ciders on tap. Whilst its great that drinkers will be able to try all of the range, I believe there is going to be more than just 146 and Mr Whitehears this year - so the variety is going to be good.

To add to that, 146 Cider is now supplying cider for the Concorde Club Jazz and Ale Festival. As its less than 5 miles from 146, its a great venue to be supplying - and as a posh private members club it can only be good for the ciders image. Maybe I need a posher label:-)

Apart from these events, things are going steadily at the moment. Yet another retailer in Southwick (a hat-trick?) has expressed an interest in selling the bottles, so watch this space. Lets hope all three can order at the same time!!

Finally, and its a little early doors for this still, watch out for the Fruitwise Apple Day event in October this year. Its going to be a bit folksy - not to mention appley and cidery! I have offered to run the bar for it, so there will be stacks of 146 Cider present - and we will certainly have the odd beer or two to sit alongside it. One for the diaries I think.

New Outlet - Southwick Brewhouse...

2011-06-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

I already supply draught to the Golden Lion in Southwick - a beautiful pub with links back to the planning of D-Day - but, in their car park, you can find the Southwick Brewhouse. And off licence and a museum of brewing, the Brewhouse is partly run by Al - who was involved with Swamp Donkey (a now defunct cider producer in Hampshire). So he ought to know about his cider.

From their website; "This early Victorian brewery last saw active service in 1957 when master brewer Dick Olding hung up his keys on the hook for the last time at the ripe old age of 81. It was he who had crafted the ales to supply The Golden Lion public house next door, where Generals Eisenhower and Montgomery took sustenance as they planned the D-Day landings in 1944.

The brewhouse remains in tact and complete in every aspect since Dick locked up for good. But new life is being breathed into the building as it re-opens as a retail emporium boasting a comprehensive range of beers and ciders of local, national and international distinction. Suthwyk ales, made from barley grown on nearby Portsdown Hill, are among those sold."

Now stocking Hampshire Heritage and Wild West ciders in 500ml bottles. And that isn't the only cider they hold - the selection is actually really very broad!

Calling time on Eastern Delight for 2011...

2011-06-12T03:15:00.000-07:00

I knew this would happen sooner or later. However, things seem to have happened rather more quickly than I had expected for Eastern Delight. As a fully eastern style cider, I thought it may take a bit of 'getting used to' on people.

Anyway, apart from those festivals who have already ordered some Eastern Delight, I cannot take any further orders for it for this year. Having said that, as it has been recieved so well it will become a permanent feature in the 146 Cider line up and will be more freely available in 2012.

The festivals where you can get it will be:

July - Guildford Cricket Club Festival
September - Colden Common Beer Festival
September - Wickham Beer Festival
October - Nottinhgam 'Robin Hood' Beer and Cider Festival
October - Woolston Beer and Cider Festival
Early 2012 - Winchester Beer Festival (when they decide to order some:-)

There will also continue to be a reasonably limited amount of bottle conditioned Eastern Delight available through Bitter Virtue in Southampton.

Sorry about that. There is plenty of Hampshire Heritage and Wild West left though:-)

Coming up...

2011-06-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

There are a few additions to the events pages to report:

The Junction Inn Festival, St Denys, Southampton - Both Hampshire Heritage and Wild West ciders will be apearing at this event on 9th - 12th June. Click here for more information

The Boarhunt Beer Festival, Boarhunt Social Club - Hampshire Heritage and Wild West ciders will be present at this annual real ale and cider festival. It runs on 18th and 19th June. Click here for more information

The Hyde Tavern Festival, Winchester - All three ciders - Hampshire Heritage, Wild West and Eastern Delight will be featured at this festival. It runs on 18th -19th June.

The Bath and West photographic proof...

2011-06-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Cider Workshop member Rich (Hoody) for taking this photo:

Highly Commended for 146 Cider Company...

2011-06-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased to announce (and I hope not too prematurely) that 146 Cider has been awarded 'Highly Commended' for its dry farmhouse cider at this years Bath and West Show - one of the premier competitions in the UK for cider and perry.

OK, its not 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Rose Grant - mentor, friend and double winner at Bath and West took 3rd in the dry Farmhouse class (well done to her). However, the fact that it ranked so highly is a very pleasing feat in only my second year of commercial cidermaking... though my 7th or 8th at making cider!

I ought to mention that my comrade Hampshire cidermaker Barry and John Topp of New Forest Cider won Champion Farmhouse Cider for their sweet cider - a great achievement and I am a big fan of theirs.

I entered two classes - Dry Farmhouse and Dry bottled - there really aren't that many dry cider categories and many entries from across the UK. I have no idea how the bottled got on. I could increase my chances by enterintg more classes, but I just don't like sweetening my cider!

Let me rephrase that: when I am able to stop my cider fermenting through to dry I will probably do a medium dry. But at the moment, with the technology available to me, it is difficult. In any case, I make cider that I enjoy drinking - that is what I started off with aiming at, and it still is. Furthermore, I like my dry cider - it isn't that dry after all (OK - my strict definition it is very dry as it finishes at an SG of about .995). So, 146 Ciders are dry - full juice and naturally fermented...

I guess I should never say never, but for the moment I think it is doing quite well enough au naturale:-)

Well done to all the winners this year - I understand there were vast amounts of entries for all classes. And well done to the judges for working through them all!!!

146 Expansion...

2011-05-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

Making 2500 litres this year was an effort to make sure that the usual outlets can keep a stock of 146 Cider further throughout the year, but also so that I could start to grow the distribution chain a little. I then mixed this up a bit by producing 2 new type of cider - admittedly it has always been planned to produce both an Eastern and Western style to sit alongside the 'Hampshire' style of the main '146' blend. However, it was more due to having too many really good desert apples for the ratio, plus a new supply of apples from Dorset which I wanted to check out on its own (as well as keeping the Hampshire cider from Hampshire!!)

This is both a good and a bad thing. Good because now there are other ciders to try. Bad, because it means that while the overall stock of cider is up collectively, each blend is more limited. And so the need to be careful about spreading things too thinly becomes a factor to supply.

This coming week, the three blends will start to be sold to the usual outlets - both in draught and bottle conditioned forms. It also is the week of the Southampton Beer Festival, which falls just as the cider reaches maturity properly.

Having said that, all three blends have been present this weekend at the Rowbarge Ale Festival in Guildford, as well as a trial quantity of Hampshire Heritage being available at the Flowerpots for the first time. The Flowerpots also makes its own beer - so is an ideal pub to supply full juice cider too. Lets hope both of these pubs want to continue with it (although I am still missing a regular pub to supply in Southampton itself!!)

On the retail side, I hope to add one more to the mix which would mean that the bottles can be found in Fareham as well as Southampton and Gosport. Again, while an expression of interest has been made, I will have to feed back later this week on the outcome.

Overall, the two main blends of Hampshire Heritage and Wild West cider should start to be seen in more places - just ever so slightly. A controlled expansion is always better than a quick one which leaves no more cider!

Oh, and one more thing. Next month I hope to be retailing my own cider at the Windsor Royal Racecourse Cider Festival. I should have my Personal Licence in place by then so it will be the first time I have got to do this for myself. If it goes well then I may do a few more...

A bit of a correction...

2011-05-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

OK, so even a super dooper professional hydrometer can be a little bit out eh... don't blame the user or his eyesight! I have now had the ciders properly tested and can confirm final ABV's as:

Hampshire Heritage Cider - 6.7%
Wild West Cider - 6.8%
Eastern Delight Cider - 7.1%

OK, so not sufficient difference to worry about - even Eastern, which was some .6% out is OK legally... but it is nice to be able to put a proper and accurate figure to it.

Moving on with the business, yesterday I sat the APLH - a qualification that is required in order to apply for a Personal Licence. I won't find out for a week or two whether I passed (I should hope I do though!!), but it will mean I can start to do more retail sales without needing anyone elses permission or authority. So, as long as I don't get caught streaking in the meantime I ought to be a Personal Licence holder in a few weeks.

These courses are run by CPL Training who run them all over the coumtry. You can find out more on the Cider Workshop website if you think its for you... but make sure you take your own coffee!!

A very busy weekend...

2011-05-03T01:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend saw several cider making events around the UK. The annual Big Apple Blossomtime celebrations started with its usual cider trials at Putley village hall... a small venue for a much respected and popular event. Down south, the Powerstock festival in Dorset is a growing event which incorporates festivities with another peer judged competition. And the Reading Beer and Cider Festival, in its 17th year, held the National CAMRA Cider Competition finals AND the regional round of next years competiton.

Clearly even cider makers are not magicians, so attending all three was a bit of a tall order! In any event, competitions for me are about making sure that the cider I made last year is of good order. So I entered the Putley trials which were, after all, responsible for my going commercial in the first place. In addition as a supplier to the Reading Festival entered the Hampshire Heritage into the regional round of the CAMRA competition (though I couldn't attend as I was in Putley).

Whilst it is a shame that all three events were held on the same day (definite case of bad timings!!!) the weekend was very good. Reading has been buzzing (so I have heard) and nearly run out of cider on several occasions. As I write this, I have yet to hear from anyone who attended the Powerstock festival - so they must have had a very good time indeed!

For such a small location, Putley attracts some very good cider makers from all over the country. None moreso though than the Herefordshire cider makers. I had the pleasure of meeting several of them, including Mike Johnson from Ross on Wye Cider and Perry - and he deservedly carried off most pieces of paper (awards) including Overall Champion. It was also good to catch up with and meet with a number of Cider Workshop members (some of whom won more than I did - but then I don't make perry!!:-)

As a friend and cider making compatriot (Mark Shirley) said, it has been a good weekend for cider and perry!

Finally... a proper website!

2011-04-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so its been up for getting on for a month. But it has been a busy month... honest! Never mind. I would like to introduce you to the new web portal for the 146 Cider Company - www.146cider.co.uk.

It links back to this blog, but provides a more professional means of letting people know who 146 is, what 146 does and how. The blog will still remain the main focus for any web activity (heavens knows, I have enough other things to do!)

In terms of the 2010 season so far, the website does give a list of all the events I am supplying so far this year. The list is growing but (hopefully in time order they are)

Reading Beer and Cider Festival (now!)
Chesterfield 'Rail Ale Festival' (early May)
Southampton Beer and Cider Festival (beginning of June)
Newbury Racecourse Cider Festival (end of June)
Colden Common Beer Festival (September)
Wickham Charity Beer Festival (September)
The Fruitwise Apple Event (October)
Woolston Beer Festival (October)
Nottingham 'Robin Hood' Festival (October)

Clearly, there are lots to add to this as we go - keep an eye on the website for details. I will be pulling down the pages on the blog that double up with the website for simplicity (and be putting a big fat link back to the website just as soon as I can).

Its all go go go:-)

Introducing the 2010 range...

2011-03-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

The 2010 season cider is currently being bottled, stored and checked to make sure it has really finished fermenting!. So its about time to introduce the new range for 2010. There are three very different ciders this year. They are:

Hampshire Heritage Cider
Wild West Cider
Eastern Pomace Cider

The names have changes a few times over the last couple of months - starting with just '146 East and West' and developing to their current state. I guess the proof is in the feedback from punters!

Hampshire Heritage is the same blend as the 146 Cider from last year. This season, however, there were a lot less Egremont Russett available, and a lot more Laxtons Epicure and Lord Lambourne. Egremont is a very distinctive apple which comes through in a cider - Laxtons and Lambourne are a lot sweeter and have less charisma. So it is no surprise that this has allowed the cider fruit to appear a little more robustly in the flavour. There is a good measure of acid too, although quite in the same way as last year.

I will publish a list of the varieties used and general percentages soon, but for now its roughly a 50% cider, 40% desert, 10% sharp blend of about 20 varieties of apple. As usual, all this fruit came from the Fruitwise orchards, giving it a food mileage (orchard to bottle) of approximately 10 miles.

Wild West is the first new cider I wanted to try. And I am very glad I have. Made from 5 varieties of cider fruit, it has a slight emphasis of the bittersweet, Chisel Jersey, backed up very solidly with Yarlington Mill and sweetened with Sweet Alford. This fruit came a little further, from the Bridport area of Dorset... so a few more food miles to report.

Its a fruity cider, backed up with a good measure of tannin and a tiny amount of acid whose job is mostly to help preserve the cider rather than impact the taste. Again, more detail will follow but its about 90% cider and 10% sharp.

Eastern Delight is a fairly limited eastern counties style cider. No cider fruit used at all, just well stored and prime desert apples from the Fruitwise orchards. These were generally picked by Fruitwise for market and then rejected as either too small, knobbly, or over ripe. In all honesty, the number of varieties is unknown although there is a good dose of Orleans Reinette - a very high quality desert apple.

Eastern style cider produces a light, fairly sharp cider - and with no or very little tannin to give it body it can be an acquired taste. To reduce acid, this style of cider is often left to mature for longer and even to go through a malolactic fermentation (MLF). This is a very slight process, not a fermentation as such, that reduces the acid profile of the cider more.

Eastern Delight is actually not as acidic as had been expected, but even though, it will not be available until the Southampton Beer Festival in June. The other ciders will be available from the beginning of May.

More information about each ciders provenance to follow...

40 years old and a dilema...

2011-03-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

I have a few cider mugs in my little collection... Aspalls, Tauntons two handled mugs, various glasses from the festivals I have supplied. However, look at this fine specimen!!!

I wanted to show off my new cider mug - one of the many presents I have been fortunate enough to get to mark my 40th birthday. Crafted in the same way as a wooden barrel would be - and based on a tankard raised with the Mary Rose. And it makes a very fine cider recepticle!!

I got to try it out at my 'apple and cider' themed party. With only a few Apple Mac's coming, we also had a 'Royal Gala', a 'Pink Lady' and even a 'Granny Smith' as well as an apple tree, an apple pi, and a bee keeper (my father... who happens to be a bee keeper - go Mr Creative!)

For me, well have you ever heard about that little known super hero 'Captain Apples'?

A good party and a fitting end to the last of the 2009 146 cider. Roll on the new 'Hampshire Heritage'!

Now... I have a dilema. With the main blend sorted out for a name, I am unhappy simply calling my other blends '146 West' and '146 East' and so changed the names to 'Pickfords Promise' (or even Pickfords Western) for the western cider and 'Bunyards Delight' (or Bunyards Eastern) for the eastern cider.

'Pickfords' is because the apples used come from an orchard just north of Bridport - an area that PHT Pickford reported was very good for growing apples. Mr Pickford was sent from the Ministry of Agriculture in the 1930's to see what was going on in Dorset and essentially raise the game of Dorset producers. This he did, and reported back what he found.

'Bunyards' came about because the fruit is mainly sourced from the Fruitwise 'Bunyards' orchard - a desert apple orchard with many heritage varieties such as Egremont Russet, Ribston Pippin, Laxtons Epicure and Orleans Reinette. The orchard is named after Edward Bunyard, who wrote beautifully about apples at the turn of the 19th/20th century and who came from Kent. And as Kent has a tradition of eastern style cider (and is East too:-) it felt right.

I am kind of happywith all of this reasoninng... but still am unhappy with the complete names! I have less than a month to figure it all out as Winchester Beer Festival is likely to want the very first of the Western stuff... as long as it has fermented by then!!!

Any sensible suggestions will not be ruled out!!!

Whadda ya know!

2011-03-03T15:07:00.001-08:00

While waiting to start racking the Hampshire Heritage, it seems I am back in production mode once again. Fruitwise, the orchard that provides the ingredients for both Hampshire heritage and the small amount of eastern style cider I made during the 2010 season have finished their markets for the year and have boxes of apples left over.

Instead of throwing them out for the birds they asked if I wanted them. I am not worried about the birds; I expect they are happily munching their way through all the spent pomace we mulched at the base of about 50-60 trees during pressing last year.

So, this weekend I milled and pressed 260kg of quality, well bletted desert apples. This added another 190 litres to the total and brings the 2010 total to 523 gallons. Not just double the previous year (which has always been the plan) but about 3 times as much.

It also means that the Eastern style of cider is now much more respectable and should be available for more festivals. I may even take 60 litres aside and let it mature for 12 months to see if that improves things... gotta keep moving forward!!

The last of the 2009...

2011-02-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

Well, there it goes. The last of the 2009 cider. I have to say, it has kept extremely well (it must be all that money I spent on improving storage... so it has paid its dues then:-)

The fine examples of bag in boxes, as well as 24x500ml bottles are fulfilling the final orders until April, when I unpack the shiny new 146 ciders to see if they are fit for human consumption. Actually, I tried them again today (stubbornly remaining above the racking off line!!) and they are (in my humble opinion) possibly even better than last years. We shall see.

So, if you are near Gosport this weekend, 20 litres will be found at the Gosport Winterfest (click here). 20 litres isn't much - but I am told there is a good selection to choose from... lets hope they aren't all Mr Whiteheads eh (sorry Angus, but it is nice to try others too).

The other 30 litres is now in storage until next month, when they will be winging their way to the Winchester Beer Festival. Don't worry, if the cider garage is still cold enough to stop the 2010 cider finishing its fermentation, then it will keep nicely. This is the first Winchester festival for quite a while, so it is a pleasure to support it (click here).

And what of the bottles? Well, they are heading off to the Oakleaf brewery shop (click here), who have been kind enough to let me 'piggy back' a bottle order so that I have plenty of bottles for conditioning some of this years cider.

There is a little more, but unless you were invited to my 40th birthday party (apple themed, of course) then I am afraid you won't see it.

1 - 1001, 2 - 1003, 3 - 1012... Jump!

2011-02-15T07:20:00.000-08:00

Fermentations are steadily drawing to a conclusion here at the 146 Cider Company. So, if I am going to stand a chance of bottle conditioning some of the cider, then I am going to have a busy weekend.

The Hampshire Heritage has slowed right down now, and is sat at 1001. If last year was any kind of marker, this cider dries out to about 998 (which is nice and dry), so by getting it into the bottles now there should be a nice sparkle to it. Last year it was achieved more by accident than judgement, but there you go. I also want to bottle some as still cider too, but that is a good couple of months away.

It has cleared really nicely and tastes not that disimilar from last years blend... though it is still very young and will definitely benefit from maturing a bit (to drop the acid a touch).

I also want to bottle condition some of the 146 Western too, but that is stubbornly dropping slowly and is 1012 (a drop of about 8 since this time last month!). This is the first year for this blend for me, and I have been worried about having sufficient acid content (it was just slightly less than 10%). However, it tastes very good (if a bit sweet at the moment) and there is definitely some acid in it - so maybe the 146 Eastern blend will not succumb to being an acid blend for the Western cider.

146 Eastern is only going to be a festival special this year. Not a bad way of trying it out as it is distinctly different and much higher in acid than the other two. Its currently 1003, so nearly ready for storage – and this is not a bad thing. Like the other two it has cleared nicely, but will need to settle down a bit before it is a nice pint. Made up from quality desert apples though, I am expecting it to be a light and sharp drink – very nice in the summer!

Bring on the barrel cleaning!!!

Fiery Ginger Wine

2011-02-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

OK, so I said I would post something actually not connected with cider. So here it is. The 146 Cider adapted recipe for ginger wine. It produces a fairly thick, sweet and fiery wine. Excellent for colds, winter and... well drinking really!

- 8oz Root Ginger (crushed thoroughly)- 2 x Oranges (pith and juice)
- 2 x Lemons (pith and juice)
- 500g raisins (chopped roughly)
- 1 red chilli (chopped and crushed with seeds)

- 2 gallons water (boiled and warm)
- 2kg white cane sugar

- White wine yeast (or general purpose will do)
- Yeast nutrient (optional)

Most ginger wine recipe’s call for the ginger, fruit and raisins to be boiled with the water. Don’t bother doing this, it’s not necessary. Put fruit, ginger, raisins and about half the sugar into a tub. Add the water and stir it all up. If you are like my daughter, watch about 2 hours of telly and keep stirring!

At this point your can check the must with a hydrometer – add more sugar until you are happy with the SG (adding all of it will probably give you something around 16% abv).

Allow the must to stand for about 24 hours before adding the yeast and nutrient. It needs to be about 20 degrees to start it off. This is the aerobic fermentation (open to oxygen) and it needs to be stirred once or twice a day for the next 8 days.

After this time, rack the fermenting fluid into a couple of demijohns (or another container that can be fitted with an airlock). Strain the solids through a clean cloth.

Once the bubbles have ceased, rack it again and let it mature for about 6 months. Then bottle it – drink it – bathe in it... whatever you like.

February Catch Up...

2011-02-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

The headlines:

- Pruning the 146 micro orchard and adding to its small number

- Fermentations – slow and slower

- 7 year old makes ginger wine (with a hint of chilli)

- And finally, don't forget the Gosport Winterfest!

Okay – I should have warned you not to get too excited by it! Well, it is winter after all!

Pruning the 146 micro orchard and adding to its small number

Winter is the time for tree management. This is essential for tons of reasons, for which I am probably not the best reference. Take a look at Stephen Hayes Youtube site to see what I mean. As the trees in the micro orchard are only 3 years old, pruning helps form a decent tree shape – a good form will optimise the amount of fruit a tree bears as well as making future maintenance easier.

At the moment, there are 6 trees in the orchard. These include a high quality desert apple (Ashmeads Kernel) and a very mildly acid cooking apple (James Grieve). These will ultimately form a base for a special ‘limited’ cider that I want to make in a few years. To build on this, there are currently four lesser known cider apple trees; a full bittersharp, two full bittersweets, and a medium and mild bittersweet. My hope is that these rare varieties will bring something extra to the cider that cannot be found elsewhere.

To this, I have a couple of Dabinetts that I want to plant shortly. Many cider makers are happy to make Dabinett single variety cider; and its not bad. However, for my purpose it is a good variety to provide a quality bulk to the blend.

It is also another variety to play around with.

Fermentations – Slow and slower

February is turning out to be warmer than last year, so although the cider got off to a slow start, the fermentation tanks are keeping busy. A friend from the Cider Workshop has a live webcam linked to his tanks, so you can witness in real time the wonders of fermentation! To be honest, cider fermentation is really not that much of an event in itself.

The Hampshire Heritage is just about finished (I am cleaning the storage tanks as I write) and the 146 Eastern is just nudging below 1010 (that will take about 14 days to finish). Only the 146 Western seems to be stubbornly stuck in the 1020’s. This is the batch that concerned me the most when planning the blend of sharp/sweet and bitter – there is less than 10% sharps (as per a traditional west country cider) so it was always going to be the most unpredictable fermentation this year.

7 year old makes ginger wine (with a hint of chilli)

So, its not all cider here! Following a successful batch of ginger wine (which was given mostly as Christmas presents for my daughters nurses and friends) we decided to give it another go. The recipe is simple and (loosely) based on a 1968 recipe in “Home Wine and Beer Making” – although we took some liberties with the recipe to produce something a little more special. I will post separately (although, lets face it, this is a cider website/blog!)

And finally - dont forget the Gosport Winterfest

Order is in and the cider is... well... still sat in storage for the moment. However, the Gosport Winterfest starts on Friday 25th February at the Thorngate Halls in Gosport. See the South East Hampshire CAMRA website for details.

Say cheese...

2011-01-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

Whilst January slowly ticks away and the cider slowly bubbles away we have launched an 'annual' photography competition on the Cider Workshop for all the budding cider photographers on the group. The theme for this years competition is 'the Cider/Perry Season 2010' and entries are invited from all Cider Workshop members.

All details of the competition are found on www.ciderworkshop.com, as is the link to the Cider Workshop group (should you have the best cider photo's but have yet to find your way to the Workshop!

I must admit to being rather too 'technical' in my photographs during last season. I don't believe that images of hydrometers floating in apple juice, individial varieties of apples sliced in two and used pomace sat around the base of trees is going to win over anyone but the most hardened of cider loons. And my best shots are from 2009 and probably already online somewhere... so I don't think I can cheat and get away with it (not that I would!!! ahem!)

The winner(s), as judged by professional photographer and Cider Workshop member Neil Phillips of Orchard Eye, will have a place on the home page of the group website for 12 months and we may even create a gallery on the website for the top 10 or so.

Happy snapping:-)

Southampton man gets visit from EHO... And lives!

2011-01-13T12:08:00.000-08:00

I had anticipated the latest visit by Southampton’s finest to be a bit of a challenge – the proper thing this time. I had previously written up a HACCP plan to identify parts of the business that we a ‘risk’, and also made sure that I had a copy of the NACM guidelines – to which I adhere to (as far as it is applicable).

So, the Environmental Health man came to see me and was really very human indeed. None of the anticipated “you need to do this, this and this”, no pound symbols came rushing past my eyes and not even a glimmer of the vast amounts of paperwork I had expected!

OK. In reality I have to write up a bit more ‘meat’ on the HACCP, and need to think about adopting a tracking document for the cleaning process... but this is more common sense than red-tape, and I had been doing something kind of a bit like it before. And, of course, I will need to wait for the letter that is bound to turn up sooner or later. But I don’t have that sense of foreboding that I have seen from others around the country!

As the winter progresses and the cider simply ‘does its stuff’, 146 Cider has been improving things to make 2011 easier to manage. A new ‘super’ hydrometer has been purchased – a foot long (thanks for the recommendation Mark Shirley of Rockingham Forest Cider)... OK, I did have a really useful (but slightly smaller) hydrometer but managed to smash it. I wish they were a bit more robust:-( A new scale is on order for the bag in boxes – no, its not that things have been any less accurate in 2010... its just that this one is designed for the boxes so should make things a lot quicker (once I have got Trading Standards to stamp it!!) Finally, I am waiting to get the 2011 labels test sheet. All very exciting.

So, how is the cider coming along? Very nicely, thank you very much for asking!

Ending 2010...

2010-12-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas (belated) and a peaceful New Year to all those who read this blog.

I am sorry to say that apart from any 146 Cider left at the regular outlets, the 2009 season’s cider is now done and dusted. However, do not panic or fear. Supplying cider throughout the year is a problem that better cider makers than I have to deal with, although I only have to think about a couple of pubs and retailers.

The issue is made easier for me by the spacing of the two remaining festivals – the Gosport Wint erfest, run by South East Hants CAMRA is on for February 25-26. On March 25-26, the Winchester Beer & Cider Festival is being run by South Hants CAMRA. There ought to be enough to last these two events, but once it’s gone, I cannot supply more. More information will be posted closer to the time; I have been asked to help out and ‘be there’ at Winchester for a session if you’d like to meet me, offer any advice or just try the cider and say ‘hi’.

So there is always something to look forward to... and 2010 seasons cider will be ready by May! A proviso though: if the new cider is rubbish, it won’t be going anywhere!!

The 2010 pressing season itself is all but over now; I am hoping to collect a few more very late quality desert apples but the bulk of the pressing is done. Sad man that I am, I can confirm that I have pressed 3.4 tons of apples of varying sorts (I will post up the varieties and percentages at some point closer to launch as a part of the attempt to be transparent in what I offer.

In all there should (hopefully) be over 2000 litres for 2011 – though not all the traditional ‘146 Cider’. In fact, 146 Cider is changing a little for 2011. No, not the cider itself - the blend used is the same as the 2009 season! However, it would seem that the name itself is a bit confusing (I hadn’t considered that calling the cider ‘146 Cider’ AND the company ‘146 Cider’ would be less than simple!). Also, the supply of, and varieties of apple available to me have allowed 146 to push on with plans to produce the three different styles of cider that I aim to offer as a business. So...

As of 2011, 146 Cider will become ‘146 Cider Company’ (did I hear someone yawn?), and the main blend ‘146 Cider’ (which I would describe as a ‘Hampshire’ style – 50% cider and 50% desert/culinary) will become ‘Hampshire Heritage Cider’ for 2011. That’s all that’s changing... honest! There will be about 400 litres more than this year, so it ought to go further?!

In addition to this, 146 is launching two new blends:

‘146 Western’ is (go on, guess) a West Country style of cider – 90% cider fruit. Its gonna be dryer and more tannic than Hampshire Heritage, but as it has a base of 10% sharp, acidic apples, I suspect it’s going to come out more Somerset than, say, Devon or Herefordshire.

‘146 Eastern’ is the one I didn’t expect to make until next year, but with Fruitwise having some market quality desert fruit going spare it seemed the ideal time to start. This is a blend made up of 100% quality heritage desert varieties of apple – no cider fruit, no sharps. Its proving to be the hardest to start fermenting, and (at the moment) there is only 120 litres of it. So its probably going to be a ‘festival special’ for 2011. Who knows though, if more fruit becomes ‘spare’ for Fruitwise, then there may be a little more to go around.

Talking of fermentations, everything is going well (albeit very slowly in this cold weather). Very little ‘fluff’ to skim off the top, although the pectin cap has been absent totally this year – we shall see what difference this makes to the finished product. I suspect it may be a little dryer in the mouth than last year (although I have resisted temptation to artificially sweeten... and shall continue to for now, thank you very much). By the way, the image above demonstrates an important aspect of planning a cider house, shed or garage - make sure there are more than two electrical sockets! I was using two pumps here, and had to use the lamp instead of the main light in order to do so!!

The final thing to report is that 146 Cider has finally been presented with its 'Cider of the Festival' for the 2010 Southampton Beer Festival. Yeah, done to death I know, but its my first award, so here it is:
Happy New Year to all... see you in 2011:-)

146 @ The Golden Lion

2010-11-30T04:04:00.000-08:00

A new pub to add to the list – well its entirely new, the landlord of existing outlet The Florence Arms has introduced 146 to his other pub in the small village of Southwick near Fareham. This is a trial for the moment, although the cider has gone down well at the ‘Flo’ so I hope this becomes another regular. The cider is available in 500ml bottles.

Southwick is a very pretty village, and the Golden Lion (renowned as the pub that Eisenhower and Montgomery regularly visited during planning for Operation Overlord during WW2 at nearby Southwick House. Out the back is the Southwick Brewery – although now a museum with an extensive real ale/cider shop, all the old brewing kit is on display. Well worth a trip, if just to try 146 in a new setting:-)

Sadly, stocks of the 2009 blend of 146 cider are running low (I will blog the last events I know it will be at shortly – although there should be enough to ensure it is available at the regular outlets until Christmas). This does mean that the Southwick Brewery shop won’t have any stock of 146 until this years supply is ready... but watch this space!

Oh, and just for those real cider-heads. If you can catch the shop owner, Al, he is the guy who ran Swamp Donkey with Angus Whitehead. Nice chap too!

Award Presentation...

2010-11-29T15:02:00.000-08:00

Event: Cider of the Festival (Southampton 2010) award presentation
Where: The Hop Inn, Wood Mill, Southampton
When: this Thursday at 8.30pm

146 won this accolade at its first Festival at the Southampton Beer Festival earlier this year. With things being busy as ever the presentation has been put off several times.

It may also be one of the last times to try 146 2009 cider, as there is little left - and the rest is reserved for a couple of Festivals and the regular Florence Arms (plus a few bottles for the other regulars).

However, there is hopefully going to be plenty for 2011 - well. 1200 litres anyway (400 litres more than 2009).

Hope to see you there:-)

Cider report...

2010-11-18T02:21:00.000-08:00

This ought to have been called the case of the missing cider maker ‘cos its been ages since I did any ‘blogging’. However, this hasn’t been for lack of activity in the Cider Garage!

My main job, the one that pays the mortgage, has had a couple of important months. Autumn is not just the appling season, its the exhibition season for the bus industry. The company I work for are the largest supplier of software into the UK bus industry and are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. To mark this occasion, a Routemaster which belongs to one of the staff was refurbished and was the centrepiece of the stand at the Eurobus Exhibition at the NEC at the beginning of November. Now, buses are all well and good – I appreciate them but mainly as a means to an end. However, I have to say that by the time I got to the show, I had a fondness for the old bus. And it looked very graceful on the stand (and a great place to hide away when standing up talking to people wore my legs out!

OK, enough of that. What is there to report from the cider front?

Despite early predictions that the apple crop from the Fruitwise Orchards was going to be very poor, the late spell of rain worked wonders and, although things were generally later than they normally are the crop was generous. With the workload I had on in September and October, this delay in collecting fruit was actually pretty good. Another benefit was that the fruit had longer to develop flavours – albeit the sugar levels have not been as high as some have predicted.

One of the predictable things about making cider is that each year is going to be unpredictable! This year, as far as the fruit is concerned, has proven that to me time and time again! Each year of pressing detailed records have been kept about the quantity of apples, potential alcohol and blending; this is mainly for posterity and learning the craft. It also serves to show how the blend should be made up. This year I aim to produce a cider that tastes similar to the 2009 blend – not least of all because lots of people have tried it and liked it. Makes sense, eh?!

Consistency in cider is a myth – especially for craft ciders, but even the larger companies have to play and fiddly with their ingredients to ensure that each and every bottle tastes the same. So, as much as I strive to ensure a consistent product by blending to exact percentages, I know its not going to happen. Why? A good example is the Egremont Russet. Last year there was a glut of it in the cider; not so much was available this year, so it will play a lesser role. Lord Lambourne, however, was a total no show last year whereas there is a good amount in this year.

Tricky innit!

So, I am over 1500 litres of cider so far with another 1.5 tons of fruit left to press. The IBC’s are coming in handy and its been very satisfying to watch them fill up with juice. The pressing kit is getting worked hard and its starting to look like it could do with a rest (and a good service!). Its not that it is not clean, just tired – the reconditioned Goodnature press is coping well although the hydraulic ram needs emptying and refilling with hydraulic fluid. If I can get a chance whilst its raining, I shall get it done.

The exciting thing is that 146 Cider is expanding from its single offering, with a major new blend (well, major being 1000 litres) and another limited blend. There are also going to be a couple of ‘styles’ that I have been playing about with for a while, like a bottle conditioned cider and possibly even a ‘medium dry’!

And thats all I have to say about that... for now:-)

New apples for old cider...

2010-09-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

It would appear that today is a good day for cider apple varieties here in the UK. Over the last 25 years, the NACM (National Association of Cider Makers), together with Liz Copas (Pomologist... that is someone who knows a lot about apples, not someone who reads your fortunes from the pips!) have been growing a number of new varieties. These were whittled down to 29 new types.

So, whats wrong with the old ones? Well, some are pretty hard to grow and very tempramental - round here, Kingston Black and Crimson King are pretty much non starters (although they grow well elsewhere). Others don't yield very well; though I can't think of one at the moment! Dabinett is probably pretty shy on Hampshire soil (well, Durley soil). These new varieties are trying to tackle these problems and produce a well balanced, problem resistant apple that makes great cider.

It has to be said (and Andrew Lea, ex-Long Ashton colleague of Liz Copas has mentioned it a few times on the Cider Workshop), these will almost certainly only be available to fairly large commercial concerns for the time being. However, you only have to look at varieties like 'Bulmers Norman' to see that this will, hopefully, filter down to us mere mortals sooner or later.

There is a great account of this in a Guardian article [click the link to access]

I would love to try cider made from a few of these:

Lizzy; Prince William; Amelia; Amanda; Jenny; Hastings; Connie; Helen's Apple; Three Counties; Jane; Tina; Early Bird; Vicky; Naomi; Nicky; Angela; Gilly; Willy; Joanna; Maggie; Hannah; Jean; Sally; Fiona; Shamrock; Tracey; Eleni; Betty and Debbie

I think Betty is probably my favourite name... although Willy isn't far off:-)

Apple Days...

2010-09-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

As well as being the cider making season, its worth remembering that it is the apple season too. Yeah, I know this may seem like the bleedin' obvious, but its a neat way to get on to think about visiting an apple day somewhere.

The best list of apple days around the country can be found on the Common Ground website, which each year gives details of more and more apple day events. An apple day event will generally have a display of apples of various kinds - sometimes focussing on 'local' heritage verieties, as well as selling fruit and juice. Invariably there will be pressing demonstrations, and likely cider ad apple juice on sale too. On the fun side, expect anything from apple bobbing to competitions to peel apples in order to get the longest peel!

New Forest Cider's 'Steam Pressing weekend turns the apple day on its head by concentrating more on the cider side of things - its more like a festival in som respects. As well as a number of groups pressing juice, there are plenty of other traditional crafts being demonstrated... and you can get your cider hot or cold. Truly recommmended!

Although the plan is to attend New Forest Ciders event (as a punter - no 146 on sale there... yet), 146 will be found at the Fruitwise Apple Day, at Durley Village Hall on Saturday 25th September. From a cider point of view, this is still quite early in the pressing season - though I plan to take the kit along and do a demo - please don't hold me to it though! However, thanks to the hall having a licence I can sell a few glasses and folk are welcome to a complimentary taster!

The Fruitwise Apple Day takes place on Saturday 25th September at the Memorial Hall in Durley (SO32 2AR). Full details can be found on their website.

Bletting apples...

2010-09-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

I just realised that in my last post I wrote about apple bletting, and put a notation next to it - leading to the belief that I would actually explain myself.

Well, this is marketing Will, but not as we know it. I forgot! So, to put things straight I have a post just about bletting:-)

In my dictionary, it says:

–noun

the ripening of fruit, esp. of fruit stored until the desired degree of softness is attained.

...which is pretty good for a dictionary! Bletting is exactly that. Pressing unripe apples is a big fat no no for making cider - the juice is acidic, sufficient starch has not changed to sugar, etc.

Bletted apples, however, are often soft (some insist that they are black before pressing, but I have yet to go that far!) Early apples generally don't blet very well. They don't keep and go mouldy (which is different from going soft!) However, the later cider apples can sit for anything from a week to a month before they are ready to press.

So there you go.

October Festivals...

2010-09-16T09:56:00.001-07:00

What I have found this year is that things don't stand still for very long. That isn't to say that it was not unexpected - I would love to say that I have sat back and watched in amazement as orders came in. This hasn't happened without a few late night emails, conversations (as well as a few very early morning/evening deliveries!)

So, as we drift into the Autumn; as apples bletting* pile up (or stack up - as the case may be) and the cider making gets into full swing, two more festivals have decided to serve up a bit of 146 Cider.

Hampshire Octoberfest, Basingstoke

The first for the calender is the Hampshire Octoberfest, on 2nd and 3rd October (well, the name probably gave it away!). Even with a German Oompah band, I struggle to imagine Basingstoke as the next Munich (the host of the 2010 Oktoberfest in Germany) - however, it all looks as though it is going to be a lot of fun. [click here for directions]

There is a lot more information on the Hampshire Council website, although they state:

"This years Hampshire Octoberfest will see a huge variety and quantity of ales and ciders from all the Hampshire Breweries. After last years overwhelming success, there will be more of all of those old favourites such as Bowmans, Irvings and Andwell breweries plus some beers from four new breweries.

The new Hampshire brewers are Botley Brewery, Flack Manor in Romsey, Hensting Brewery in Owslebury, Winchester and the Upham Brewery in Bishops Waltham. It looks likely too that there will be a few new ciders for you to try, including 146 Cider from Southampton."

Woolston Beer Festival, Southampton

Just to prove that us 'Southerners' do actually like beer and cider, South Hants CAMRA have set up a new festival to be held at Woolston (just over the Itchen bridge from the city). [click for location]

The Woolston Beer Festival is on the 8th - 9th October, and should have a small but good selection of ciders on offer including 146. I may even do a stint behind the bar on the Friday (unless the temptation to be a customer becomes too much!!)

Oh, and whilst I am on plugging October festivals, don't forget the Ale-ing Festival on Hayling Island (near Portsmouth) on the 1st and 2nd October!

So, a few more chances to sample 146 Cider for yourself, as well as a few others I'll wager! Given that the government is going to make us all incredibly poor shortly afterwards, I'd get a few jars in whilst you can;-)

Books, books books

2010-09-08T15:56:00.000-07:00

Well, as well as the harvest of apples that has now started there seems to be a harvest coming of the cider book variety too (well, 2 I can immediately think of!).

A few people have asked what I would recommend for people coming to making cider. The first thing I would always suggest is getting involved with an online community like The Cider Workshop... lots of people who are either going through the same thing or have in the past. However, there is nothing like having real paper and pictures to refer to.

The first ‘new’ book out this autumn worth mentioning is a 2nd edition of just the kind of book that is essential for cider makers of all experience. Andrew Lea’s ‘Craft Cider Making’ takes you through the process of turning apples into juice, and juice into cider. It covers the most common faults for cider and gives options for tailoring your cider. And it does all this in a methodical manner with pictures to demonstrate.

For those who appreciate something a little lighter, the Naked Guide to Cider is out next week. This book tries to cover both the cultural and traditional nature of cider, as well as giving a guide on how to make it. Their aim is to encourage anyone and everyone to 'have a go', and catalogue many different cider makers to show the diversity found within the cider making community. Whilst many books of this nature tend to focus just on the South West of England (Ciderland, as it is known), the Naked Guide does at least include other parts of the country, including Wales and the Eastern Counties. You can even read a bit about how 146 Cider started whilst you’re at it...

There are other key books for those interested in cider and cider making. These are just the new ones that I would go out and buy to add to my small but worthy collection (well, maybe not Andrew's book as I already have 2 copies of the first edition. Who knows, they will be worth something one day - apple juice stains n'all!)

Colden Common Beer Festival

2010-09-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

Another beer festival to add to the list. Colden Common Community Centre are holding their beer festival on th 18th September at the Community Centre [click here for location].

The event starts at 2pm on the Saturday and runs through to 11.30pm. There is a family day on the Sunday (2pm - 5.30pm). Visit their website for further information.

New outlet - The Bugle in Hamble

2010-08-31T16:41:00.000-07:00

A pub... in Southampton this time... near where I live too:-)

The Bugle, in Hamble (or Hamble-le-Rice if you really must) is now in the 146 Cider book of outlets as the newest to take us on.

Initially, they will be selling 500ml bottles - an interesting choice, as they are all kind of 'bottle conditioned' in that there should be a sparkle to the cider. Many folk prefer their cider sparkling and as long as there is no mention of ice it should all be good! My hope is that they progress on to a bag in box arrangement - as draught is my preferred choice. But then what do I know, I only make the stuff! (as my mum always used to say about dinner...)

As a place, Hamble is a very lovely village on the edge of the river Itchen with cobbled streets and a very old world feeling to it - smaller but comparable (in my humble opinion) to Lymington. The Bugle fits in to this very well - though I will have to report back on what Real Ales etc. they already serve...

It is also great in that the 'food mileage' of 146 is dipping almost to the single figures for this pub! with a total of about 4 miles from Orchard to 146, its then got to be no more than another 5-6 miles to the pub!

Given that 146 Cider is in its first commercial year, the aim was to keep things small - a couple of pubs, a couple of retail outlets and a few festivals. I am very pleased that this has been achieved within the first 6 months - not at all the places I had figured on, but that is probably a good thing!

As usual, the Bugle is now added to the list of outlets - we shall see if they are a regular!

The Ale-ing Fest 2010

2010-08-29T08:51:00.001-07:00

Another festival to add to the diary... the Ale-ing Fest is a beer festival on Hayling Island, near to Portsmouth. Now in its 15th year, it is a relatively small event (well, by some standards) it will feature '24 ales and cider' - though I am not sure what other ciders will be there yet.

This year the Ale-ing Fest is taking place at the Hayling Island Community Centre over the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of October 2010. Another opportunity to sample 146 Cider on draught!

Revving up to the new season...

2010-08-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

So, the pressing season is nearly upon us!! - I like 146 to capture the whole of the season, so although the early fruit neither contributes a lot to the taste of the cider (early apples tend to be thin and low in sugars) they provide a good starting fermentation to 'share' with the later pressings. Also, because of the dry year we have had so far, I do expect to encounter problems with high sugar levels in the main crop. High sugars mean high abv, and anything about 8.5% is liable for duty at a high level (the cider effectively becomes classed as 'made wine'). So the early fruit may help temper this a bit.

So, the plan this year? The plan is to produce 2-2500 litres of full juice cider. Plus I have a hope to produce a new product too - although Fruitwise has suffered some setbacks with bugs that have lowered the expected crop levels which may affect this. I have no wish to change this blend which I like (and many others do to, as it is proving!), but if needs must...

As I do have a full time job, and ironically one of the busy periods of the year is during the cider season, I don't expect to get much more time to collect and press apples than last year. Pressing for longer, into November and towards Christmas, is the main answer and should also give the apples more time to ripen properly. Don't believe the 'straight from the orchard to the press' rubbish that some advertisers would have you believe! It may work like that for some 'brands' but to craft a full juice cider, the fruit is left to fully ripen first... some Somerset farmers would say its not ready till some are black!

The other tactic has been to buy a second press. Producing volume on your own is all about optimising time - but the tricky bit is not to cut corners in the process! Using two presses in tandem should deliver 300 litres in a full day of pressing, whereas this was 150 litres last year. The other press is a proper, Goodnature press, which uses a manually operated hydraulic ram. Its still a rack and cloth set up, just like the 'Raypress' and it will press roughly the same amount of pomace too. Once it has finished going through its overhaul, that is!

To go along with the planned increase in production, there are now two 1000 litre IBC's embedded at the back of the Cider Garage. These will help blend and mature the cider in bulk with a lot less moving about.

So, thanks to all those who have spent money on 146 cider - its all going back into making more cider and improving practices! All the best:-)

Wickham Charity Beer Festival

2010-08-18T03:23:00.000-07:00

Ever keen to supply local events and get as many people as possible the chance to taste 146, it will next be available at the Wickham Charity Beer Festival on 11th September 2010. Click here for location and details.

It will be sat alongside New Forest Cider and Hecks Morgan, so not a vast choice (but a good choice!!)

This will be the 5th Festival for 146 - 80 litres of the stuff was consumed last weekend at the Guildford Festival! Don't forget that the Pompey Beerex is on this weekend - I may even have a go behind the cider bar on the Friday Evening:-)

The soul of 146 cider (Part 3 - Orleans Reinette)

2010-07-28T08:25:00.001-07:00

The Orleans Reinette. What an apple! This is my number 1 favourite apple for taste. And as such it deserves a big ol’ place in 146 cider. Yup, its a desert apple (although a good sweet one) but it has such a good body to it that I plan on making a gallon or two of it as a single variety this season. Sadly, it won’t be sufficient to sell on (I have to say, why would I subtract a decent apple from the main blend... surely that would weaken the whole thing?)

Orleans Reinette is also a useful apple, falling mid to late October when the cider crop is in full swing. See, a problem with tannin is that it needs a bit of acid to keep it from getting sick. I have other varieties that help with this balance, but the Reinette is a good part of that. Not that I need an excuse to make cider from it really. I think it really helps on a taste level – keeps the cider from being too west country and gives it a quality ‘mouth’ (I say that like I really know what it means!!)

So, what is the Reinette? Well, as you might expect its French. It dates back to the 1700's (breaking the Victorian mould), and is used in the UK mainly as a desert apple. The French, however, use it also for cooking as the flavour is absolutely superb... just something to consider when you are breaking out the Bramleys for the apple pie next. From records, its not a great keeper, although this is not something us cider makers have to worry about too much (sorry, Stephen).

Next time its back to cider varieties – Stephen Hayes mosted favourite (I think... well, at the moment it is), Yarlington Mill. Superb apple – very reliable... a lot of it in 146 Cider!

The soul of 146 cider (Part 2 - Tremletts Bitter)

2010-07-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

Apples! Not just apples, but high quality heritage apples! Sorry, already done that!!!

When it comes to cider apples, there is probably none more inedible than the Tremletts Bitter. My friend Stephen Hayes regards it as a condiment – to be used sparingly as it is so bitter and almost no sweet.

It is true that it is full of tannin and not much else. It is the Bramley of the Bittersweet cider apples. It is a small, highly red apple that ripens mid September and can be very shy to give out much juice. However, it turns out at a time when the majority of early fruit is being pressed and provides a ‘tannin injection’ into what would otherwise be a weak part of the blend. Early apples tend not to keep well, and are pretty thin on flavour. However, if you want to get the flavour of the full season, they are an important part of a blend.

Tremletts Bitter, like the Egremont, is a Victorian cider apple identified from the Exe Valley in Devon. Tends towards biannual cropping (though I am fortunate enough to have access to several trees which alternate) but in an on year is a branch breaker. Recently, some producers have started producing a single variety Tremletts cider, which I find a bit odd - on its own, Tremletts would be challenging to say the least! However, if you are reading this with a glass of 146 next to you, and can taste the baseline tannin in the cider, chances are the blended Tremletts will have played a big part in that.

Next time, I shall have a ramble about another desert apple that produces year on year, Orleans Reinette (Yum!)

146 goes to Guildford...

2010-07-21T03:58:00.000-07:00

Just confirmed: 146 Cider will be found at the upcoming Guidlford Cricket Club Beer Festival on Friday, 13th and Saturday, 14th August 2010. [Click to access site]

At the moment, I am not sure what else is on offer at the event, although at each evening session there will be Jazz and during the Saturday afternoon there will be some cricket to watch.

A busy couple of weeks for us - and I am starting to worry that I need to make the stock of cider last for the regulars (once its gone, its gone till this upcoming seasons cider is ready in April/May 2011). However, this activity has inspired me to put a couple of hundred litres aside for regular buyers to help ensure that stocks last longer. This seems to make a lot of sense to me - a festival allocation and a regular outlets allocation... just so long as I am disciplined enough to stick to it!

The Festival is now on the events page.

Congratulations to the Flo!

2010-07-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

Well, if I thought things were going well for 146 Cider in 2010, the only pub that it can currently be found has gone and won some awards of its own!

The Florence Arms has won this years Portsmouth CAMRA's Cider Pub of the year, but also the Wessex Regions Cider Pub of the Year too! Nice going Greg.

This is very good news for a pub that prides itself on stocking a wide range of ciders - and hopefully in the not too distant future some ciders from around the world too. I attended the award notification on Saturday, and it is a very well loved pub which tries to reach beyond the regulars by holding poetry readings, plays and events regularly.

Winning the regional title qualifies the Flo as an entrant to the national title. 146 Cider wishes them all the very best in this - there can't be many pubs selling as wide a range as you guys!

Bitter Virtue...

2010-07-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

It is a great pleasure to announce that Bitter Virtue, Southamptons specialist real ale and cider retailer, now stock 146 Cider. I have to say I am very happy about it! [click for a location]

It has been a goal of mine to find an outlet who are easy to access and local to me who are willing to act as a retailer for 146 to the general public. I have to say, the Oakleaf Brewery Shop would o doubt also be quite happy to do so (although I haven’t asked them and its a bit further to travel).

Ann and Chris (the owners of Bitter Virtue) are lovely people and care a lot about what they do, and they sell a broad range of real ales as well as cider.

So, from now on you can make requests for cider directly to me through the contacts on this website, or directly to Bitter Virtue. I will fulfil the order to Bitter Virtue and then you can buy directly from them... yes, its a little more obscure than coming directly to me but it is safe and legal, means I don’t get it in the neck for having cars pulling onto our driveway and will give buyers a much larger range of beer and cider to choose from (well, whilst you there n’all).

The outlets page has been updated to include full details.

Good news for 146!

The soul of 146 Cider (Part 1 - Egremont Russet)

2010-07-12T03:52:00.000-07:00

Apples! Not just apples, but high quality heritage apples! Hampshire apples too no less... Southampton apples even!

I know I keep doing this to death, but really that is what its about – I cannot claim to be the ultimate apple nut (that honour is reserved for Rambling Steve Appleseed) but I do like my apples! This is why I list the varieties that go into the cider... I am proud of them.

What I want to try and do is to document the main varieties that go into 146... give ‘em a write up (so to speak). There are a few regulars that will always appear in a fairly healthy quantity; they determine the baseline taste of the cider. More than once, I have sat with a particular variety of apple in one hand and a glass of 146 in the other. Its not all that helpful (after all, there are over 25 varieties) but I can point you towards the ones you should be able to taste.

Rather than do the whole thing in one go, I thought I would start with my main desert apple (and one of my top 3 apples to eat too...) Egremont Russet.

It is said that you cannot make a bad cider from a russet. I happen to know from experience that you can make a bad cider from any apple! I have also tried making single variety cider from an Egremont Russet too, with interesting results. It is probably marketable but not for me though. I am not particularly an ‘S.V.’ person. However, the Egremont is a singular apple and very under rated. If you are going to do a taste test though, please use a quality Egremont and not one bought from one of the supermarket chains which have more in common with cardboard. You will find it has a rich, almost 'nutty' flavour, with plenty of sweetness and a bit of acid.

The Egremont is an early flowering tree, which is a good annual cropper. Depending on how much the fruit is thinned, they can be absolute whoppers; full of character – both sweet and sharp. They tend to be available in early October too, so right at the point the main cider fruit start to fall. The trees also have the peculiar tendency to flower a second time once the fruit has been picked, which is a nice sight in an all but green orchard.

The Egremont is a Victorian apple, first noted in the early 1870's. Commonly it is used as a desert apple, although in this day and age (where people go for smooth apple skin) its rough skin may put some people off. Just goes to show that appearance is definitely no indicator of character!

Within 146 Cider, you will get sharpness as well as the tannin ‘dryness’, and a residual sweetness (even though the cider is fully fermented). This is, in part, due to the amount of Egremont that goes into the blend.

Next time I get a chance to do this, I shall bang on about one of the main cider varieties, the one that gives almost total tannin/bittersweet bang – Tremletts Bitter.

How do you like it? Cloudy or clear...

2010-07-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

There are different folks for different styles of cider. Some want a cloudy scrumpy; some want a clear and sparkling cider. Some simply refuse to call it cider... preferring cyder or zider. Its all much of a muchness and depends what you’re used to. So, what is 146? Well, its all these things!

If you are drinking 146 from a glass at a festival, or from the Flo, then its likely its come out of a bag in box. This generally means the cider never settles and it will be flat and a little hazy. That is probably the most true that 146 gets to what I intended.

If, however, you have a bottle in front of you then you have options. When 146 is just bottled, it is very much like the bag in box cider. However, over a few weeks (certainly by the time you get it) it has had a chance to settle. This simply means that the remaining yeast will drop to the bottom and leave the cider clear. If it’s left for a few months, it may even develop a bit of a sparkle too. This is also fine – carbon dioxide helps the cider keep for longer.

The fine trace of yeast you see is simply the remnants of a natural process that started last autumn. It’s harmless and, to some, increases the flavour and experience of the cider.

The question is – what to do? If you like your cider clear then simply pour gently off the yeast and leave it in the bottle. If you want it cloudy – well, give it a little shake to ‘wake the drink’ and pour as you like. If you want it sparkling... well, I don’t do requests generally but you may be pleasantly surprised when you come to open the bottle.

Thats the beauty of traditional cider!

Events for 146 Cider

2010-07-07T03:25:00.001-07:00

Apart from getting involved in festivals, I have a few other events that are worth mentioning – even tagging on this blog. I have now set up a separate ‘Events’ page, where festivals, markets and special events can be listed. Asides festivals, there won’t be so many of these, as time is ever the enemy. However, its a good chance to meet people and to personally get feedback.

The first, worth a mention as it is happening later this month, is the ‘Dinner at Sunnyfields’ being run by the White Star Tavern in Southampton. This is a meal and opportunity to meet local producers, so its not just a market! There is a cost to attend (please see the event link for details). [Click for location]

146 will be there, selling cider by the bottle (as the event is licenced I am allowed to do this) and offering a taster or two out. Hopefully, the cider will also be available by the glass.

The other event worth noting is the Fruitwise Apple Day at Durley Village Hall on Saturday 25th September (again, details on the events page). The Fruitwise orchards provide the apples that make 146 Cider what it is, so this is an excellent opportunity to ‘get up close and personal’ with the different varieties of apples that go into the cider, try some and even buy a bottle or two. Licencing requirements are being looked into currently, but there is plenty of time to get everything right. [Click for location]

As the Fruitwise Apple Day falls inside the pressing season, I shall be taking my press along with me and giving demonstrations of the fine art of chopping and squishing apples to a pulp!

I will keep everyone informed of any other events 146 will be at this year as they crop up – and even one or two that I will be attending but not selling (the brilliant New Forest Cider Steam Pressing Weekend, for example).

Next up... Pompey Beer Festival 2010

2010-07-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

Festivals are turning out to be a good way of ‘introducing’ 146 to the world, and having now got 2 under my belt, the next one is another biggy. The Pompey Beer Festival is held at the Guildhall, Portsmouth on 20th and 21st August [click for location].

Whilst this isn’t a CAMRA event in itself, the festival is run on the same scale as the one in Southampton and is well worth a visit. Expect to see a few from Whiteheads – it would seem that this is his home ‘turf’... Looking at the list from last year, there was also a good choice of ciders from many other parts of the UK.

I am hoping to get a pass out to attend the festival too - well, you have to do quality control checks, don't you!

There are a few other events on the go... but more on those when the cider is confirmed!

Family Fun, Food and Real Ale Festival - Gunwharf Quays Festival

2010-06-29T04:57:00.000-07:00

Things are warming up around here... quite literally too. It was good to get down to the Fruitwise orchard yesterday to talk apples, cider and the state of the country with Stephen. The crop is looking good for this year (once again). Such a big part of making 146 Cider is a result of the care and passion that Stephen and Julia have for their orchard, and this shows in the quality of the fruit that comes my way.

Have been bottling (well, bag in boxing) once again. This time for the Beer Festival at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth [click for details]. I understand that there are going to be 6 ciders available there – I suspect that there will be a good amount of Whiteheads too, though I hope that New Forest Cider will be represented.

This is the second festival 146 has been involved in now. With the 20 litre bag in boxes, I am much more happy this time. The cider will keep much better than in a keg, where the air gets in as the first pint is drawn – BiB’s simply collapse as cider is drawn.

The only thing left to sort out for it are the labels! Following a discussion on The Cider Workshop, I need to ensure that the labels comply with the relevant UK regulations. So, from now on will be putting a ‘batch number’ instead of a ‘bottling date’ on the front of the label. Also, the 12 month BBE was too restrictive (I was being over cautious) as cider generally lasts for 2 years plus when bottled well. However, as the bags in bag in boxes are plastic, these need to have a limited shelf life (hence I will only do these to order – just to ensure maximum drinking time).

Its not all fun and games selling cider you know!

Cider of the Festival – CAMRA Southampton Beer & Cider Festival 2010

2010-06-29T04:47:00.000-07:00

It makes me very happy to announce that 146 Cider was given the honour of being the ‘Cider of the Festival’ at the recent Southampton Beer & Cider Festival.

This is the first time South Hants CAMRA have awarded this, so I am particularly pleased with the result. As it is nominated by the people who attend the Festival, it is further evidence (to me) that the things are being done properly and that the cider is sellable.

From another point of view, it is also a good result for The Cider Workshop too. As a part of the team that run the Workshop, I can now join the ranks of Ray, Mark and Roy in being producers that are not only commercial, but also have been awarded something for their efforts. I think I may have a little way to go before putting myself on the same level as Mr Gold Award for Service to the Industry Andrew Lea, however. Not a bad line up of people to run a forum though eh!

All the best

Outlets for 146 - update

2010-06-21T05:26:00.000-07:00

Following a very successful debut at the Southampton Beer Festival, I am very pleased to say that 146 has now going to be available in a pub AND a shop... so you can buy a pint of 146 on draught, and then buy it in a bottle!!

So, who are these people willing to take a punt on a new product? Well, first off, The Florence Arms – possibly the best (if not, certainly one of them) cider house in Hampshire. The ‘Flo’ is a pub in Southsea (click here for a location) which serves rather a lot of cider. They have a whole range of the regulars (Koppaburg, Bulmers, Westons etc.) but also pride themselves on serving full juice ciders too. Whiteheads is readily available, for example... And now 146 is also represented! It will be available on draught (bag in box), so I am very interested to see how it does - and whether it becomes a regular there or just an occasional?!?

And for the shop? Surprisingly its a brewery shop – the Oakleaf Brewing Co. Shop in Gosport to be exact (again, click here for a location). They will be selling 146 in 500ml bottles. Another one to keep an eye on!

So far, home town Southampton is still ‘in the process’. I would like to think that I can get to supply a retailer and a pub here too – not just because its easy to get to, but because I want to have local outlets (and as Southampton and Portsmouth are my 'local' towns so the ideal places to sell it...) – I have no real interest or sufficient cider to go further afield at the moment, with the exception of a few beer festivals I'd like to be involved in. Needless to say, I have created an outlets page, so you can keep tabs on the movement of 146 Cider there.

Happy days!

What’s in 146Cider (2009)

2010-06-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

As with last years cider (which was never really seen out ‘in public’ although was a perfect gift for builders and friends etc.) I really like the idea that anyone drinking a bottle of 146 can look up what went in to their drink. In a way, I think its encouraging for anyone who wants to have a go at making cider themselves. However, in the commercial environment where producers and manufacturers are so frightened to declare what they use to produce their products us cider makers should be proud of the low food miles, minimal energy, absence of artificial flavours and preservatives and (quite simply) the simplicity of our businesses!

Craft cider is almost entirely made from apple juice. I say almost entirely – there is nearly always some water in there. The process of keeping things clean means rinsing and washing down – and some of this will get into the end product (don’t worry – it’s always clean/boiled water). And then there are sulphites. This is added to clean the juice prior to fermentation (kill any unwanted bugs), and then to protect cider that is in storage. If you have a bottle in front of you, it will say ‘trace’, so the quantity is tiny.

The 2009 season saw an increase in the amount of Bittersweet cider fruit available, and this shows in the finished product. I also used more specific sharp varieties, including some cider sharps. This has given a dual tone to the cider. So (if you are interested in my own tasting notes), I believe that the 2009 146Cider has both tannin and acid – which can both be tasted as being separate from each other in the mouth. I am pleased to say that, once again, the cider is neither west country nor is it Eastern style – something I am keen on maintaining.

So, what is in your pint?

Once again, the entire fruit came from the Fruitwise Orchard. This is a good relationship to have, and my hope is that 146Cider going ‘commercial’ will reward both them as well as 146. I have already documented the pressing previously – although it produced a total of 900 litres of cider.

The 146 blend is made up of the following:
• Desert Fruit – 48%
• Cider Fruit – 44%
• Sharp (Culinary) Fruit – 8%

This came from the following varieties:

• Ashmeads Kernel
• Bramley
• Dabinett
• Egremont Russet
• Harry Masters Jersey
• John Downie Crab
• Kidds Orange Red
• Kingston Black
• Laxtons Epicure
• Le Bret
• Ribston Pippin
• Spartan
• Sunset
• Sturmer Pippin
• Tremletts Bitter
• Winter King
• Yarlington Mill

As this season will be more commercially available than ever before, I do hope that people find this information interesting – after all, making craft cider really is nothing like the latest Magners adverts would have you believe (although the idea of driving a truck through a golf course actually is rather appealing:-)

As ever, any feedback is welcome.

Jez

Competitions and Festivals...

2010-06-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

OK – first off, an apology. Lots has (and is) happening with 146. However, over all that, the disabled facilities at home have just been completed and, following a forced move for a month due to dust playing havoc with my daughters’ health, I have yet to have any real quality time with my laptop!

The first major thing to announce (although if you’re a member of the Cider Workshop you will already have had me posting about it) 146 came 11th out of 40 dry ciders at the Putley Blossomtime Trials in Herefordshire. As a first shot, this is a good standing – beating a number of already commercial ciders is always a good thing if you want to sell cider:-) It was a pretty great day in actual fact, and I encourage producers to have a go next year – if for nothing other than the fun of talking with other producers.

And the other thing to mention? Southampton Beer (and Cider) Festival. Yep, I should have mentioned this before the event, and did indeed plan to. Oh well. I went along yesterday to give 146 a bit of encouragement, and ended up pretty much trying all other 15 of the ciders on sale. A few were extremely sweet, and really not my preference. However, one or two (the Dan Y Draig Medium Dry, and the New Forest Dry) were really very good indeed. I supplied 10 gallons, although they were (unfortunately) in polypins, which doesn’t do much to protect the cider once opened. However, seeing almost an entire 5 gallon disappear over the course of the evening was very encouraging.

Being naturally paranoid about my baby 146 Cider, I kept asking how it was going down (apologies to any of the bar staff reading this!!!) and the general tone was very good. “Most people love it, some hate it – but they are Magners drinkers”. Hmmm. It would seem I have come a long way. Having started out trying to make cider like Magners (I was a staunch ‘Friday night’ Magners man) it would seem I have learnt something over the last 5 – 6 years then!

I am still aiming to have a retail supplier in Southampton soon. As I am not personally licenced, I can only sell 146 to licenced premises – however, once a retailer has been ‘signed up’, I can always point folk to them for the stuff.

All Change at 146!

2010-04-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

Well, in truth I haven’t started selling anything yet. Not having heard anything from the council yet, plus the variability of the 2008 blend of cider and the need to actually get to the 2009 batch, I have been busy preparing the ground.

So, last weekend I finally blended the 2009 cider – not before time as only have of it has been racked from its initial fermentation tanks. I am very pleased to say that its probably the most professionally made cider I have ever produced – a nice mixture of tannin and a little sharpness from the early apples which usually lack in body and make up for it in acid! However, this is not overpowering. Its also tasting a little yeasty, which is not really my preference but having bottled a bit I can see this dropping out fairly quickly so I am hopeful.

Given my concerns over the 2008 blend, I decided to rack a percentage into the new blend – both to balance the acid more but also to deal with any problem of H2S. This is simply over production from the yeast and as the new blend is still finishing (one of the advantages of a natural fermentation is that its all still active) it should take care of things nicely.

What has changed then? Most noticeably, the label! Having sat and stared at half a dozen bottles with the label in situ for the last week, I came to the conclusion that it was misleading. The bubbles just make me think that it is a sparkling product... and what is the heart all about? It harks back to pre-company mucking about, when I had planned to call my little enterprise ‘Love Cider’. This got itself ruled out in favour of 146 Cider, but I still liked the graphic. Ho hum!

The label (mark 2) involved blocky type text (‘Earwig Factory’ for those who know about these things). As soon as the 4th person told me it looked like an alcopop advert, or something aimed at kids, I decided not to roll with that – although it was a simple design.

So, we now have arrived at version 3 – one that I am particularly happy with. Its amazing what happens through the process of being unhappy with something, and subjecting ideas to the scrutiny of others!!

Now all I have to do is to find a regular supplier, bottle my cider properly and sell it!

Oh, and there are no prizes if anyone happens to spot that I have got the 'greater than' and 'less than' symbols the wrong way round on the label!

Herefordshire Cider Trip... Part 3

2010-04-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

This isn’t meant to be a ‘book on Herefordshire cider’, although there was so much to say about it it had to be split up to save any readers from boredom!

One of the purposes of making the visits was to try the cider that I would be up against come the Putley Cider Trials. Not that I think I stand a hope of taking a rosette, but it was very worthwhile finding out how others styled their products and went about crafting their ciders. A bonus was a definite introduction to the world of perry which I hadn’t bargained for, but will now make sure I look out for them. Incidentally, I believe that the new use of the term ‘Pear Cider’ gives a distinction between the real thing and the carbonated, flavoured and mass market stuff... I wish we could get the larger producers to start calling their cider ‘Apple Cider’! Westons even make Raspberry Cider...

However, having bought bottles from Westons, Greggs Pit, Once Upon a Tree and Lyne Down Cider I also wanted others that I hadn’t had time to visit (apologies to Tom Oliver!!!) In order to get a full range, we bought some Gwynt y Ddraig and Dunkertons from a local Waitrose and found some others at Truffles Deli in Ross on Wye (a great place to buy Herefordshire cider, by the way!). I added a bottle of Gwatkins, Amazing Cider Company and Ross on Wye Cider Co to make up a decent representation.

Come our final night, I figured I would get my friends to blind taste several ciders including my own. A bit ambitious, I figured that mine would stand a chance! So I opened 3 other bottles alongside one of mine and dished out the glasses. What a mistake! Mine had the aroma of egg and was really quite foul! I am not even sure why, as we had consumed two other bottles of mine which were fine (I am now doubting whether I can sell the 2008 vintage). This aside, the Dunkertons Black Fox unanimously came out on top of the 4 ciders we tried (Roaring Meg from Lyne Down came second, with the Gwent y Ddraig and Westons Extra Dry following up... mine was firmly last!) I have brought the others home to go through them at more leisure.

Was there a lesson in all of this? I think there might be, coming from the visits this week. The 2008 cider was played around with – I back-blended another cider blend into my main blend once it had finished, which at the time I had hoped wouldn’t be a mistake. On the whole it hasn’t been. However, there have been several bottles with a eggy problem now, so I shall have to take a decision whether to bin it or keep it for personal use only.

Ho hum!!

Herefordshire Cider Trip... Part 2

2010-04-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

If you are planning on visiting cider makers in Herefordshire, I can give you several tips to make the experience worthwhile:

Don’t trust your Sat Nav to actually get you to the location!
Allow several days to get round them – on average 2-3 a day is a max, especially if you intend to drive to them!
Make sure you call ahead to ask permission to visit. Even using the ‘Cider Route’ guide, the odds are that a number of the cider makers are small and not always around (Greggs Pit is a good example).

When I planned to visit a few, I was worried that these cider makers would be wary of a ‘hobbyist’ or ‘wannabe’ commercial producer visiting with lots of technical questions. Not so, I have to say that every cider maker I met in Herefordshire was welcoming, knowledgeable and really generous with their time.

My last trip out was to meet two more artisan producers. Once Upon a Tree are a relatively new artisan producer based in Putley. Whilst the chief cider maker, Simon Day, wasn’t available I met up with Norman who owns the farm and Dragon Orchard. This time, I opted to be up front about my own cider making, and also about the Cider Workshop (after all, evangelising about the Workshop is never a chore to me!!). Norman was incredibly generous, showing me around and talking me through the way in which they craft their cider and perry. Craft is the right word to use, as they ferment each variety of apple and pear separately, only mixing them up at blending time.I loved the way that they present their cider in a similar fashion to wine – opting for 750ml wine bottles and still cider, I can wholly recommend it for its clean taste. Its definitely a cider with a purpose, seeming to know exactly what it wants to be and how it wants to taste. Sometimes, I feel my own cider cannot make up its mind and tries to taste like everything!

So, another lesson learned. I probably get too many different varieties to separate them all. However, I can separate cider from desert much better – and I may well try this out next year.

One other recommendation. Once Upon a Tree make a fantastic desert cider from Blenheim Orange apples. This is done by freezing the juice and only fermenting a third that thaws. A bit like apple jack in method, but the taste is incredibly sweet and smooth.

And so on to my final destination, Lyne Down Cider. And another contrast. Whilst both Greggs Pit and Once Upon a Tree really try to craft cider to particular styles (and do well at it too), Lyne Down makes cider to sell – pure and simple, no fuss and very few frills.

Mark, who owns Lyne Down, met me at the gate to his newly built cider house and ‘in progress’ shop and picnic area. I had a feeling it would be rather posh but Mark was very grounded and much more ‘business like’ about his cider business. His operation had more in common with New Forest Cider than the others I had seen locally – vats of cider (although there were single variety Stoke Red and another of Yarlington Mill. He also had the same stone bedded press as Greggs Pitt, although this is to be replaced something more hydraulic later this year.

Mark was, once again, really open and helpful with his knowledge of cider craft. I now have a plan for racking cider that will take out a lot of fuss, bother and errant lees! He also had a couple of 1500 litre tanks for sale – which I can just see in my cider garage!!

As all the others, the meeting ended with a tasting. This cider tasted a lot more like my own, albeit in a Western style that I do not go for. The blend contained many varieties of apple – not the few that the others used, and although this meant that there was less ‘impact’ of individual types of apple (others were very definitely sharp – although these ones usually contained a significant proportion of Browns Apple which is a full sharp cider apple).

So, an enjoyable and educational trip... lets just see how this affects what I take to Putley in May!!!

Herefordshire Cider Trip... Part 1

2010-04-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

Easter holidays! Just back from a 5 day trip to the Forest of Dean with some friends. Not only did the weather hold out for us, it was a perfect ‘pre-Putley Cider Trials’ preparation... and it left me wanting to strive to make my cider as professional as possible!

There was only time to visit 4-5 producers (this was a family holiday, after all!), and we started with the surprising choice of Westons, and by contrast the much smaller operation of Greggs Pit. Both are found in Much Marcle – to some, the Mecca of Ciderland... in reality its a small place you could easily drive straight through on the bendy A449.
Westons provide a tourist attraction in itself, with farm animals, a playground, cafe and shop. They even had a bottle museum (bottle collection is more accurate). Whilst the children cooed at the animals, I took my friend on the cider tour to see how things were done.

Some may baulk at the idea of going round an industrial cider producer (I have never really been comfortable with the term ‘industrial’. In fact, you can see that the principles don’t change – apples must be collected, washed and milled, pressed and the juice must ferment. However, this could be hard to see, as the scale and methods are simply much larger and more, well, industrial. Although the topic of chapitalising never came up (and I promised myself not to be so provocative), there was no real effort to hide the fact – one of the guides at the tasting even said “it all starts at 11%”. However, on finding out that they produce more than 4 million gallons per year, with 15,000 tons of apples, the little animal in me had to do the maths on my Blackberry to work it out. Oh, and for those who like to be right about a producer like Westons, even a 75% yield of juice would only make 2.5 million gallons.

Still, its horses for courses and you cannot argue that they aren’t good at what they do. At the tasting, whilst avoiding the ‘stock’ Stowford Press, the Vintage and Extra Dry were very pleasant.

Going on to Greggs Pit (which had been arranged the day before), we found one of the owners, James Marsden, very welcoming. What it must be like to live with a view of an old pear orchard!

After showing us round the orchard, where the trees were almost ready to burst open with blossom, and the apple orchard to the rear of the house – 4-5 perfectly formed lines of standard fruit trees, we moved on to the production and storage area.

My first thought was – this isn’t a whole lot bigger than the area I have for making and storing cider. However, any idea that this would be a like for like comparison vanished when I saw the stainless variable tanks and storage/bottling area. Most of Gregg’s Pitt’s cider and perry is produced by keeving (or, as James preferred, bouche method). This is something I have never tried before (although one of my fermentations naturally produced a cap of pectin – which leaves the juice with fewer nutrients for the yeast and therefore prolongs the fermentation).

We tried several types of perry, including two seasons of the same blend. James was particularly enthusiastic about his perry. Unfortunately, my knowledge of perry is very limited, but it was incredibly light and fruity.

I wanted to do the visit’s without coming across as a ‘cider bore’, mentioning the Cider Workshop - which I feared would lead me to be judged a ‘cider bore’, or mention that I am taking part in the Putley trials – which I feared may label me not only a ‘cider bore’ but also a philistine from Hampshire!

Whilst I think I probably failed on all counts (after about 5 minutes at Greggs Pit I was handed a Putley Blossomtime Festival leaflet and announced I intended to take part), I made every effort to listen to the tips that Jams so freely gave me. I am not sure I have the budget for the stainless tanks, but I will make sure I try for slow fermentations with all my ciders in future!

Registering for business...

2010-03-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Whilst things have been a bit slow on the ground here, I have finally managed to register the business with the Council. OK, it doesn’t mean we are ready to sell yet... although I am shortly taking a delivery of bottles ready to get going. There is still a bit of work to do – insurances need to be purchased (just in case) and I am slowly but surely working my way through the Business Link start-up business ‘organiser’. This is an administrative thing that just helps me make sure I have checked all the correct boxes as a business before getting on with the fun part of actually selling the cider.

The intention for this blog is to act as a conduit to 146 Cider – there are two purposes for this. First of all, it means that people who buy the stuff can see where its come from and who we are. The other reason (all things being equal) is that I intend to build a partnership with an off-licence who can actually supply the cider, meaning that I can simply point people in that direction for the time being. To me, this seems to be the most appropriate way of starting out – although I will welcome feedback on this blog!

The only other thing to update is that I have now entered two cider competitions this year – the Big Apple ‘Putley’ competition and the International Hereford Museum competition.

Putley is a bit of a ‘cider-off’, with participants being judged by their fellow competitors, and if often seen as one of the more equitable ways of judging a cider competition. For 146 Cider, this will be our first ‘outing’ against others and I am hoping its going to be a great time! It has been plugged quite a lot on The Cider Workshop, so lets hope there are some friendly faces during the day.

The Hereford Museum competition is a more serious set up, and probably a bit more prestigious too. Again, its taking my Hampshire cider into the lions den that is Herefordshire – it will be interesting to see how it fares against cider that is made in ‘the heart of cider country’!

There may be other competitions on the books, although I am not sure if I want to go for many more this year – it would be great to place at all in these two.

All the best
Jez

Time for training?

2010-01-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

Last year the 146 micro orchard was planted out. When I say micro orchard, I mean that its an allotment near to my home and the long term plan is to produce a small amount of ‘special’ cider from these trees. So now they are 2 years old the will need cutting back to train them. Only issue might be that it won’t just be the trees in training!

So, book in hand and websites reviewed (including Stephen Hayes Fruitwise clips) I shall venture out with my brand new clippers and have a go. OK, I shall wait for the snow to melt a bit and then do it, very carefully and probably very slowly. For something that is basically a commodity, its surprisingly how quickly you become attached to apple trees… no, I haven’t given then names (yet) and I haven’t wrapped them up in cotton wool either. However, they have kept me company whilst working the rest of the plot.

Why are they special? Well, there is:

James Grieve; and early cooker that sweetens up if left on the tree.
Ashmeads Kernel; a great eater but with some complex flavours (I have previously found this variety to be great as juice).

These two varieties will make up the ‘non’ cider apples in the cider. The cider varieties are the less obvious choices. There are:

Royal Jersey; a rare variety which apart from being a full bittersweet and coming from Jersey, I don’t know a whole lot about. Will no doubt either love it or hate it – when it produces an apple to try.
Knotted Kernel; a medium bittersweet from Herefordshire. The reports I have seen on it is that it is both rare and that it produces a very good cider.
Hang Down; Yeah, another rare one but it used to be grown commonly. Its supposed to produce a small tree and is slow in growing, but is a mild bittersweet with good flavour.
Skyrmes Kernel; a full bittersharp. At planting, I was told that only 6 people in the UK were known to be growing this old variety. How true this is doesn’t really matter but having a true bittersharp cider apple will add a fullness to the final blend.

I have been called a bit of an obscurest in my choice of these trees. Sure, the regulars of Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, etc. are known to produce decent cider. But these varieties are in the main blend and, well, wouldn’t it be boring if we all did the same thing all the time:-)

What’s in 146? [2008 cider]

2009-11-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

Due to various business trips and commitments, cider has not been top priority over the last couple of weeks (shock, horror!!) However, this does create the space for reporting on last years cider – which shall hopefully find a home for retail sales as soon as I can get round to organising it!

A significant reason for starting this blog was to allow anyone drinking 146 cider to see where it came from. I guess it’s a part of being honest about where the cider came from… yeah, I know ingredients are included on the label – but “Apples, tiny bit of water and a trace of sulphite” is a bit too simple. I like the idea that people can see photo’s and information about what type of apples went in to the blend. At the scale I am operating at, I can easily do it. We shall see if its something that can continue! So:

146 Cider (Traditional) – 2008 blend

Pressed between September and November 2008 at both 146 Cider and at Fruitwise Orchard. This was blended initially in February 2009 and then finally in September 2009. It was mature in August 2009 and ready for bottling in October 2009.

Desert Apples 30%
Cider Apples 64%
Sharp (Cooking) Apples 6%

Varieties found in 146 Cider:

Ashmeads Kernel
Bramley
Cox
Crimson King
Dabinett
Egremont Russett
Grenadier
Harry Masters Jersey
Kidds Orange Red
Kingston Black
Le Brett
Lord Lambourne
Michelin
Nehou
Orleans Reinette
Pippin
Spartan
Suntan
Tom Putts
Tremletts Bitter
Winter King
Yarlington Mill

Sulphite was added (50ppm) prior to fermentation and then (50ppm) prior to maturing.

My hope in providing this information is that drinkers who care a little more about where their beverage comes from will look here to see. In the same way that line fishermen will tag the fish to show that it is humanely caught, 146 cider is produced in a traditional way, using no industrial equipment or additives, and travels no more than 10 miles from orchard to bottle (OK, if you factor in miles for purchase of equipment that total could be doubled…)

If you have tried 146 cider, do let us know what you think.

Pressing all done...

2009-11-05T13:39:00.000-08:00

So, the last pressing for the 2009 cider is now done and ‘Stephen’, the #1 Spiedel tank, is bubbling away. So that is that… time to do the maths and the records ad pack everything away. No, it doesn’t mean ‘no more washing, sterilising and cleaning’ as it generally doesn’t at all. However, my target for this year was to double (again) the quantity of juice pressed, and I am happy to report that this has been achieved.

There are a number of reasons for ‘just’ doubling up and not rushing away with and pressing thousands of litres. The main reason is simply that I am not set up to produce lots of cider well. I don’t have the tankage, pressing ability, storage and most importantly the time. By increasing steadily (if you can call doubling up each year steady) things can be bought and introduced in a reasonable way. This year I am have the benefit of 2 Speidel tanks – which have proven themselves already. The Fruit Shark mill has made such light work of producing pomace from apples this year that I know it will do for a number of years to come. The press has come in to its own too this year, with a consistent 6-7 gallons of juice at each pressing taking just under 2 hours to achieve. Harmony, it would seem, has been achieved – shame it can’t last!

So, with 835 litres of juice fermenting, there should be now be much more time to organise things. I need to finish bottling up the 2008 season cider. It is now pretty much fully mature and I need to find a few buyers for it. I am hoping that this won’t be too much of a task – in any case it’s all on a VERY small scale!

Also, the next four months will be taken up by builders and buildings as we extend the house to provide better disabled facilities for my daughter. Not that I begrudge her this at all – it has been too long in coming!

All in all a good season. Time to start thinking about the next one!

0 to 146 - the story so far

2009-10-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

OK, I admit it. I am proof that Magners drinkers ARE human beings and can go on to actually make real cider! I used to believe that I was a sophisticated cider drinker – well, may be all the marketing money that they spent actually worked a bit eh! No, I wasn’t into ale or beer and although having been to a few festivals, was by no means versed in ‘real’ cider.

The first year of cider making, I made about 50 litres from apples that I either scrounged, scrumped or nabbed from trees that I found at the roadside. The cider was thin, flat, but drinkable. And I had caught the bug and had not made a fool of myself.

A couple of things that you realise as a new cider maker. First, if you have the passion, you never make enough. Secondly, in order to do this, you will realise that the weakest part of the cider making process is the thing that is replaced the following year until you become the weakest part of the process. Oh, and you can never get enough barrels, tubs and things to hold juice/apples/equipment – cider makers are very creative when it comes to what you can use containers for!

One other thing, which is a useful tip for anyone wishing to make cider and improve it, is that having cider making friends is very, very useful. I joined an online community and found a ton of information, as well as a ready source of experienced folk to ask my daft questions. On the whole, I would recommend this to anyone with an interest (which is why there is are links to it all over the blog!)

In my first year, I used a small 6 litre Vigo screw press and a blender. I decided, in order to double the amount I produced the milling needed to be quicker and less complicated. This is the weakest link theory in practice. With a Vigo hand scratter, I doubled the amount to 100 litres in the second year.

In the second year of making cider, a valuable relationship with Fruitwise Heritage Orchards was born. Located near to 146 in Southampton, Fruitwise boast extremely fine fruit for sale at markets (yes, to actually eat and cook with!). 146 has been lucky enough to strike a solid relationship with the owners which will go on for as long as they are allowed to grow whatever apples they wish. If you have tried 146 Cider, the odds are that it will have been made from heritage apples from the Fruitwise orchards. In 2009, 146 has used pretty much all of their windfall or ‘ugly’ apples to produce a heritage cider – a name that will stick to this particular blend as 146 grows.

The second year produced a cider that was technically better, and had more body to it. It seemed to disappear far too quickly, with relatives and friends scoffing the lot (well, we are generous people!). It was still fairly light, but there was a distinct flavour to it – not too West Country, yet more so than a typical Eastern style.

And this has been the blend that we have worked with ever since; a cider that contains both quality cider apples with heritage desert varieties and sharp (cooking) varieties. I often refer to it as the ‘Hampshire’ style… well, there is no real tradition in Hampshire (although there are long standing cider makers that I respect tremendously, such as Barry Topp of New Forest Cider). I would have thought that sitting neatly in between East and West, our style fits rather nicely.

The quantities doubled again to 200 litres in the third year, and again to 405 litres in the fourth, together with a new steel framed ‘Ray’ press, named after Ray Blockley of Torkard cider who laid out the design for it (see weakest link principle in action). The 2008 batch forms our first commercially available cider. This is more Western in style than in previous years – something that we hope to correct with 2009’s pressings. Incidentally, this year we replaced the mill with an electric mill and are currently aiming to produce 800 – 1000 litres.

What are the plans? Well, as a one man band, 146 will continue doubling production year on year until either I fall over or one of the family give in and decide to start helping out. This doubling up of cider gives time to evaluate equipment, play with styles and, most importantly, take my time over doing things. There is no rush to make thousands of litres – the apples will be there next year.

This is a very short version. I haven’t mentioned my micro orchard of ‘obscure’ cider varieties, or the cider ‘garage’. There is so much more to say about the apples that go in to 146 cider… and the people who grow them!

Next time maybe?!

A new cider blog is born

2009-10-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the web blog for 146.

Having made cider in ever increasing quantities over the last 5 years, I have finally taken the decision to start selling some of it (well, couldn’t really drink it all now!!) The idea is to sell it locally via a few outlets (watch this space) and slowly increase quantity each year. So, this blog is a part of the start of this ‘enterprise’ – to produce the best ‘Hampshire style’ cider possible, using craft techniques and as close to 100% apple juice as possible … and sharing this journey through this blog.

One of my passions as a cider maker is to create an honest cider, using good ingredients and good practice. This has helped create a cider that my family love (always the harshest of critics!) and that I am proud of. I have a list of things that I want to put into this blog – images of the press, apples and cider, information about the cider; where it comes from, what goes into it, how its made (etc. etc.) However, one step at a time eh!

So, lets see how this blogging thing pans out.