Traditional Cider Production

How do you find out how cider is authentically made? One method is you go to Somerset visit a cider pub ie one that has a license to only sell cider. No beer or spirits here, thank you very much. Then you settle in for a few pints. Once the patrons have become accustomed to you and you can understand their west-country accents you ask them where and how to make this happen. 

We were at the Tuckers Grave Cider House when a cidery name was thrown out to us by a local. “Go and see Roger Wilkins he makes good cider and he makes it the old way” we were told with a toothless grin “but he lives in a back lane and you will ne’er find him”. Nothing like a challenge for Tanya (navigator). Other patrons said that the Wilkins Farmhouse Cidery was the most authentic in all of Somerset. The next day we phoned Roger and were given directions.   

Driving down tiny laneways with mirrors on both sides of the van hitting the overgrown hedgeways we found the farm. On the high side of the lane was a field of straggly looking apple trees, some bearing red fruit and some bearing green. Under the trees were hundreds of white sacks stuffed with apples. On the low side of the lane was a collection of grey stone buildings and rusty tin sheds with a small sign saying Wilkins Farmhouse Cider.   

In Somerset all farms formerly produced their own cider and perrie (pear cider) for their own and farm workers consumption. Every hill was planted with orchards. Today, many of the orchards have gone and cider making in Somerset is the stronghold of big business who now make cider for international palates using non-traditional, quick to market methods. 

Stepping into the dim light of the cidery we entered another world. The shed was gnarly and ancient; full of years worth of dust and cobwebs. The machinery was the same and so too were the patrons.

Roger Wilkins is the owner of Wilkins Farmhouse Cider. He is a 72 year old man passionate about making cider in the traditional way. He is also an incredibly warm host who makes every visitor feel welcome.

The apples he grows for cider are not sweet in flavour. His apples are quite different to a cooking or eating apple. They are a mixture of colours and most of them are little in size. The apples are picked and bagged prior to crushing. Much of the fruit is somewhat bruised and is preferred this way as bruising starts the fermentation process. 

The fruit goes up an ancient wooden conveyor for crushing. The fruit is crushed whole with stems, leaf, etc., included. The pulp drops through a hopper onto a tray covered with cloth. It is then spread by hand, the cloth wrapped around it and a wooden lattice placed on top. Then another cloth is added and the next layer of apple pulp is added. This process is repeated to make a stack of alternating apple and lattice layers all sandwiched together.

When the sandwiched trays are sufficiently high they are moved to the press which squeezes the juice out of the fruit. The juice runs down the outside and between the sandwich boards. It is caught in a stainless steel tray and then flows through a pipe under the floor and into a stainless steel vat. 

Storing the cider in a vat for 30-40 minutes enables sediment to fall out before it is pumped into plastic barrels. The cider is stored for 4-24 months while it ferments. 

Each batch of pressed apples produces a slightly different flavour. Roger’s skill is in blending his barrels to achieve a consistent taste. He produces three Ciders, Dry, Medium and Sweet. We were encouraged to taste all off these along with juice straight from the lower tray of the press, we have never tasted better. Traditional cider is dry, flat and served at room temperature. It is not the sweet bubbly cider that is served in Australian pubs, Cornish locals call commercial cider lucozade.

Over the years Wilkins Farmhouse Cider has had many famous visitors, including rock stars Johnny Rotten, Mick Jagger, Joe Strummer, Lilly Allen and Nick Cave to name a few. Celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver, The Hairy Bikers and the Two Greedy Italians have also visited taking in the unique spit, saw dust and cobweb ambience of the cidery. Even the famed artist Banksy has been there and contributed a mural in the sitting room.

 If you are ever in Somerset and keen for a unique experience, we encourage you to give Roger a call and find Wilkins Farmhouse Cider.