Hereford Cider

Sun on Herefordshire Apples

Herefordshire has a long history of cider making, going back even to before Roman times. For centuries, cider was drunk by rich and poor alike. In castle, manor house and farmstead it was a popular, and often safer, alternative to water. Children even, were baptised with it! And it used to be said that it took four men to drink a pint of Herefordshire cider. Two to hold the man down and one to pour it down his throat!

By the late 17th century, books such as, "A Treatise on Cider" by John Worlidge, in 1691, became well known. The heyday of cider was in the 18th and 19th centuries, so much, that it formed part of the wages of farm labourers until the present century. It is claimed to be the only drink that enables a man to work all day in the heat of the harvest field. Unlike beer, which makes a man sweat buckets and will make him ill, cider is like liquid energy, refreshing and sustaining him throughout the day. Herefordshire landowners, principally Lord Scudamore, increased cultivation during the 18th century and many took bottled cider to their London houses during the "Season". At that time almost every house in the county made some cider or perry.

A harvester lays down his sickle and quenches his thirst. Towards the end of the 18th century, cider production declined. Several factors were responsible, not least the bad state of the roads in the county. With the extension of the canal to Hereford in 1845, and the railway in 1855, local cider became better known country-wide. Britain's first systematic cultivator of new varieties of cider apple was Thomas Andrew Knight. His book, "Pomona Herefordiensis", is the earliest illustrated work on the subject. However, production did not increase until the latter half of the 19th century when Percy Bulmer, a son of the Rector of Credenhill, revitalised the industry.

Percy Bulmer

Percy Bulmer's mother once said, "If you are going into business, let it be food or drink. They never go out of fashion". Percy and his brother, Fred, took her advice and in 1887, produced their first forty casks of cider. On these they made a profit of £157, a large sum in those days. In 1888, they rented a warehouse in Maylord Street and produced 4000 gallons of cider from apples bought from local farmers. The Bulmers Cider Company came into being and moved to a new site in Ryeland Street, Hereford. From here it went from strength to strength and by 1891 the factory covered eight acres. The famous "Woodpecker" brand was introduced in 1897 and in 1911, Bulmers was granted the Royal Warrant. By the 1930s, Bulmer's cider was known all over the world and in 1987, the Company celebrated its anniversary.

Percy Bulmer died in 1919 and control of the firm passed to his brother, Fred Bulmer. Fred's grandson, Mr Esmond Bulmer, is Chairman of the present company, HP Bulmer Holdings PLC. In August 1998, the company aquired the Vermont based Green Mountain Cidery for a reported £8.7 million, making it the largest cider making group in the world. Since then a number of reverses led to the £278m sale of the company to Scottish & Newcastle Breweries, announced on Monday April 28, 2003, so ending 116 years of independent cider making at Bulmer's Hereford plant.

Traditional Cider

Herefordshire is good cider making country. Springs are mild, summers warm and autumns long, with gentle rain to swell the apple and ripen it. Today, some 8,000 acres (272,827 hectares) of Herefordshire is devoted to growing cider apples (1988).

The original cider apple was the small and bitter tasting fruit of Malus sylvestris. Over the centuries, and particularly during the 18th and 19th, some 265 cultivars were developed for use as cider apples. Varieties such as "Slack My Girdle", "Skyrmen's Kearne" and "Handsome Maud's", to name but three, have since disappeared. Many orchards were grubbed up during WWII, as every bit of good land was turned over to arable use. That so many wonderful apple trees had to give way to the humble potato is sad, but enough survived to ensure cider making went on. Apples and pears do not breed true and generally, cuttings are unsuccessful. The usual method of propagation is by budding or grafting onto wild-type root stock. Grafting is performed in early spring, before the sap rises, and budding in August.

Harvesting begins during September and continues for several weeks. The apples are kept for two to six weeks to mellow. This is done by piling the apples into small mounds in the orchards until they have lost some of their water and begin to soften. They are considered ready when the cider-maker can make a mark in the fruit with his thumb.

Traditionally the apples were then placed in a circular stone trough or "chase" and crushed by the action of a millstone running in it, this latter rotated with the help of a horse in harness. The pulp was then gathered in large cloths made of horsehair and known as "hairs". A dozen of these would be placed on top of one another in a screw-press to form a "cheese". The apple juice was then squeezed out of this cheese and poured into wooden casks, the pulb residue going for cattle feed. After a day or so the juice began to ferment of its own accord. Six weeks later the casks would be sealed with wooden bungs and left to mature for at least two months. Some cider is still made by this method today and is known as "farm cider", or "scrumpy".

Modern cider making

Due to modern scientific processes, blending, and stringent quality control, modern cider differs considerably from the traditional brew. Harvesting is mechanised and at Bulmers, for example, over 1000 tons of apples are processed daily, during the autumn months. Large vats retain the resulting liquor which takes up to 12 weeks to complete its fermentation. The remaining pulp is processed further to extract pectin, a gelatinous substance used by commercial jam makers.

Storage is on an immense scale. Oak casks, holding up to 60,000 gallons (272,760 litres), are still in use today for some premium ciders. But in 1957, Bulmers made use of the first stainless steel tank, with a capacity of over 2.25 million litres. In 1975, the "Strongbow" tanks were constructed to accommodate over 7.25 million litres each. These were the largest alcohol containers in the world and today can store more than 68 million litres.
That's 15 million gallons of cider!

Hereford Cider Museum

The Cider Museum and King Offa Distillery opened in 1981 as a permanent repository for everything to do with cider making. It is run by a charitable foundation, formed by Bertram Bulmer, in 1973. Housed in part of Bulmers former Ryeland Street factory, the Museum tells the fascinating story of traditional cider making through the ages. The impressive range of exhibits includes an enormous 17th century Beam Press from Normandy, France, huge oak vats of the Napoleonic period, a restored "Champagne" Cider cellar and countless minor items, photographs and texts that recall vividly the story of cider.

In the adjacent "King Offa" Distillery, the tradition of distilling cider to form a powerful spirit known as "Cider Brandy", has been revived after a 200 year lapse. Once known as the "Wine of England" or "Cider Royale", this mind-blowing substance can be obtained at the Museum Shop along with numerous local ciders, perry, and an extraordinary all-apple apératif, similar to the French "Pineau".

The Cider Bible

The "Cider Bible" is a translation of the Vulgate into English by John Wycliffe (1328-1384). It is so named because Wycliffe used the term "cider", in place of "strong drink". The Cider Bible is part of the Chained Library of Hereford Cathedral.

Further Reading & Research

"Bulmers of Hereford" by L.P.Wilkinson
"Early Days of Cider Making" by E.F.Bulmer
"cider making" by Michael B.Quinion
"The History and Virtues of Cider" by R.K.French
"Herefordshire cider-makers" by Gillian Grafton

Draught cider is sold in many of Hereford's pubs. It is phenomenally strong and under no circumstances should you attempt to DRINK AND DRIVE.
As it is often not possible to walk either, arrange to have some friends carry you, instead!

Starblazer selected books about Cider

Books about Cider

Cider Sources: A Bibliography of Traditional Orcharding and Cidermaking Texts Based on the Collection of the Museum of Cider, Hereford
Michael B. Quinion / Paperback / Published 1984

Museum of Cider Activity Guide
David Birt / Paperback / Published 1986

Cider Apples
Sandy Nightingale / Hardcover / Published 1996

Economic Survey of Intensive Bush Cider Orchards, 1972-81
John Rendell / Paperback / Published 1984

Cider: Report
Paperback / Published 1993

The Cider and Perry (Amendment) Regulations 1996
Great Britain / Paperback / Published 1996

The Cider and Perry (Amendment) Regulations 1997
Great Britain / Paperback / Published 1997

Weights and Measures (Beer and Cider) Bill
Great Britain / Paperback / Published 1997

Weights and Measures (Beer and Cider) Bill
Bowen Wells, Great Britain / Paperback / Published 1998

Minutes of Proceedings on the Weights and Measures (Beer and Cider) Bill
Bowen Wells, Great Britain / Paperback / Published 1998

Premium Lagers, Beers and Cider
Paperback / Published 1993

Real Cider on a Small Scale
Michael J. Pooley / Paperback / Published 1999

Rough Cider
Peter Lovesay / Paperback / Published 1987

Rough cider
Peter Lovesey / Hardcover / Published 1986

Traditional Cider Drinks
Francis Beswick, Anthony John Beswick / Paperback / Published 1994

Wines, Cider and Perry
Great Britain / Paperback / Published 1993

Wines, Cider and Perry
Great Britain / Paperback / Published 1994

Wines, Cider and Perry 1992
Great Britain / Paperback / Published 1993

Homemade Beer, Cider and Stout
VARIOUS / Hardcover / Published 1993

The Good Beer Guide to Real Cider
Ted Bruning / Paperback / Published 1996

First Steps in Winemaking : A Complete Month-By-Month Guide to Winemaking (Including the Production of Cider, Perry and Mead) in Your Own Home, ....
Cyril J. J. Berry, C. J. J. Berry / Paperback / Published 1994

Traditional Beer and Cider Making
Ian Ball / Paperback / Published 1995

The Dexter Cider Mill Apple Cookbook
Katherine Merkel Koziski, Kathryn Merkel Koziski / Paperback / Published 1995

Cider : Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider
Annie Proulx, Lew Nichols / Paperback / Published 1997

The American Cider Book : The Story of America's Natural Beverage
Vrest Orton / Paperback / Published 1995

Apple Cider Vinegar; Miracle Health System
Paul C. Bragg, Patricia Bragg / Paperback / Published 1999

Natural Healing With Cider Vinegar
Margot Hellmiss / Paperback / Published 1998

Nutrients for Health: Cider Vinegar
Maurice Hanssen / Paperback / Published 1996

Cider Vinegar
Margaret Hills / Paperback / Published 1997

Of Apples and Serpents: A Herefordshire Cider Saga
Mike Knight / Hardcover / Published 1998

All Things Concidered: Sketches from a Worcestershire Cider House
Edward Hargrave / Paperback / Published 1995

Apples, Berkshire, Cider
Duncan Mackay, et al / Paperback / Published 1996

© Starblazer 2001