The Cidermaking Year
For the past 6 years, the Cidermaking Year has been a regular feature on UKCider each month – it is where I have recorded my ramblings, thoughts and questions about cidermaking and growing a small cider business in Dorset. To me, it has come to be a work of love as much of practical use – people have followed it and sought me out because of the diary.
Now, the diary and its archived material have been moved to this new blog on my own website. The Cider by Rosie website is the obvious place to continue the ‘tradition’ of the Cidermaking Year - although I continue to post this as an ongoing record to the Cider Workshop as and when I have finished a ‘new installment’.
The latest month can be found below, and click on the month to view the rest of this years diary. The archive has been updated and redesigned into a format you can download. Click here to view the archive.
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The Cidermaking Year April 2010 |
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The Stable Cider House
Here is some very good news for cider lovers visiting Dorset. We now have a real cider bar in Bridport!
It has been set up by Richard and Nikki Cooper the owners of the Bull Hotel, an old coaching inn in the main street. They have carried out a pleasing conversion of their former stables behind the hotel, to make a cider house that exudes plenty of old world charm. The Stables, essentially a large timber framed barn, has a pleasant panelled and beamy character within. The owners have added suitable furniture in the form of heavy wooden benches and tables and the bar has definitely been made to look the part. It is surmounted by an almighty oak beam acting as a lintel, spanning a width of 20 ft or so. There are ( wait for it! ) 45 different ciders and perrys on offer. The food is simply home made pizzas or locally made pies. It is therefore along the lines of the successful Square and Compass formula, the difference being this is a pub with no beer! (As far as I could tell, this place is The proper job).
I had my first view of this new cider Mecca last week when I delivered some draught Cider by Rosie. This was to add yet one more to the amazing collection of bag in box and poly barrel ciders that were already stacked on the bar. I met Richard the owner and Andy the bar manager who proudly pointed out their great collection of bottled ciders. The bottled ciders and perrys seemed to have come from all and everywhere, though the draughts appeared to be exclusively West Country. I noted that there were draught ciders from Thatchers, Burrow Hill, Bridge Farm, Lyme Bay and Netherbury, Hecks I think and possibly others. It was really quite overwhelming!
I'm sure the venture will be a great success and an especial attraction to the many summer visitors in Bridport and Dorset generally. I wonder if we are now seeing a new trend for the cider house, following the continued and increasing interest in cider drinking. It would be nice to think so. I mentioned how lamentably few there are and spoke of the one at Newton Abbott. This may have been the inspiration for The Stable as Richard told me that they had gone there to take a look.
The only drawback of The Stable is that it is not accessible via the Bull Hotel. It is necessary to work your way round the back via Folly Mill Lane, first on the left in West Bay road. Then take a left into Chancery Lane which leads into a car park next to the Stable. I expect this little back track will be well signed before the summer rush.
I've been pleased to find that I can still update the Cider Pub Guide on ukcider. I have done so for The Stable in Bridport and have also added a few more pubs that I have become fortunate to supply for the first time this year.
Rose
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Spring in Ciderland
Joyful greetings to all on this sunny Easter Day!
Following our spell of cold wet and miserable weather, I was especially cheered by the satellite pictures of our country in yesterday's Telegraph. Two pictures side by side, taken of the whole country from space, showed the difference between February and March this year. From being varying shades of brown and yellowy green during the cold weather, the picture taken a month later shows the greenness of Spring gradually sweeping across the Land. The degree of verdancy showed the rate of growth of grassland and cereals, indicating which areas were the most seasonally advanced.
It struck me immediately as being a map of the cider producing counties. Although the level of greenness had increased over most of the country, there was a noticeable L shaped area of darker green in the west. It extended from Cornwall through Devon to Dorset, then vertically through Somerset and Monmouthshire and into The Three Counties up to and including Shropshire. I will leave it to those more knowledgeable about apple growing to comment on this remarkable correlation that we are now able to witness the green 'sock' of Ciderland from 500 miles above.
Meanwhile here at ground level, I am experiencing the seasonal delight of seeing the buds swelling and even beginning to burst on several of the trees in my orchard. It is joyful indeed!
Rose
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Archive for this years Cidermaking Year
Please note that, due to recent copyright infringements of the Cidermaking Year, I feel I must add here that, whilst you may read and download any of the archive for the Cidermaking Year, please do not repost it, or copy it to another website without my express permission to do so. However, this notice will not affect the majority of folk reading the Cidermaking year, so please do enjoy it.