In this issue of Community Update, we are delighted to announce Honey’s Cider as the recipient of our Commitment to Excellence Award.
Honey’s Cider is an award-winning family-run company at Upper Midford Farm, near Bath in Somerset; producing mainly blended medium, dry, bright and sparkling cider on site.
The farm was initially bought by the Honey family in the 1960’s. The original maps of the land showed orchard clearly marked on several grass paddocks. In 2002, Bob Honey re-planted traditional orchards, as current co-owner Kim Honey explains,
“We revived the Somerset orchard heritage by planting traditional orchards of widely spaced trees, grazed by sheep and cattle. In 2019, we sat down in the local pub and decided I would take on the company and continue making cider with the knowledge passed down from those that pressed before us.
We have about ten different varieties of bitter sweet and bitter sharp apple trees which create the blend for our ciders. In addition, we also have bee hives on side to help pollinate our orchards and we get the benefit of fresh honey too! The tree canopy provides the cattle and sheep with shade and shelter and in return they keep the grass and fertilise the soil. The apple pomace left after pressing is even fed back to the cattle so it really is a symbiotic relationship.
My motivation is to continue to make quality craft cider using traditional methods, freshly pressed apples and wild yeast. It is a real joy to be part of the glorious regional heritage of West Country Cider.”
Since 2019, the business has grown year-on-year, with demand for craft cider growing. The orchard apples are picked, pressed during Autumn and left to ferment for 9-12 months. Honey’s Cider made its first single variety cider in 2021, using the orchard’s local brown snout apples, which are perfect for cider-making, due to late flowering.
Honey’s Cider was delighted to receive our Commitment to Excellence award,
“All our cider is made from juice pressed and fermented by our hands; we never
use concentrate!
It’s all about the apples! Good quality fruit and using a blend of heritage West Country apple varieties, which are pressed and fermented using traditional methods and wild yeasts. Our cider is made from the heart with knowledge from those who pressed before us.”
Honey’s Cider are at Frome Independent Market on the first Sunday of every month, The Gloucester Food Festival from 22- 23 July and Chippenham Food & Drink Festival from 8-9 July.
For more information and to place a cider order today, see the website below:
T 07879610482