Netherbury cider

 

Netherbury Cider is made exclusively from cider apples grown in a small orchard bordering the River Brit, a couple of hundred yards from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage.  The orchard has never been sprayed; it belonged previously to Hubert Warren, the last traditional cidermaker in Netherbury, a parish that once had the greatest number of cider orchards in West Dorset.  Hubert Warren stopped selling his farmhouse cider from a barn in the centre of the village a few years ago and we are now hoping to continue that cidermaking tradition.

 

At present the orchard contains only Dabinett apples, but we will be replacing any losses with Brown’s apple and Porter’s Perfection, our two personal favourite cider apples, budded from trees in our previous orchard in Waytown, which is just outside Netherbury. 

Netherbury Cider is available from:

Washingpool Farm shop – just outside Bridport

Le Vieux Four French Bakery – off the square in Beaminster

It is served in:

The Riverside Restaurant. West Bay

The Bridge House Hotel, Beaminster

Broad Street Restaurant, Lyme Regis.

 

The apples are harvested by hand, pressed in a small hydraulic press and fermented in stainless steel vats rather than oak barrels as this achieves a more consistent product.  Bottling and labelling is again done by hand so, all in all, it is a very labour intensive process. 

Netherbury Cider contains no artificial sweeteners, colours or any other additives except for a trace of sulphur, a traditional preservative for cider.  The final product is still, unfiltered (but naturally clear as cider should be) and very refreshing with a sharp apple tang – an excellent thirst quencher after a hard day.

Read all about us in James Crowden's new book "Ciderland" published by Birlinn 2008

 

 
Keep watching the website as we will be including photographs of the various processes throughout the year.