Last year, after our fruit & ID event, I was asked if I’d like to participate in a new project looking at remote sensing workflows to identify & assess the health of meadow orchards in the region. Kickoff is today! Not sure what my role is, but hope they don’t call me an expert. There’ll be perry.

Presumably written by someone from Dublin.

This is where I’ll be next weekend. I do wish they wouldn’t bill me as an expert, it’s bloody humbling when you have a line of people with bags of pears & you can only ID half of them 🤦‍♂️ 4th or 5th year being there officially, but don’t want to do it next year as need to focus more on cider/perry.

Good morning. Definitely back to regular programming, as we take a walk up to the Orchard to check how the crop is looking. Anu is lagging behind I turn around and of course she has a pear in her mouth. It has now been consumed.

Well, nearly bye bye Dublin. Airport pretty busy and flight delayed 40 mins, but better than what those leaving from T2 had to deal with this morning. Got to see a couple of old friends, had some lovely food, but not much pintage. Back to regular programming tomorrow.

Where You’ll Find Me Now. Brett reflects on mental health and community support, cider podcasts and his connection to Scotland’s Æble Cider Shop, chatting with its founders about their cider club box.

Good morning. My mother commented on the amount of tea I’ve been drinking in the morning. Given 4 nights in a row with only about 2 hours sleep per night, it was the only thing getting me kickstarted! Finally had a good sleep last night, feeling more human again.

When Katy met the Bloody Ploughman. Jack muses on beer and cider festivals before tasting through nine ciders and perries from Scotland's Ayrshire Riviera Cider.

Out for a party for my mother’s 90th, thought I’d be limited to Guinness and Hophouse 13 at this venue, then spotted the bottles. Phew!

While I’m being a tourist in my native city, might as well go full in.

Topping up on Germanness before boarding for Dublin 😉

Good morning. My last walk with Anu for a week, as we head off to Ireland tonight. She will have a holiday with my niece who is really looking forward to it. Only the second time we’ve gone somewhere without the dog.

Remember this? A few months ago I was asked if I’d be willing to work with the district government on planting trees along this now widened road. We met yesterday to discuss it, & a plan is in development, with me providing trees, some coordination & work. A looong strip with wild flowers & trees 👍

Good morning. I have stereo vision again, which is nice. There are absolutely tons of hops growing wild in this hedgerow. I don’t brew as often as I used to, but I’m thinking a wild fermented, wild hopped cider might be nice.

Cleanup in ai-sle five please.

Puh. Eye swole up even more overnight so had to go to the doc. Cortisone for a few days, and recommended I go for an insect allergy test. A mosquito bite on my arm has also gotten hot and lumpy. Something is telling me to stay away from orchards 🤪

A ridiculous crop of Glockenapfel this year. A late variety that has a lot of acids in it fantastic for making strudel. It often features as parts of orchard blends when pressing, but I’ve yet to make a single variety cider from it. Maybe this year. Glocken means bell, as you can see by the shape.

I’d planned on making a series of apple vids today, but the wasp sting took effect over night and I think my normal fave is bad enough on those vids 😜

Forgot I have the late shift too… She got distracted in the end 😁

Mowed earlier today, and now clearing the orchard floor of fallen fruit. Useless to me, these early falls are not ripe. Or at least I was clearing, just got stung on the eyebrow by a wasp, I think. Fucking hurts!

Struggling with time and too many things to do, and it’s paralysing, so nothing is getting done! 🙄 So, will go mow the orchard and tomorrow clear all the fallen apples away and discard them. Wouldn’t use them anyway. In the meantime my wife may pick pears, so would have to press early next week.

Some of our contributors reflect on the 2025 Ross Cider Festival, where cider, community, and personal connections all manifest in one place. @rosscider.bsky.social Featuring @barmas.bsky.social @adamhwells.bsky.social @andrewmassoura.bsky.social @morrighani.bsky.social Brett St Clair and Jack Toye

I’m having to resign myself to the fact that we will probably not harvest or press anything in Sept. For the first time since 2015. It is stressing me, but given I have no free weekends this month, and will be away for a week, it just isn’t going to be possible, and that saddens me. 😕

Side-thread… This is the fifth cat I’ve seen this morning. At first I wasn’t sure if it was a bit of plastic from a silage pit. Stupid zoom lens can’t go closer.

Yesterday morning, the first ever peach from our tiny tree fell to the ground. It was a bit mushy, but I’m looking forward to trying the rest of them and I’m not even a fan of peaches.

As someone who doesn't have kids and never will I'm aware I have no legacy to leave in the traditional sense but I will be leaving my mark in the orchard of @barmas.bsky.social in Germany . I asked to sponsor a Lullam because it comes from Witcombe, just a few miles south of Cheltenham.

Anyone for a fruity #liquamen? This sauce or condiment was normally mass-produced from fermented fish & was a firm favourite of the ancient Greeks & Romans, but there's a version from Palladius c.420 that's pear-based instead. Translations & much discussion here: orchardnotes.com/2025/09/03/p...

On the late walk shift, but fine with that as still on pear tree evaluation. We’ve had permission to harvest from these trees for the past couple years but never have. I thought this tree was a different variety, but it never had much fruit on it. Awkward with a crop growing, but that’s see.

For years on Twitter and Insta I did an annual tour of pear trees during harvest time, explaining where they came from and what their properties are and what we do with them. So thought I should continue that tradition here. I’ll do more details when harvesting 😉

Thanks to @badgermash.bsky.social, now know that what I thought were male flowers are the female flowers before they develop into hop cones! Every day is a school day. 🙂 So maybe I ask if I can use them for a locally-hopped, wild fermented cider.

Back to the usual programming today. These hops have developed over the past couple of years. Seems to be male and female plants, and I seem to remember that if they fertilise they aren’t much use? Or am I remembering wrong?

Some of the most remarkable lost artefacts from the ancient world were the titanic wrecks of the Nemi ships, built for a Roman emperor. In their first-century heyday they held gardens, palaces and baths in a floating wonderland. But barely a decade after their recovery, they were lost forever.

Blurry licks, and a look that says don’t go away again please.

I should buy a lotto ticket! Despite delays of flight and first train, made it to my last train by seconds. Saves me an hour! Feels like I’ve been away a long time.

Had to leave @rosscider.bsky.social at noon with my friend Jack, who kindly took me to Birmingham. But not before we did a perry pear safari, starting at an old orchard he discovered with old pear trees. We did a bit of harvesting of a variety he thought was Hellens Early, but the mystery deepened.

To those who have messaged me via Bluesky this week, I’ll reply when I’m back in Germany, not doing that verification while in the UK.

Yesterday I gave a talk on “The Ancient Art of Adornment. Or Adulteration?” A short history of flavoured cider, with the point that those modern alcopops from Sweden and the like bear no resemblance to real cider, but adding full fruit, herbs and spices to cider is a very old and good tradition.

A Hungarian Trio from Abaliget Garden Project.

A walk was badly needed, so I have borrowed Albert’s border collie, Norman. He’s a big boy compared to Anu.

Haven’t been posting much, which is odd given where I am. Last night was the launch cider club at @rosscider.bsky.social. Great food, great cider and perry, and great company.

I’ve been looking forward to this since last week. I come to a cider farm but all I want is cask ale.

Next stop Hereford. Planes, trains and automobiles (bus) to get to the @rosscider.bsky.social cider festival

#tinyjoys for Anu, as she loves watermelon.

I promised tractors today, so off we go. The local “Bulldog Freunde” club (bulldog being the local name for tractors in general) host a festival every two years. People come from far and wide with vintage tractors. Here one of my favourites, the Porsche Diesel. There is a larger Diesel Master… hmm

Good morning. Perry pear trees have all sorts of useful functions.

Yeah, the reactionary outcomes vs elite prefence is interesting. It feels like that's inverted now. Thanks to this site I read this really interesting story of prohibition and wiping out fruit trees in Switzerland. bsky.app/profile/barm...

We’re off to a birthday party, but first dropping three cases of perry off for shipping, and on the way inspecting pear trees between here and Mosbach, as my wife says things are falling.

A lot of cider and especially perry being sold this week. I’m running very low on some of the older, rarer vintages. But plenty in the pipeline, though bigger batches c which is unusual for Kertelreiter. I like small batches. More fun.

@finnovski.bsky.social @barmas.bsky.social and other craft beer/German beer enthusiasts heading to Dresden tomorrow, the Girlitz, then Leipzig... any top tips for Good Bars?

Do a bit of mowing of the field tracks at the phase 2 orchard, I thought, that’ll relax me. Till I realised the deck is crooked because a bit is ringed. Fixed.