Fascinating to compare the 1 year growth of these two different top worked trees. The first image shows Sandford Jersey and the second Kimbolton (I think, but I was walking Freya). Where one has exclusively upright growth, the bushier habit of the Sandford is quite exciting and unusual!

In the Yew Tree Peterstow drinking a 2025 Foxwhelp. Kegged as a pét nat it's a beautiful cider. Vibrant and juicy, with beautiful floral aromas, strawberry notes and of course that refreshing, intense acidity. Find it at: Fell NQ, MCR The Old Shoe, Sheffield Hereford Beer House

It's pretty wet out there. Our first Ciderkin will debut at the Yew Tree, Peterstow, later this month!

My song of 2026 is "Solar System" from the Travelling Songs Tonie. It's sung beautifully. It's also track 10 and I can't find it anywhere else online so getting to listen to it relies on my 19 month old daughter not replacing the player with her Peppa Pig audio story and resetting the progress.

🍎 Friday vibes @ B33R@33 🍏 Our cider-only fridge is fully stocked with fun bottles. We also have Vumpy, Somerset Redstreak, Iford ABC, Pulp Piña Colada & Yarlington Mill 🍻 🎶 Sun 4–6pm: Ste Cat live – amazing singer/guitarist & covers! #CiderTime #FridayFeels #LiveMusic

Join us for Cider Club this Sat, 31st Jan🍎 Sam will be heading to Yew Tree Peterstow to kick off Cider Club for 2026. Join us from 7pm for a guided tasting of our range, plus a sneak peek at some new ciders, (potentially) including the third collaboration with @rosscider.bsky.social. 1/2

If you drink one Ross-on-Wye this month it should be this 2022 vintage Bulmers Norman SV. It is, to me, a completely joyous cider. When the days are dark and wet, this cider is defiantly, gloriously fruity. In one glass, it is what bittersweet cider is meant to be!

If you think cider is just for summer then you've not got the right cider to hand @rosscider.bsky.social

Fine cider fans — huge news 🍏 We’ve added 750ml sharing bottles of fine cider + perry at B33R@33 — pour by bottle or glass. First pour this week: Hendre Huffcap Blakeney Red Perry 2023 (Pét Nat). More bottles rotating weekly. Come taste. 🏆 #CiderPubOfTheYear2025

Barry @barmas.bsky.social sings a song of praise to part-time cider and perry makers, artisans with a deep commitment to craft, tradition and the land. #cider #PerryisAlive

I bought this a few weeks ago from @thatbeerplace.co.uk and I can confirm, it's incredible. Real cider from real cider people @rosscider.bsky.social

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

🍎 🍏 Cider Release On Thursday 🍏 🍎 Handily coinciding with the next Manchester Cider Club, we’ve got a real treat this week with our second ever cider release. We’ve got five ciders for you, all made using cider from the 2023 season.

We are delighted to announce that our Yarlington Mill Keeved 2022 has won a gold medal in the International Cider Challenge. 🎆 Thank you so much to the expert judges for rating this cider as highly as we do. 🥂 Available now from our webshop! #ICC2025

Sorry folks, in the name of education, we're going to be closed on 15th July as The Ciderologist, Gabe Cook hosts the Cider Association's Certified Cider Professional training, both for our team & some other lucky peeps. Maybe some of the attendees will go on to become fully fledged Pommeliers 🤔

@rosscider.bsky.social Albert. This is gorgeous.

Flights booked to get me to the 2025 @rosscider.bsky.social festival. It’s the kind of event that reinvigorates my passion for cider and perry, so I just have to go!

Finished up at Beer Shop Folkestone with some really good cider & perry from @rosscider.bsky.social and Baron Bigod cheese. Lovely place, good vibes, great drinks & snacks selection!

Kicked off the weekend @uddersorchardcider.bsky.social cider festival. A brilliant community event with over 25 ciders on offer. Going to be a beautiful weekend, so may have to nip down again.

A repost for Sunday readers. A fascinating look at how a country reacted to a new threat to their fruit industry. While the UK had fireblight as a reportable disease since the 1950s, it seems those support networks have been forgotten, growers starting from scratch as it spreads again in Britain.

My latest What’s Brewing column is out now. I was going to write about the Bass reboot, keep it simple, but decided there was a more important topic that I wanted to write about instead 🏳️‍⚧️ wb.camra.org.uk/2025/05/08/s...

The Fireblight Menace in 1920s and ’30s New Zealand. New contributor Kathryn Bruce explores the lessons learned from how New Zealand reacted to fireblight in its first appearance outside the US.

Well I had a lovely evening yesterday @framferment tasting some awesome ciders and perry's with Albert from @rosscider.bsky.social Particularly enjoyed Martha the black labs soft soft ears

NEW - Olivers @rosscider.bsky.social @littlepomona.bsky.social This Is Cider 2022. 7.4% abv. £9.50/75cl A bit like the Travelling Wilburys/Avengers* of cider. (*delete as appropriate)

Sun might be shining but my freezer helped me rock the autumn vibes. Partridge roasted in wildflower honey butter and thyme stuffed with blackberries, miso green medley, red onion stuffing, roast tatties and yorkies puds Washed down with a yet to be released @rosscider.bsky.social 👀

And so much detail in Albert’s talk

It was a bloomin great afternoon. Much thanks to @rosscider.bsky.social and @b33r-at-33.bsky.social for organising such a lovely event. 🙂

The first from @rosscider.bsky.social - very tasty!

The deadline to buy tickets for CraftCon 2025 is tonight. I'm very grateful to my fellow organisers for planning the event. Attendance is up 43% since 2023, a huge rise. There will be more than 150 cider industry professionals meeting in Hereford next week. Make sure you are one of them!

Rumour has it there are only FIVE CraftCon tickets left, and only 36 hours to get them. It's one of our favourite events of the year, so much so that we're now both on the 3CCPA Committee, and are really looking forward to being able to attend once more 💕

You can also book in for Cider Club at @rosscider.bsky.social on Saturday 29th March! £15 gets you a welcome cider, a selection of ciders from this months cider maker, Floribunda from Italy, and a buffet! A real feast! rosscider.com/ciderclub/

Dinner is served - Ribeye Steak (Air fryer), Herby greens and buttery mashed potato. I even put a drop of whisky in the gravy. All washed down with a tasty drop of @rosscider.bsky.social - loving the contrast between zingy sharp apple and the earth contents of my plate 🥩🥩🫛🥔🍎

Announcing our 2025 Spring Tour! lbert and Martin are hitting the road and travelling around the UK and to Europe to share with you the STORIES that make our cider and perry! We'll be popping up to drink with you and tell you all the reasons why we adore cidermaking and orcharding so much.

I was significantly more excited for this cider before a cataclysmic poonami that necessitated a bath, screaming, a change of clothes, an immediate wash cycle. But here we are. And actually, if anything, better for having been made to wait. These smooth tannins are glorious and rewarding.

Shiiiit, it’s getting a bit real now 😜

TRADE: Did you know you can find us on Sellar? We're setup to dispatch keg, bottle and bag-in-box via courier or pallet for larger orders to anywhere in the UK, reaching areas our distributors don't cover. Visit our Sellar store here: app.sellar.io/suppliers/ro...

TRADE: Did you know you can find us on Sellar? We're setup to dispatch keg, bottle and bag-in-box via courier or pallet for larger orders to anywhere in the UK, reaching areas our distributors don't cover. Visit our Sellar store here: app.sellar.io/suppliers/ro...

Yesterday we launched FOMO, our first, ever pommeau! The best kept secret in the drinks world, Pommeau is a blend of apple brandy, fresh apple juice & aged in barrel for some time. Deliciously sweet, fruity & spicy - it’s perfect with blue cheese or tarte tatin. Only 180 bottles made! Wassail!

CiderCon 2025 Chicago. The many faces of Porter’s Perfection around the world. Weather and soil can make big differences. On the panel our friend Albert Johnson from Ross on Wye. #cider #CiderCon #terroir

Reposting for you Sunday readers, as this is one to sit and chill with. 🙂 @barmas.bsky.social in conversation with Michael Stöckl, the man behind Frankfurt’s CiderWorld Award and Expo event, the biggest cider trade show in Europe.

We're on Substack now! If you enjoy using that platform, you can subscribe to our blog here: substack.com/@rosscider. You can subscribe on substack and receive the mailouts directly to your email inbox! Norman is waiting patiently for our next post!

This one was a treat tonight. Moved on a lot from when it was bottled last summer! Strawberry & rhubarb but with chalkiness and a touch of bitterness. We've made SR 3 times in my time. The first was naturally sweet, a unicorn. The second was far too bitter fruit, a bad year. This one is just right.

The First Cider Club At Balance Last night was the first @manchestercider.bsky.social club meeting at the taproom. The cider club will be meeting here on a monthly basis where a cider (or perry) maker will be sharing the fruits of their labour and the story of how they got to where they are now.

Are you free on Sat 1st March? Would you like to spend a few hours (and £40) learning the fascinating and hugely satisfying skill of apple tree grafting? Can you get to NT Quarry Bank, just south of Manchester Airport? If so, then have I got a workshop for you! orchardnotes.com/2025/02/15/g...

Here is my favourite people in front of my favourite tree. We pressed 120L from this tree this season. The tree, as far as I can find out, predates our family moving to the farm. That would mean it is most likely at least 100 years old. It's true name is lost, but I call it 'Freya's Fortune'!

Join us at the Yew Tree next Saturday night for our monthly Cider Club. This time Albert will be hosting a special tasting of the One Juice Project, 5.5 years on! This was a 2019 juice pressing that was shared and then individually fermented between 5 producers. Each cider was totally unique!

Another amazing night again with a host of fab ciders to go at. We even had new folk turning up which is always great. If you fancy coming along, we meet on 2nd Weds of the month at @thatbeerplace.co.uk in Chester. No subs, no membership, just rock up and pay for what you drink.