The Cidermaking Year by Rose Grant
From Ukcider
The story of Cider by Rosie and news from:
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LATEST NEWS
Rose won second place at the prestigious Bath and West show for her Farmhouse Dry Cider May 2008
Contents |
Introduction
Rose's first post to ukcider
Date: Tue Oct 28, 2003 11:06 pm Subject: My Introduction
Hello Everybody. Pleased to make your aquaintance. My name is Rose Grant. I have been making cider as a hobby for many years, here in Dorset. In 1990 I started a one acre orchard of mixed cider varieties on M25. Gradually I have been able to use my own apples. This has been exciting since I have been able to experiment with single varities as well as blending. This year I have been able to progress to my first 50 gal barrel as well as demijohns. I think I will be glad of some advice from you, my new friends! For a start can anybody tell me where I can buy those nice 2 litre glass jars as used by Westons?
introduction by Andy Roberts
January 2006
This section of the ukcider wiki is devoted to the writings of Rose Grant, a Dorset cidermaker. Rose introduced herself to the group in October 2003, and immediately set about picking the brains of others, sharing her own knowledge and growing expertise and delighting readers with her lyrical writings depicting the struggles and joys of developing a one-woman enterprise in rural Dorset.
In late 2005, after reading one of Rose's inspirational emails I wrote to her suggesting that they really deserve to be featured on a weblog of her own, like a 'Diary of a Dorset Cidermaker'. Not feeling inclined to undertake such a commitment, instead she agreed to allow me to edit and publish selected writings here, on the grounds that "the page could be of value to aspiring cider producers, especially if like me, they are gearing up from cider as a hobby to small scale real commercial production. I am happy to share my woes and joys along the way if it would help other people to get into the production of real cider. "
We certainly do expect such an audience to benefit in a pragmatic way from the tips, tricks and clear descriptions which Rose provides as her journey takes her through the process of equiping her ciderhouse for an annual doubling of production, building and installing ingenious adaptations of traditional systems, observing each season's trials and sucesses for future years. Additionally, a warm and positive rural storytelling is offered which I believe a much wider readership will eagerly wish to follow simply for the sheer pleasure of reading it.
Comments and questions
Unlike most of the rest of the wiki, these pages are for one person's voice rather than an exercise in collaboration so please don't attempt to rewrite or add to Rose's words but if you find any spelling, formatting or punctuation errors which really bug you then please go ahead.
If you wish to comment or ask questions then again, pleased don't annotate the writing directly, instead create or add to the appropriate discussion page (see tab at top between "article" and "edit") or send a message to the ukcider mailing list.
The Current Year 2008
Do come in and have a good look around:
June 2008
- Welcome Lulworth Skipper,
May 2008
- Relaxing before Putley, Putley Awards, Little Rosie, May Queen Festival, Bath and West Show
April 2008
- Joys of Spring, Earls Court Exhibition
March 2008
- More Orchard Work, Threatened STRONG CIDER tax increase, Mechanical Harvesting, Not so Free Houses, ukcider stickers and posters
February 2008
- Cherry Norman, Putley Big Apple, MDPE tanks for cider, Halogen lamps for reading litmus papers
January 2008
- Top grafting, Orchard work completed, Wassail week, Calcareous soils, Sulfur
2007
- Tidying up, Varnish, Process improvements reflection, Winter orchard work, Knight's Treatise
- Ni to the rescue, Hand scratter, Keeving time, festival video, Excise duty in Ireland, 1000 signatures, Keeving completed
- New Forest Cider Weekend, A sad day, Beauty in the Orchard, Halfway Point, Apple Day, Old Scratter Wanted, Nehou, Redstreak
- Tom Putts are falling, process improvements, 13 layer cheese, sterilising equipment, blackberry indicator, 2nd load
- Pomace pump, Vigo, management team, Square and Compass, Sold out!!
- Slowed down, Positive Displacement Pump, This year's crop
- Progress, pub cycle challenge
- Rushed off my feet, Campaign for small cidermakers, Bag-in-box cooler, Blossomtime festival, Contact and Supply
- More deliveries and a fast turnover, Powerstock Cider Festival, St George's Day, Redstreak
- Cidermakers' holiday time, first deliveries, sales drive
- Racking and Bottling
- Wassail
Photo features
A visit to Rose (with photos)
In October 2006, Gail and Ray travelled down to visit Rose and took a number of photographs during the best part of a day spent in Rose's company. We helped washing, milling and pressing, and witnessed St. Em in action. These can be seen here:
A visit to Rose
Blossomtime celebration
The May day event in Rose's orchard was also a gathering of cidermakers blossomtime celebration pictures
Years gone by
2006
- Vigo 1500 mill, Porter's Perfection, End of term, Tree holes, Intermediate Bulk Containers IBC, Press racks
- Keeving, Trouble with Mill, Elevator simulation, Weekend Off, SG 1070, Kingston Black, Yarlingtons
- Apple Day, pump metal, whelmed, half way, busy season, Ray's visit & photos
- Started, The old orchard, ST EM, Tom Putts and Cider Lady's Finger, Elevator, Layer Thickness, New Routine
- Special Keg, Labelling, Wasps, St Em update, Ice, badgers
- Apple mugs, Organic cider, Festivals, cider miles and delivery, Orchard for sale, Welcome to Steve Hughes
- Champagne bottles, Use of Sulphite, Pressure test, juice quality
- May Queen, Pomace hopper, Cider by Rosie, Hydraulics, Cider bar, Potted history, blossomtime celebration pictures
- Bag-in-box filling, Swanage, Perry Pancakes
- Installing the new press, tanks and elevator, Linden Lea, "Cider by Rosie"
- Sucralose, Amazing Enzyme
- Cornish Orchards, New press arrives in giant pieces, Mouse, biofuel
2005
- disposal of pomace
- Cold, Useful tools, Harvesting, Pig's perks, Suntans, Stowford press, Bramleys,
- The trees, Ikea, Fruit Flies, Spiders?, French cider, Welcome
- Measuring Alcohol percentage, Vintage cider, Mill for sale on eBay, Ray's Press, Stainless steel nails, Wasps
- Rum barrels, Lottery, plums, Hygene in the cider house
- Bramley cider, First year sold out, Speed of throughput
- Ashmead's Kernel, Deer, Big Apple
- May festival, cutting back the tip
- Powerstock festival, Picking and storage, community orchard, May Festival
- Bottle suppliers, Pumps, Vigo Mill from ebay, Aluminium vats, Thomas Hardy and planting
- Bag-in-boxes
- Greg's Pit perry, Mark's Vigo press
2004
- Defra
- Spring water bottles, Sheeps' nose
- Apple washing, power steering, apple and cider weekend, Somerset cider apples, apple pictures, Big Apple at Marcle, PH test papers, Nepeta
- Westons organic, Sweet Alford/Le Bret, My new press, Press Racks, Pressing results, Bushels, Royal Somerset
- Travels
- Press cloths, scratter varnish
- Aphids, Ladybirds, Nurseries, Damson, Leaf curdling, Best ever cider, canker
- Stoke Red
- Blosssom, grafting success, contacting MP
- Oak Barrels, books, single varieties, magistrates licensing
- Woodworm, licensing
- Wassailing, grafting
2003
- Tom Putt, apple varieties, chalk soil
- Waste disposal units for milling cider apples
- Barrel Press
