Aspall Cyder

Aspall Suffolk Cyders are only made from 100% juice of whole fresh pressed English apples. We use different apples to make different base cyders for later blending.

Once harvested, apples are delivered to the press house at Aspall. They are washed and hand graded to take out any rots and leaf debris and then rinsed 3 times before arriving at the mill. Here they are minced to a pulp and pumped in to one of our Bucher Guyer apple presses. The “mash” is then pressed for two hours to extract pure “single strength” apple juice.

The fresh juice is then pumped to a fermentation vessel, where our controlled yeast is added to ensure consistent fermentations. The vessel is also temperature controlled for the same reason – fermentation produces a great deal of exothermic heat, and if it gets too hot during the fermentation, the resulting cyder can develop unwanted off flavours such as volatile acidity, and so taste quite coarse. A typical fermentation will take 3 to 4 weeks.

Once the fermentation has finished, we leave the cyder to stand for 2 weeks to allow dead yeast to drop out. We then transfer or “rack” the cyder in to a clean storage tank for maturation, where it is sealed tight and kept chilled. Maturation periods vary from 6 weeks to 2 years, depending on the type of cyder.

All Aspall Suffolk Cyders are blended, and this is where the art of cydermaking is carried out. No one variety of apple has all the attributes needed to make a truly well balanced cyder, it is only by combining different base cyders that this is achievable. We use dessert apples for sweetness, cookers for acidity and apple aroma, and finally, a combination of bittersweet apples to give a heady perfume, body and a depth of finish.

All blends have to pass the taste panel before processing and packing, and this panel always comprises at least one family member. Once passed for quality, the cyder is filtered bright and packed in to keg or bottle.

We lightly carbonate our ciders at Aspall as this has the effect of lifting the aroma and flavour, so complimenting the experience.

Apples used by style in Aspall Suffolk Cyder include the following:

Dessert: Cox, Blenheim Orange, Chivers Delight, Spartan, Crispin, Katy Cooker, Bramley, Howgate Wonder, Lord Derby

Bittersweet: Kingston Black, Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, Tremlett's Bitter, Medaille d’Or.