How we make Cider
For us cider making is a family affair, a perfect blend of tradition and innovation over four generations. At 12.30pm every Friday we have the Family Taste Test. And unless each cider is perfect it doesn’t leave the farm.
STRAIGHT FROM THE ORCHARDS
For us cider making is a family affair, a perfect blend of tradition and innovation over four generations. At 12.30pm every Friday we have the Family Taste Test. And unless each cider is perfect it doesn’t leave the farm.
CIDER MILL
The apples are rolled into the mill, washed and mashed. The mash is pressed to extract the fresh juice. We have five Bucher Guyer presses that benefit from the most advanced technology to ensure we produce the best quality juice.. They’re the same type of presses many winemakers use.
Back in the day, Stan Thatcher would manually press two tonnes of fruit a day. By the 1970s five men could press up to 40 tonnes a day. Now it’s considerably more!
FERMENTING
During fermentation, our special yeast is added to the apple juice, to turn sugar into alcohol.
Our fermentation tanks are controlled by a bespoke system which allows us to make consistent quality cider to our exacting standards – bringing out all the luscious apple character and flavours. The cider stays in the fermentation tanks for 8 days.
MATURING AND BLENDING
We have 11 oak vats, each over 150 years old. These historic wonders are over 30 ft. tall, constructed from three-inch oak staves, bound with thick steel bands that have to be regularly tightened. Coopers handcrafted the vats from English oak, each one with its own special character. The largest holds around 135,500 pints of cider!
THE THATCHERS CHARACTER
Each of our ciders has its own distinctive character. After fermentation, the cider is separated from the yeast. It’s then matured for around six weeks. Here the tannins gradually become soft and smooth, enhancing the mellow and rich tones of the cider while it matures.
TASTING
Our ciders are tasted every Friday by our cider makers. Only when they say it is ready – and only then – is the cider blended ready for packaging. It’s not an exact science so we may leave it to mature for a bit longer to make sure it’s perfect. That’s why we call it a craft.