Herefordshire Cidermaker celebrates 30 years of making cider

A Herefordshire cidermaker is celebrating 30 years of making award-winning cider and perry with a launch of a new cider. The cider is a blend of traditional cider apples: Yarlington Mill, Dabinett and Michelin, their juice is fermented with wild yeasts and matured in oak barrels.  The resulting 7% cider is available in bottles, direct from the farm shop in Abbeydore, Herefordshire, or by mail order here

 

As well as celebrating 30 years of cidermaking with a bottle of cider, Gwatkin Cider have opened a tavern at their farm in the Golden Valley of Herefordshire, the Red Cow, named after the farm's historic herd of Herefordshire cattle, will be dishing up locally produced food together with the full range of Gwatkin ciders and perry. 

Award-winning cidermaker opens micropub in Hereford

Herefordshire cidermaker Denis Gwatkin of Gwatkin's Cider in Abbeydore, has opened a micropub in Hereford's historic Buttermarket, serving a range of his award-winning ciders and perries as well as beers and lager from Wye Valley Brewery, either to drink in or takeaway. Denis, who has been making cider now for almost 30 years decided to open “Gwatkin'sHouse of Cider” in the Buttermarket as the building is undergoing refurbishment and regeneration with artisan food and drink producers moving in alongside the more traditional market businesses such as butchers and cheesemongers.

Above: Michael Sammars (Bar Manager), Theresa Roberts (Director of Gwatkin Cider) and Denis Gwatkin (Director of Gwatkin Cider)

According to Denis Gwatkin, “This is a great opportunity for us to be able to sell our ciders and perries in the heart of Hereford. We have a successful farm shop at our farm in Abbeydore but not everyone can get out to it, so this is our way of bringing our shop to the centre of the city of Hereford. We're stocking our full range of award-winning ciders and perries alongside other drinks and we are aiming our ciders to complement the range of food available in the Buttermarket. Customers are welcome to try our ciders and we have upcycled cable reels to serve as tables around our bar. We're very excited at this prospect and for the future developments in the Buttermarket.”

Hereford Buttermarket is undergoing a resurgence, along with new businesses such as Gwatkin Cider moving into the building there are plans to open up the upper floors to encourage more traders into the historic structure.

Gwatkin's House ofCider is open from 0900-1645 Monday to Saturday, in Hereford Buttermarket, High Town, Hereford, HR1 2AA

Gwatkin Cider hosts Down on the Farm Music Festival

The 11th to the 13th of August will see the Golden Valley rocked once more as Gwatkin Cider hold their sixth annual music festival, Down on the Farm, at the family-run farm, Moorhampton Park Farm near Abbeydore in Herefordshire.

                                           The main stage and bar for Down on the Farm

The festival started as a one-day event but has now grown into a three-day festival, “The Glastonbury of the Golden Valley”, as it has become known as.

Gwatkin Cider has been producing award-winning ciders and perries for over 25 years now and owner Denis Gwatkin used to play on a few bands himself, previous Down on the Farm Festivals have seen Dr And The Medics headlining, this year Canvey Island rockers Dr Feelgood will be headlining on Saturday night. Full details of the bands playing Down on the Farm are available from the festival website as well as ticketing details and information as to how to find the venue as Moorhampton Park Farm is on the outskirts of Abbeydore. Other bands playing at the festival include The Navarones, a ska band from Cardiff and The BBC Acoustic Band from Grosmont in Monmouthshire. As well as the headlining bands there will be a range of other bands from across Herefordshire and South Wales including Raptor, a young psychedelic blues rock band.

Dr & The Medics playing last year

Down on The Farm Festival features two stages, with 26 bands playing between the Main Stage and the acoustic Garden Stage, both are undercover in case of rain. As soon as a band on the main stage stops, a band on the acoustic stage will start up, and visa versa, meaning that on Saturday and Sunday there will be twelve hours of music at Down on the Farm Festival.

The Delray Rockets playing last year

As well as the bands, the full range of Gwatkin ciders and perries will be available together with a selection of real ales from Wye Valley Brewery. All the food is kept in-house with home-made burgers and sausage alongside Ploughman's Lunches and other specialities such as home-made cakes. Parking and camping in the orchards and paddocks at the farm is included in the ticket price.

Ploughman's lunches served at the festival

Nineteen draught ciders and perries will be available at the Festival, all made by Gwatkin's, including a few new ciders that have not been seen before,

According to award-winning cidermaker, Denis Gwatkin, “We try to put on a festival with something for everybody, with great cider, fantastic food and a range of music to suit all tastes from ska to rock. We may only be a small festival but we are determined to make Down on the Farm a festival for everyone to enjoy.”

Camping in the orchard and paddock is included in the ticket price

A panoramic view of the farm and campsite

A few photos from previous years below, the full lineup for this year can be found here

Gwatkin Cider

Down on the Farm Music Festival

Moorhampton Park Farm

Abbeydore

Herefordshire

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Gwatkin Cider wins Bronze Award in National Competition

Captain Gwatkin's Famous Old Rum Cask Cider today won the Bronze Award in the UK National Champion Cider of Britain Competition, run by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. The annual award, held at Reading Beer & Cider Festival, features ciders and perries from across Britain which are judged in blind tastings to find the winner.
This Herefordshire Cider, made by Denis Gwatkin at his family farm in Abbeydore, is matured in Jamaican Rum Barrels and is only available o draught at the farm and a few select outlets as only a limited amount is made every year due to the difficulty in sourcing good quality rum barrels.

The other winners were:
Cider

GOLD  – Countryman, Medium (Devon)

SILVER – Salt Hill, Autumn Gold (Berkshire)

BRONZE – Gwatkin’s, Captain Gwatkin’s Rum Cask (Herefordshire)

Perry

GOLD – Nempnett, Piglet’s Perry (Somerset)

SILVER - Waulkmill, Mooseheid Perry (Dumfrieshire)

BRONZE – Hartland, Perry (Gloucestershire)

So who was Captain Gwatkin then?

Captain Gwatkin, who in 1722 challenged the 'pyrates' who attacked his ship, the Amy, as it sailed from Carolina to England. He and his crew killed about 30 pirates and forced the pirate sloop ashore, then attempted prevent the pirates from attacking other ships by sailing to land to burn the sloop. Unfortunately, a shot from the shore killed him. His rather pragmatic crew decided it would be sensible to carry on sailing to England rather than pursue the pirates further! (Information in several newspapers from 1722, including the London-based Post Boy)

Gwatkin Cider
Moorhampton Park Farm
Abbeydore
Herefordshire
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Cidermaker to appear on Great British Railway Journeys

An award-winning cider maker from Abbey Dore in Herefordshire will be appearing on BBC2's Great British Railway Journeys on Tuesday 27th January at 6.30pm. Denis Gwatkin, who makes cider at Moorhampton Park Farm was visited by Michael Portillo during the cider-making season in September last year, where they picked apples and used Denis' Victorian apple scratter and press to produce juice to ferment into cider. The visit to the farm and cider house will be shown as part of Episode 17, featuring a train journey from Swansea to Hereford, using the Bradshaw's Railway Guidebook.

According to Denis Gwatkin, “Michael was keen to be involved in all aspects of making the cider, from shaking the apples off the tree using the traditional panking pole, to collecting the apples and using my restored Victorian scratter and press. Afterwards, of course, we retired to the cider house for a refreshing cup or two of my award-winning cider, which he said that he enjoyed very much!”

Cider has been made at Moorhampton Park Farm for generations, with the orchards clearly marked on the 1833 map, a few years before Bradshaw began publishing his guides. Denis Gwatkin has been producing cider commercially now for almost a quarter of century and has won numerous awards from CAMRA  as well as International Cidermaker of the Year. Moorhampton Park Farm features a farm shop where the full range of ciders and perries produced on the farm may be sampled and purchased. The farm also plays host to an annual music festival in August.

Cider pressing at Gwatkin Cider

The first apples of the season have arrived at Gwatkin Cider in Abbeydore

Just under 30 tons of apples!

Picking up the apples and placing them carefully in the hopper with the tractor

Denis Gwatkin and Bernard look on as the mill fires up

The apples are fed down the hopper, washed and then chopped to create a pulp which is then pressed between belts via rollers.

Mickey shovels the dry pulp away

                               The dry pulp at the end is fed to Hereford cattle on the farm

Herefordshire cidermaker recognised by CAMRA

Herefordshire cidermaker Denis Gwatkin of Abbeydore was recently awarded a tankard by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, to celebrate twenty-five years of campaigning for cider and perry. One of only ten recipients of this award in the whole of the country, Denis has won numerous awards for his cider and perry over the years. It’s a double celebration for Denis as well, as he has just completed the installation of two giant wooden fermenting vats of over one thousand gallons each, purchased from another Hereford cidermaker, Ivor Dunkerton. The traditional oak vats are well over sixty years old and help give an oaky character to the cider, something that is appreciated by the more discerning cider drinker.

According to Denis Gwatkin, “It’s a great accolade from CAMRA coming after all the years of effort that all the staff at the farm have put in. And not just our farm, our neighbours across the valley often find themselves giving us a hand! It’s also great that these two wooden vats are going to be used for cidermaking for years to come; Ivor Dunkerton has made sure that these historic vats have gone to a good home and are going to be fermenting apple juice into cider well into the future.”

Denis Gwatkin produces over thirty different ciders and perries throughout the year at his farm and these are often seen at CAMRA beer festivals nationwide as well as in local pubs and off-licenses.

Gwatkin Cider is also sold from the farm shop at Moorhampton Park Farm in Abbey Dore, as well as at around one hundred shows around the country throughout the year. The family-run farm also plays host to a three-day music festival at the end of July.

Denis and his team - Mickey, Fluff and Adam

Gwatkin Cider Christmas Fayre

Fancy some Christmas shopping this Sunday together with a bite to eat and some award-winning ciders? Then pop along to Morehampton Park Farm, Abbeydore in Herefordshire, the home of the multi-award winning Gwatkin Cider who will be hosting their second annual Christmas Fayre. More details on their Facebook site.

Available at the farm will be:

Mulled Cider and Mince Pies
Hot Pork and Turkey Rolls
Craft Stalls
Gwatkin Cider Hampers
Bar
Turkeys
Christmas Puddings
Holly and Mistletoe and more 
                                             Santa and his reindeer will also be there!

It's amazing that an Ifor Williams sheep trailer can be made into Santa's Ghetto!

Pictured below is Santa at the Fayre last year, who bears a strange resemblance to the editor of this blog!

"Just remember, there ain't no sanity clause!"

DIRECTIONS

Only 15 minutes from Hereford.From Hereford take the A465 towards Abergavenny, after approximately 10 minutes turn right on the B4348 towards Peterchurch (just after Locks Garage).After approximately 5 minutes, turn left on to the B4347 for Abbey Dore. We are just over a mile on the right hand side.
From Abergavenny take the A465 towards Hereford, ignore the first sign for Abbey Dore. Carry straight on until you see the sigh for Peterchurch (at Locks garage) and turn left on the B4348.After approximately 5 minutes, turn left on to the B4347 for Abbey Dore. We are just over a mile on the right hand side

Gwatkin Cider

Moorhampton Park Farm 

Abbey Dore 

Herefordshire 

HR2 OAL

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Denis Gwatkin named as one of CAMRA's top cider campaigners

Above: Denis Gwatkin

CAMRA announces top cider and perry campaigners 

To celebrate the 25th year of the ongoing campaign to promote real cider and perry, CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has announced its top cider and perry campaigners. The top campaigners have earned their spots for their tireless work to promote the joys of traditionally produced real cider and perry.

Andrea Briers, Chair of CAMRA’s Cider and Perry Committee - and now officially one of its top campaigners - had this to say, “I’m extremely happy to have been voted one of CAMRA’s top cider and perry campaigners and earn my place alongside others in this list who have worked extremely hard to promote these once little-known drinks. Traditionally produced cider was difficult to find and perry was on the brink of disappearing altogether from many parts of the country when CAMRA began its support, and it is amazing to see how far we have come – due in no small part to the work done by the people named in this list.”

The top campaigners were voted for by CAMRA members and include volunteers, directors and even cider producers, including: Dave Matthew of Seidr Dai, Denis Gwatkin of Gwatkin Cider, Ivor and Susie Dunkerton of Dunkerton’s Cider, Ray Blockley of Torkard, , and Tom Oliver of Oliver’s Cider. For more information on CAMRA’s support of real cider and perry click here. 

Denis has been making cider and perry in Abbeydore, Herefordshire for 21 years now

 The early days, from a 1992 BBC programme 'Down to Earth' 

 Gwatkin Cider stalls can be seen throughout the country nowadays at food and farming shows

Now and Then - Gwatkin Cider Farm

The top photo shows Moorhampton Farm, Abbey Dore, Herefordshire as it was in 1919 and the modern photo is how the home of Gwatkin Cider is today, now known as Moorhampton Park Farm.

Gwatkin Cider Three-day event!

 

At the end of the July, the award-winning Gwatkin Cider Farm will be playing host to a three-day music and cider festival at the farm in Abbeydore, Herefordshire. Down on the Farm will feature 14 different ciders, local real ales, local food as well as a range of bands from an AC/DC tribute act to Denis' very own Abysmal punk tribute band!

|Full details are on the Festival website here and tickets cost
Friday 26th £10, Saturday 27th £20, Sunday28th £8
Weekend Tickets £35 to include camping (limited availability)
and can all be bought online via the website or via the farm shop

So a weekend of cider, real ale and music in the middle of the Herefordshire Countryside, what more could anyone want?

Some of the music from the festival last year

 

 

 

 

 

 Denis Gwatkin

 

 

 'Abysmal' (That's the band, not the act!)

 

Yes even the Wurzells have played at the farm!

 Dr & the Medics have played at the farm as well!

Grab a flagon or two at the farm!

I think the chickens at the farm have been on the cider!

Gwatkin Cider, Moorhampton Park Farm, Abbeydore, Herefordshire, HR2 0AL 

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