Ancient cider traditions and top production technology meet on the moors of South-West England. The result is the authentic English cider exuding the freshest aromas of apple and pear. This is the home of the Bulmers ciders: the Bulmers Original apple cider and the new Bulmers Pear.
A light scent of apple floats above a verdant pastoral landscape. The morning sunlight draws mist from the earth, coating the hills in a pale, delicate veil. Bold red roses colour old houses’ walls and gardens in villages.
Hereford County is the home of cider: the beverage’s history in the area dates back at least 2,000 years. Hundreds of small family companies still produce their own cider with traditional methods.
According to Mike Johnston, in charge of cider production on Broome Farm, the process is quite simple.
– The juice extracted from ground apples is trickled into an oak barrel. The fruit’s natural yeasts ferment the juice into cider in a couple of weeks. The beverage is matured in another barrel for a few months before it is filtered. And then it’s ready. Cheers!
A table groaning with tradition
Broome Farm has been making cider out of its apples and pears for 300 years. The magnificent pear tree standing firmly on the farm's hilltop is the same age. It still bears fruit.
– Pear trees develop slowly, and start bearing fruit properly at the ripe age of 20–30 years. Some want to wait until a pear tree is at least 100 years old, Mike grins.
We enjoy dinner in the Broome Farm garden on a warm summer night. The farm is also involved in other agricultural production, such as breeding pigs – few farms specialise exclusively in apples or pears. The farm chef has created a delicious pork dish, simmered in the farm’s own cider with cream and herbs.
Dry cider is an excellent dinner beverage. First, we taste three different “raw” ciders, the first of which is slightly bitter, the second sour, and the third mildly sweet. When all three are poured into the same glass, the result is a richly fruity, balanced combination, caressing all taste buds and smell nerves.
Most ciders sold in retail shops are also mixtures of different brands. They are the result of centuries of innumerable experiments, combinations and tasting sessions.
– Cider preferences vary locally and between different countries. For example, cider from Devon in southern England is usually strong, because they do not use water in grinding apples. Northern Europeans and South Africans prefer slightly sweeter ciders than the French, and so on, says Harry Turner, Sponsorship Manager at Heineken, Bulmers’ owner.
The company new drink, Bulmers Pear, is somewhere between tart and sweet ciders. Compared to the slightly sweet Woodpecker and delightfully tingly Scrumpy Jack, Bulmers Pear has a fresh, fruity taste. You can also taste a surprising hint of citrus and tropical fruits.
At the moment, Bulmers ciders are sold in 30 countries. Bulmers is also a supplier by Appointment to HM the Queen: it is the only cider maker with a Royal Warrant.
100 years of quality beverages
The hills and moors of Herefordshire are particularly well suited to fruit cultivation, because in most years, the region is exposed to just the right amount of rain and sun.
– Regional or yearly differences are not as clear-cut in cider production as they are in wine production, but an experienced cider taster can tell the difference between different cultivation areas. On the other hand, different flavours are combined in cider production, blending them all into a mixture of aromas, Mike adds.
Broome Farm’s shallow cellar and the two gigantic cider production facilities a few dozen kilometres away seem worlds apart at first glance. However, the same passion and respect for traditions guides all Hereford cider makers, whether they produce thousands or millions of litres of cider.
Universal Beveriges Limited, located in Hereford, is a contract manufacturer with no brands of its own. It offers its expertise in top technology to Heineken, for example.
Everything is big here: steel fermentation tanks measure 30 metres in height, 20,000 bottles clink through the packaging line in an hour, and the two production plants produce a total of over 450 million litres of cider a year. And the production is expanding.
– We use carefully selected yeast strains, and the finished product is always of high quality. Bulmers’ quality control group convenes at noon every day to ensure that each outgoing batch has just the right flavour from month to month and year to year, says Chris Newall, Operations Director, Universal Beveriges Ltd.
The yeast used in brewing Bulmers ciders dates back one hundred years: the company’s founder, Percy Bulmer, and his brother, Fred, developed it with their business acquaintance, Herbert Durham. Herbert studied in France, and refined the yeast used in champagne production into a new yeast strain, excellently suited to cider production. The first test batch of cider was so successful that they decided to venture into the business.
In our next destination, the Bulmers factory, Cider Production Manager John Williams reckons that the founding fathers’ passionate pioneer spirit still remains in the company.
– We have only upgraded cider production traditions to a larger scale, Williams says.
The scale is indeed impressive: 100,000 tonnes of apples are ground in a year, the pasteurisation unit processes 25,000 litres of cider in an hour, 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted in production is captured in a week…
Natural methods, authentic ingredients
Concentrating fruit juice is an important part of industrial cider production. The tart concentrate, resembling runny honey in colour and consistence, stays fresh and usable for several months without chemicals, because the fruit’s own acids and sugars act as natural preservatives. Therefore, the end product is always fresh.
– We strive to work hand in hand with nature every step of the way, from fruit orchards to the finished product. Instead of using pesticides, we use natural pest killers, such as ladybirds, as much as possible. During flowering, we bring bees to the farms to take care of pollination, says Harry Turner.
Cider apples are often sour and tannic, as are the pears used in perry cider. However, these fruits’ own natural sugars and flavours are exactly what are required to produce this authentic, traditional beverage. If necessary, the astringency is toned down with a dash of fresh apple or pear juice at the end of the process.
Ordinary apples and pears can also be used, resulting in a softer, well-rounded flavour with only a hint of astringency. For example, Bulmers Pear’s ingredients are the same juicy pears you can find in grocery shops.
The future of cider looks bright. After the hiccup in demand a few decades ago, the demand for both apple and pear cider has been steadily increasing for the past few years. Harry Turner believes that a beverage made with natural ingredients still withstands time.
– Authentic cider has taken a journey of thousands of years from the Asian steppes, the origins of the apple. Wild apple trees and their characteristics have been eagerly studied during the past few years, in order to be able to develop the varieties further because of climate change, for example. This is also one way to continue the long traditions of cider production, in which nature has always been respected and adapted to, Harry notes.
Long history
Both apples and pears have probably been used to produce cider for thousands of years.
In England, cider production expertise took a leap forward with the Roman conquest. The Romans brought with them olive presses, also applicable to pressing apples and pears, with minor adjustments.
The production of this already well-known beverage gained momentum when pressing apples became easier and more efficient. That was high-tech back in the day!
There are around 7,000 apple varieties in the world. About 300 of them are particularly well suited to cider production.
Bulmers Pear now in Finland
As of this autumn, there will be two Bulmers ciders available in Finland. The Bulmers Original apple cider will be joined by the Bulmers Pear cider. The popularity of Bulmers Pear has been on the strong rise in England since it went on sale there in spring 2009.
Bulmers Pear has a fresh, light pear flavour. It is both tart and richly fruity.
Bulmers Original is an authentic, soft, English apple cider, with extremely high fruit content.