All the apples pressed for Aspall Suffolk Cyder are brought in from the local area, if not from their own orchards. They are washed, hand graded - to take out the rots and leaf debris - before being finally rinsed.

Once ready, they are minced to a pulp and pumped in to one of our two Bucher Guyer apple presses. The "mash" is then pressed for two hours to extract fresh "single strength" apple juice.

This fresh juice is pumped in to a fermentation vessel, where a controlled yeast is added to ensure consistant 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, the cyder can taste quite coarse. A typical fermentation will take 3 to 4 weeks.

Once the fermentation is complete, the cyder is allowed to stand for 2 weeks to allow the dead yeast to drop out. Once this has happened, the cyder is pumped or "racked" into a clean storage vessel for maturation.
Maturation periods range from 4 months to 2 years, depending on the
type of cyder.

Each of our cyders is then blended prior to final packing into bottles or kegs. The real art of cydermaking is to blend the right base cyders together to give the final cyder its own characteristic aroma and flavour. All blends have to pass the taste panel before packing, and this panel always includes at least one family member.

All Aspall Suffolk Cyder is lightly sparkling. This has the effect of lifting the aroma and flavour, so complementing the experience.

Apples used in Aspall Suffolk Cyder include varieties such as Kingston Black, Medaille d'or, Cox, Bramley, Yarlington Mill, Tremlett's Bitter, Blenheim Orange, Chiver's Delight, Tom Putt, Discovery, to name but a
few.

The Aspall Suffolk Cyder range is available as Dry Premier Cru, Draught and Organic.