Introduction

  • Cider is, at least in Europe, a fermented and alcoholic drink based on apples. Cider has been made for hundreds, if not thousands of years and the fermentation happens quite naturally using the sugars in the apple and the yeast usually found on the skin. It is a lovely natural process and brings with it some variation. The changing climate, seasons and weather can add a variation in the taste and juiciness. As a craft industry we celebrate this. Larger commercial producers prioritise consistency - they source and process their Cider accordingly. We don’t.

    We operate in a Craft Cider environment. It’s small volume and local. Most of our apples are from Berkshire and from unsprayed orchards. Many of the apples are donated to us as they would otherwise go in the compost or to the dump. So we take ordinary eating and cooking apples and make a base Cider recipe. We blend the sharpness away by introducing some Cider apple varieties.

What Makes Tutts Clump Cider Different?

The large commercial mass produced Cider on our supermarket shelves can typically contain 70% water! They are made in factories all through the year from a concentrate rather than fresh fruit.

CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) has a list of Cider they do not class as ‘real’ on their website for this very reason. Tutts Clump Cider will never appear on this list!

Natural Delicious Proper Cider

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How We Make our Proper Cider

Since 2006 we've been making our award-winning cider the old fashioned way – by hand. That's why we call it Proper Cider.

It all starts in the spring when beautiful blossom appears on apple trees across the home counties. Our little bee friends get busy pollinating the blossom flowers, which in the autumn (after some sunshine and showers) become wonderful crisp apples – ripe for making Proper Cider!

We use the traditional "shake n windfall" method to gather our crop before giving the apples a clean in good old fashioned West Berkshire water.

After selecting the best apples, we mill them into a delicious smelling apple pulp, ready for popping into our press. The press squeezes down on the pulp and all of the wonderful fresh juice flows out.

We always check the natural sugar content (SG) at this stage so we know what the final ABV will be and check that the acidity (PH) is within limits. The juice is then put into air locked fermenting tanks where the natural yeast feeds on the natural sugar in the juice turning it into alcohol.

The juice will ferment to perfection between 3-12 weeks depending on the ambient temperature.

Our proprietor Tim then crafts the perfect blend to ensure consistency and quality, before the Cider is sealed into large tanks to mature for a minimum of 12 months.

The wait is almost over now, the Cider is decanted and is either bottled, canned, popped into bag-in-box's, barrels or kegs, ready for customers to enjoy at home or down their local!

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Environmental Responsibility

Our Cider making process is also sustainable. Part of our process will always include the collection of unwanted apples locally, in exchange for a bottle of our Cider or apple juice (per 25kg delivered).

Corporate Social Responsibility

As part of our CSR programme all waste pulp, called pomace, and apples go to local West Berkshire farmers to help feed their lucky pigs, which in turn might end up being enjoyed with a bottle of our Proper Cider at your dinner table!