Made from 100% pure apple juice and fermented by wild natural yeast — just as cider should be. Today, people are rightly more aware of how their food and drink are made, and we believe the closer to a natural product the better. We don’t add commercial yeast; our ciders ferment with natural yeast from the apples and the environment. Using different apple varieties — without added chemicals, flavourings or sulphites — gives us a range of naturally tasting, quality ciders.
By using local apples and traditional methods, Mahorall Farm Cider is a true taste of Shropshire.
We have around 100 apple trees on the farm, many vintage varieties, and we pick by hand. Some apples are kept separate for single-variety ciders. Early varieties start late September; most others are ready by mid-October. When we need more fruit, we use local orchards within about half a mile.
Apples are sorted and any sticks, stones, leaves, or rotten fruit are removed by hand. Waste is composted.
The apples are washed to remove excess dirt.
After washing, apples are placed in a drainer so surplus water can run off.
Apples are milled into a fine pulp — think “apple sauce”. Good pulp is crucial for a high juice yield. The pulp slowly browns as it oxidises; that’s normal.
.JPG "Apple pulp placed in former")
We scoop pulp onto a square piece of cloth (a modern “hair”) laid over a former on the press bed, then fold the cloth to make a neat parcel. A wooden rack goes on top, the former is lifted, and we repeat — building several stacked parcels called a “cheese”. Once checked, it’s ready for pressing.
Pressing is slow and steady: the hydraulic press ramps to around 10 tons and holds pressure. Juice runs from the layers into a tray and then into a small tank, while the cloths retain the pulp. When the flow stops, we release pressure, remove each layer, empty the spent pulp to a trailer, and build the next cheese.
When the collecting tank is full, we pump the fresh juice into a barrel or tank. Each vessel is filled to the brim to minimise air space and reduce spoilage risk.
Within a few days, natural yeasts begin fermenting — you’ll see gentle bubbling. Yeast consumes the juice’s natural sugars to produce alcohol. Fermentation typically takes 4–5 months until sugars are fully consumed. We then seal the barrel.
In spring, we “rack” the cider — transferring about 95% to another vessel to leave the fine lees (spent yeast, the old-timers’ “snarlydogs”) behind. The cider then matures for several months. A secondary malolactic fermentation may occur, softening the acidity. The maturation mellows the cider compared to freshly fermented batches — perhaps the origin of calling new cider “scrumpy” or “rough cider”.
