Andy is an engineer by trade and therefore has the ability to make and modify the machinery we use in the cider making process. Andy made a press which was fairly basic when we started. We had to crank a handle to press the apples which was hard work, but this has been modified and enlarged over the years to the extent that we now have an electronic compressor (much easier!) and two cheese trays. To make the cider you use the cheese trays by putting a large muslin cloth on the base of one cheese tray, fill it with the pommice of cider appleas which have been pulped down through a Scratting machine, wrap the cloth around the pommice and then lay another muslin cloth on top of the first cheese. You repeat the process until you have a number of cheeses sitting on top of each other. We can manage 6 on each tray so as you are pressing one side, you are unloading the other side and building up the next 6 cheeses ready for pressing. To speed the process up considerably, we have been awarded a grant from Caerphilly Council for a Belt Press which means we can make more cider a lot quicker. We'll still use the old fashioned method though, for small quantities.

 

We are pleased to have won a number of awards for our cider over recent years, and these are:

The Big Apple - Gold and Bronze

The Big Apple - Bronze

Welsh National Championships - Gold, Silver and 2 Bronze

Hereford Cider Museum - Bronze

Welsh National Championships - Gold, Silver and Bronze

Royal Bath and West Show - Pewterer's Cup (very proud of that one!) and a Gold

CAMRA - Bronze in National Cider Maker Class

Welsh National Championships - Silver and 2 Bronze

Welsh National Championships - 2 Silver and Bronze

Welsh National Championships - Bronze

Three Counties Championships - Silver

 

We have a Premises Licence which allows us to sell our cider directly to the public which means we will be pleased to see you at the farm.  Just give us a call on 01495 244691 to make sure we are there before you call in. We also supply a number of local pubs and festivals, including The Green Man Festival in Crickhowell. 

Location 

Blaengawney Farm is 1000ft high in the Welsh valleys which means it could be a challenge to grow apple trees. Traditionally apple orchards are in low lying areas which are sheltered from the worst of the weather so being so high means orchards would be at risk of high winds and rain....which we get in abundance. However, in early 2010 we planted several cider apple orchards totalling 1,100 trees as we took advice from the experts who said the soil was of good quality and could see no reason why they wouldn't grow. Let's hope they are right! As of early 2011, they are all looking good. 

 

  

Industry testimonials

We have had a number of industry testimonials which encourage us to keep making cider and grow our business even more over the coming years. Here is a few of them:

 

 

 

 

FIRST INTERNATIONAL CRAFT CIDER FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN WALES IN 2011 - WWW.INTERNATIONALCIDERFESTIVAL.COM