In late May through early June of 2017, ten cider makers from Washington and Oregon had the opportunity to visit cideries in Normandy, Brittany, and the English West Country, to learn about keeving . Keeving, at it’s most basic definition, is a traditional method of fermentation that is used to produce sparkling semi-dry and sweet ciders without back-sweetening. The cideries visited ranged vastly in size and production volume, as did each cider maker’s methods and personal ethos as to how a keeved cider is best produced. Certain aspects of attaining a keeve however, do not vary by producer or region, and are absolutely essential to the process. Here you will find the technical notes and personal observations of the Northwest cider makers who made the trip, as well as the universal aspects of a successful keeve.
Here are the basics of Keeving and the French production methods we have gleaned so far in our trip to France and England. By David Takush, 2 Towns Ciderhouse We have found that only approximately half of the producers actually try to achieve a ‘chapeau brun’ -the ‘brown hat’ that forms at the top of… Read more »
While many of the cideries we visited in France and England were integrated working farms that raised cows and sheep, they did seem to be legitimate cider production facilities, with all the amenities you would expect at an artisan winery. Wilkins cider seemed to be quite a different story in that most of the operation… Read more »
Heck’s cider in Somerset, U.K. has produced traditional farmhouse cider and perry for six generations. Their long history was evident by the large wall filled with award plaques and newspaper articles of their journey. Andrew Heck was a warm and welcoming host, though not one to speak at length. Their cidery has a retail shop… Read more »
Our host, Martin, showed us around his cider facility in England. His cidery was much younger than most, if not all, of the others we had seen, and thus carried less of a traditional air to it. Pilton Cider, created in 2009, produces about 50,000 L of cider a year. He, like us, took on… Read more »
Tom was in town for the Royal Bath and West Show, so while we weren’t able to visit his farm and cidery as a group, he graciously agreed to come to our hotel and talk with us for an afternoon to discuss the mysteriously fickle art of keeving. What is keeving? A sub 5.5% ABV… Read more »
1 Route de Plas an Dans, 29500Ergué Gaberic, FRPhone: 02 98 59 63 45http://www.chateau-lezergue.com/ Cidermaker/Guide: Joseph (co-owner) Fruit: Uses multiple varieties of traditional French cider apples including Kermerrien, Marie-Ménard, Prat-Yeod, Douce-Moen, Kroc’hen Ki and Douce-Coêtligné. Orchard: 35 HA owned/operated by cidery, accounting for approximately 1/3 of total volume used (remaining grown under contract). Harvest practice:… Read more »
Stats: Produces: Notes on the region and the orchard: Harvest: The pressing: The Brown hat cometh: Fermentation: Then we went to meet the Mayor.
Cidrerie Leroyer – Cidermaker Stephen Leroyer La Poulardière, 61350 Saint-Fraimbault, France +33 2 33 38 31 96 Farming Characteristics: Leroyer produces 150-200 tons of fruit per year from the 25 acres which are on traditional high-stem trees. Of that production, 50% are apple and 50% are pears, all for the production of cider and perry.… Read more »
This was one of the more idyllic orchards we visited. We started in their standard orchard on a gently sloping hill. It was very serene, widely spaced, tall trees with a green grass floor and birds singing all around. The top portion of the standard orchard was planted in 1999, the lower part two years… Read more »
We were greeted at Cidrerie Traditionelle du Perche in a very tour-centric manner. After a brief introduction and a few off-the-bat questions we were guided into a small auditorium for a video presentation. It contained your standard harvest, press, and bottling information designed for casual cider tours. The orchard contained 23,000 trees that they grew… Read more »
Stats: Harvest: All by hand, no tractors used or owned. Shake and collect from ground into 25Kilo onion bags. These bags are then left to sweat/rest for a 1 month in the cider barn- Though the later harvested fruit will sometimes rest for 2 months. Blending at the press: Apples are blended at the press to… Read more »
After a lunch that featured a Prosciutto salad that would soon become legend, we made our way to one of the larger cider producers we visited in France. The Ecusson facility had been being used to press and ferment cider since 1919. We arrived shortly after 1:30pm and immediately put on hairnets and jackets. The… Read more »
The 40 hectares of fruit bearing property strives to be as self-sustaining as possible by allowing cattle to graze in the orchard. During the multiple month harvest, there is another 40 hectares that the cattle are moved to. Roughly 60 varieties are grown with some of the highest producing trees being 200-year-old pear which yield… Read more »
Set in the beautiful Norman countryside, Domaine Drouin is of an average size for most artisan cider and calvados producers. They process close to 200 tonnes of apples per year at their bucolic facility. They have a pretty standard processing operation for what we have seen in Normandy and Brittany. They bring in machine harvested… Read more »
211 Route De Pommereux 76 440 Saint Michel D’Halescourt Phone: 02 35 90 61 39 http://www.domaine-duclos-fougeray.com/ Cidermaker/Guide: Herve’ Duclos (owner) Fruit: Uses 24 varieties of traditional French cider apples. Orchard: 18 HA located on an east-facing hillside. Soils mainly Jurassic clay and limestone. Orchard is sheep grazed, no additional fertilizers or amendments used. [Rootstock type?]… Read more »
