Keeved Cider

This is keeved cider: The Next Big Thing. Keeving is an incredibly difficult process to get right and rarely done. Most sweet ciders are artificially sweetened by either adding back in unfermented apple/pear juice or sugar.
Keeving is a unique method of stopping the fermentation of the cider/perry juice naturally so the juice is only partially fermented leaving in some of the natural sugars.

If the conditions are right, half way through the fermentation a pectin gel will form on top of the fermenting cider drawing out the yeasts and nutrients. This suspends the fermentation of the cider, and a clear naturally sweet-partially fermented cider/perry can be drawn off at this stage. Making a sweet cider in this way retains more balance in the final drink – as the tannins, leftover fruit sugars  from the unfermented apples and acidity hold together to create the perfect sweet cider.

To achieve this you need to be a very skilled cidermaker, for the pectin gel to form (often called the ‘brown cap / chapeau brun’, the apples/pears used must be of a certain season and quality (cider varieties that are from old trees that have never been fertilised so are low in nutrients), the fermentation must be natural and slow (commercial yeasts used to make cider are too aggressive) and the moment of tapping of the clear juice is key.

Tom Oliver’s family farm has grown cider apples and pears for generations. For many years the fruit was sold to Bulmer’s, a large cider producer nearby. But after disagreements on price the family moved away from selling apples and into growing hops. Tom was relegated to making cider and perry using local apples just for family and friends.

Leaving the family farm he want off to study music and became tour manager for The Pretenders and later The Proclaimers (he’s still their tour manager to this day which he fits around farming and making cider!). But as with everything family draws you back and in 1999 he moved back to Herefordshire and persuaded his Mum to let him have a go at making cider commercially using apples from their farm and five surrounding orchards.
Tom’s attention to detail, palate for blending and steadfast attitude to quality meant Oliver’s Cider soon became known as one of the very best ciders in the world and Tom regarded as a bit of a cult hero for helping put quality cider back on the map.

Tom’s cider’s are made with 100% apple or pear juice (commercial cider and perry only has to have 35% juice!) and although there are over 60 varieties of apple’s he used, the principal elements within all his ciders revolves around the Michelin, Dabinett, Foxwhelp, Yarlington Mill and Kingston Black (in the Keeved he also uses a Sheeps Nose and Catley Red).

After picking in the autumn the apples  and pears are left to sweat a few weeks (shrivel and loose moisture) before being crushed and pressed in a belt press. Using the yeast naturally from the fruit and the local atmosphere, the juice is then left to wild ferment through the winter in a variety of tanks, vessels and casks.

In the spring the various juices (from different apples/pears, orchards and fermentation tanks) are then tasted and blended to produce a range of different ciders and perrys.

You must be over 18 to purchase this product.

750ml.  3.5% abv.