Ledbury is an old market town in Herefordshire, England – full of historic inns and pubs, and a beautiful, half-timber Market House dating back to 1617. It sits between the rivers Wye and Severn, surrounded by orchards growing cider apples. My first visit to Ledbury was as a brewer, to buy English hops in the autumn of 2007. I returned in 2011, a newly minted Cider-maker, to meet Tom Oliver. Tom makes traditional cider and perry in Ocle Pynchard, Herefordshire, to my palate among the very best.

The Ledbury Cider is an English-style medium cider – not too dry, not too sweet. A blend of old world bittersweet apples and new world heirloom varieties are fermented with native yeast, adding a bit of farminess to the ripe apple nose.