Wye Valley and Forest of Dean

Winners of the BBC Drinks Producer Food & Farming Awards 2019.

The Johnson family have been pressing cider at Broome Farm since the 1930s. Today it is produced in the same traditional way in the unique soil and climate of Herefordshire. This keeps the cidermaking pure and simple. The purity comes from using only whole juice, and the simplicity comes from allowing natural fermentation.

Cidermaking on Broome Farm is about more than business; it is a way of life, and a celebration of the tradition of cider. Into every batch of cider we produce goes our heartfelt belief in the superiority of a natural product over the more stable commercial drinks. All our cider and perry is made from pure apple and pear juice, pressed on the farm, mainly from our own fruit, although occasionally some different varieties of apples and pears from local orchards are used to create a greater range of both single varieties and blends.

We adore our bittersweet varieties – Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, Major and more – and enjoy the unique flavours they provide on their own. Different year after year, depending on so many factors. The weather, the sun or the rain, the quantity of crop, how soon into our harvest could we reach each different variety, the health of the tree, the temperature during the fermentation process. Our job as cidermakers is to keep the product clean and let the apple do the talking for itself.

We recognise the value of blending – mixing in Bittersharps such as Foxwhelp, Browns or Frederick – to the bittersweets. This lets us create ciders with more depth of flavour, giving mixtures of acidity, tannin, astringency as well as varying aromas and aftertastes. Each cider we place on draught, and especially those we bottle, has been carefully considered. Is it unique? Is it worth drinking? Can it be improved by blending? Does it deserve to stand on it’s own as a single variety? Would it be stronger still – pasteurised – or naturally conditioned in the bottle?

Our scale of cider and perry production allows us to make small batches of single variety and blends. At any one time we can have anywhere between thirty or sixty different choices. You can find the full range of all our draught and bottled cider in the Cider Shop at the Yew Tree Inn, Peterstow, the pub which we manage. Hopefully, each time you visit, we can offer you a new distinctive range of cider and perry.

You are welcome to visit our Cider Shop during opening hours, 12 noon to 6 p.m. every day, where you will be offered our draught ciders to try. We (almost!) always have three different dry draught cider and one dry draught perry available for you to try.

Yew Tree Inn
Peterstow
Ross-on-Wye
Herefordshire
HR9 6JZ

The Yew Tree Inn, Peterstow is situated on the A49, 2 miles from Ross-on-Wye.