Llanblethian Orchards

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Low input orchard and c***ry based in the Vale of Glamorgan. Traditional still, Single variety, keeved, pétillant naturel and craft keg c***r and perries.

Made from apples and pears grown in the shadow of St Quentin's Castle

15/10/2026

Yesterday afternoon's job was doing another trial run of apple juice bottling to see how the new kit performed.

I hand picked some lovely Ashmead's Kernel apples from the orchard which is a wonderfully perfumed apple perfect for juice as well as one of the seedling apples I grow that has a pleasant sweet sharp taste I think will make great juice.

For this trial run Im using the new plastic racks and I boiled washed the cloths so they dont pass across c***r flavours.

The reusable metal filter for the housing arrived so I put that inline as well. It's a 200 micron filter so only enough to keep out apple chunks but allows fine sediment across which is what I wanted.

Rather than last time where I was having to lift the juice up above the bottler this time I used a small diaphragm pump so I didnt knacker my shoulder lifting the container.

All in all worked very well. Only real issue was the juice was foaming up in the bottles messing with the levels. If I can get that fixed Im golden I think.

Just to say thanks for all the advice while ive been figuring this out, it's been very helpful.

***r

13/10/2026

Spent the morning cleaning the site ready for the next load of apples and this afternoon's job is spreading the spent pomace from the last load of apples back down the orchard.

Tomorrow I will be collecting the next load of apples and the rest of the week will be spent pressing them.

Harvest is truly running at full steam now. 😅

***r

12/10/2026

Over the weekend with Keith's help we managed to press just shy of 1,000 litres of Brown's apples juice collected from Ross on Wye farm and c***ry, thanks guys 😃.

From looking at the figures that's 3,500 ish litres now so we're at the halfway point. 🤩

Almost broke me on Sunday frankly, my bad hip was hurting so much from all the bending down I barely managed the last pressing. Couldnt face the clean down, that's tomorrow's job.

Took a break from harvest today to rest up and I programmed up the cnc to make a set of hdpe plastic racks for the c***r press.

Turned out rather well, if I do say so myself. My first press had plastic racks made out of slats and the edges were so sharp I was always cutting myself with claret everywhere. 🙄So these one were routed with roundover bits so no nasty edges. 😊

Im going to use them exclusively for apple juice.

The wooden racks I use in the press for the c***r are pretty knarly as they are fairly old and contain all the wild yeasts and bacteria that make Llanblethian Orchards house style.

From taking a good look at them and the fact they are bare wood I decided i'd just avoid any arguments with eho and use shiney placcy racks for the juice. 😉

Well tomorrow's job at the barn is a big deep clean of everything and using the tractor to deal with all the spent pomace ready for the next load.

***r

08/10/2026

Yesterday I arranged a team of pickers and we went picking Burgundy pears in Usk at a good friends orchard.

Bit wet in the morning but it ended up a glorious day, what a wonderful old orchard.

Picking historic old pear trees is what made me fall in love with c***r making in the first place, they are such characterful knarly old things, like something out of a fairytale. 😍

Managed to get them all pressed today, about 220l in total, a fair little haul all in all.

It was quite a bit of effort carrying the tubs up the slope to the entrance through the long grass, and there were a few grumblings from people 😅.

You forget how tiring picking can be when you are spoiled in your own orchard parking the tractor right under the tree. 😆

***r

05/10/2026

Racking day at Llanblethian Orchards today. The smell of wild fermenting c***r is incredible, here's hoping it carries through to the final product. 😁

As much as anything I need the space so ive cleared the shop and racked three ibc's across to make some space for more juice. 😅

As a c***ry I always follow the old adage: 'rack early, rack often'. I try and rack my c***rs at least once early on in the fermentation then again once the fermentation has noticeably slowed and it has dropped a noticeable deposit and cleared up.

As I can only press a relatively small amount in one go I fill what containers I can as I go along then rack them together into larger containers once I have enough volume. This then acts as the early racking I desire without adding excess work.

Today I ended up racking two 640l Ibc's across, two 120l containers and two 220l containers.

The three counties I pressed the other day were split in half and mixed with an ibc of sharps and a tank of Broxwood Foxwhelp to create a sharper blend. I was pretty surprised just how much sediment there was in the tank when I racked it.

It looked pretty much like a partial keeve to me. I wouldnt be surprised if it would make a good keeving variety if you could cool the juice down enough.

Well tomorrow's job is pressing some perry pears I picked yesterday. I though there were hardly any fruit on my Hendre Huffcap trees this year but ended up with 9 1/2 flexi tubs yesterday, rather took me by surprise in a good way. 😁

***r

03/10/2026

Today's job at the c***ry is the lot less glamourous but no less essential job of dealing with the spent pomace.

If you leave it around the c***ry too long not only will it start smelling very 'ripe' 🤢 it will also cause a plague of fruit flies so it needs to be dealt with promptly.

At my c***ry I take it back down the orchard and spread it thinly so it breaks down quickly and returns its nutrition to the soil.

I spread it in an uncut part of the orchard I jokingly refer to as 'the wild orchard'. Ive been doing it for years and each year I move the area I spread in and leave the previous years areas untouched.

From looking today, it's definately starting to live up to its name. Everywhere I look I can see another apple seedling growing up through the undergrowth. 😆

Who knows, perhaps one of them will be the next big c***r variety you can only hope! 😃

Ehh at the very least it keeps the local bunnies and pheasants off my trees they think its party time when I start spreading. 😁

***r

02/10/2026

With Keith and Paul's help we managed to get through the rest of the apples today and get everything cleaned up ready for the next load. 🥰

In the end 1.5 tonnes of Three Counties yielded 740l of juice, not a bad little haul. 😄

The pH was 4.69, so VERY low acidity. I will be blending it with sharp apples to get the pH to 3.8 or below to reduce the risk of a bad ferment.

The sugar content however was so high it was above my hyrdrometer. 😳😯

Thankfully I have other hydrometers for ice c***r so I was able to get a reading. 1.080! If it fully ferments out, that would yield a 10% c***r. Proper wobble juice. 😵‍💫

I will have to try and blend it down with other apples to get it to a more sensible potential abv....

I have already had one request for a demijohn of juice to be racked off first so they can ferment it themselves. 😆

I would like to state for the record: I hold absolutely no responsibility for anything that happens to anyone who drinks a demijohn of 10% c***r or where they wake up! 🤣

***r

01/10/2026

Made good headway through the apples with Keith's help at the barn. 70 years young today and shovelling like a champ, he earned his c***r and curry today. 😁

Should have them all finished off tomorrow and everything cleaned down with luck. Fruit was in need of a good wash but pressed cleanly.

Like dabinett, the fruit had a low juice content. Curious how much 1.5 tonnes will yield when it's all pressed tomorrow. Each pressing was getting around 45 litres a go vs the 65 litres that tends to be the norm. Wonderful rich juice mind, looks really promising. 😍

***r

30/09/2026

It's been a long day on the road today picking up apples from the edge of the Cotswolds to cover the light harvest down here in the Vale.

This variety a new one on me - Three Counties - one of the 'new' bittersweet varieties bred at the Long ashton research institute in the 1980's.

In need of a wash but smell great and are in good nick. Can't wait to see how the c***r turns out.

So... I imagine you can guess what I'll be doing for the next couple of days.... 🤣

Just don't ask about the cost of the diesel to pick them up, its a sore point.. 😖

***r

29/09/2026

First big pressing of the season yesterday, feels good to finally be making some progress.

My orchard is fairly near the coast and im always earlier than farther inland, but this year everything is exceptionally early.

I ended up pressing the Stoke red, browns apple, pen caled and black tom putt. All mid October varieties. 😳

They had all been down for a fornight, were soft and starting to go over so it had to be done. Never seen it this early. Thankfully the later varieties are still hanging on the trees for now.

Ended up making 500 litres from them all.

I also managed to pick some more crab apples so I could fill the rest of the jars I bought. Managed to make the jelly a bit clearer this time by leaving it to settle after pressing for a few hours then racking it, good to know for the future methinks.

Well next job is picking the hendre huffcaps as they are mostly down and cleaning some containers to fit all the juice, busy busy....

***r

Address

The C***r Barn, Crossways
Cowbridge
CF717LJ

Telephone

+447989970664

Website

https://llancider.wales/

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