In 2015 Kirkby Fruit Project made 420 litres of KirkbymoorCider which was launched on 1^st May 2016, during Kirkby Day.   A day involving  The Tractor Run, Children’s Dash Race, Teens’ Race, Kirkby 10k Race and The Tour de Yorkshire.  The cider proved to be popular and we sold over half of our stock.  Many thanks to the press for their coverage of our cider story and for spreading the word.

The cider continued in its popularity and by the end of our third event we had sold out.  Our Christmas stall was sadly lacking cider in 2016 so this year we have made more.  We sell at various events* through the year, advertised on our home page and in the Kirkbymoorside Town Blog, and recently Kirkby News is also selling our cider.  As they have a liquor licence you can buy it year round now through them.

Our cider differs from commercial ciders in that it is made of 100% apple juice, with no added water or sugar in the fermentation process, a true natural craft cider.  (Commercial ciders are only required to have 35% apple juice.)  We ferment juice from, at least, six different apple varieties to give a complexity and depth of flavour to the cider.  Fermentation starts slowly and naturally over about 10 days, using naturally occurring yeasts present in the pressed juice (no other yeast or nutrients are added).  Fermentation is carried out in cool stable conditions at about 13⁰C, and by Christmas all the fruit sugar is converted into alcohol, 6% by volume.  At this stage the cider tastes ‘rough’ so we store it, at a similar temperature, through the winter.  During this time malolactic fermentation converts the harsh tasting malic acid to lactic acid making a smoother drink.  The cider is racked (taken off the dead yeast) twice during the winter to improve clarity and flavour.  The cider clears naturally to leave a barely visible haze.  At this stage a small amount of sugar is added to adjust the taste of the cider and by Easter it is ready for drinking.

We produce three varieties of KirkbymoorCider, two of which are pasteurised to stop fermentation.  These are Dry Still and Sweet Still, our third variety is the Dry Sparkling which is allowed to further ferment in the bottle (fuelled by a small amount of sugar added for taste adjustment) and the resulting carbon dioxide adds a sparkle to the drink

We sell the cider from our stall at various events.  Look out for our yellow banner
Events are advertised on our Home page, in posters around town and on the town blog

From 2017 you can buy KirkbymoorCider all year round from Kirkby News.  Many thanks for their support

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