Daylesford Cider Co.
There is cider and then there is cider. Real cider. Cider made in the time honoured tradition using apple varieties bred for the flavour and texture, not just for sweet juice. Cider fermented slowly in a method that develops flavour. Cider that can be serious and steadfastly traditional, or light, bubbly and fun as well-made rosé. The Daylesford Cider Co. is an integral part of the food and drink culture here in Daylesford, growing and processing apples out on the farm at Musk. Jonathan and Clare Mackie bought the orchard / cellar door /cidery in 2015. Twelve years earlier around 2000 cider trees had been planted by the founders. Those trees bare old-fashioned names like Fox Whelp, Yarling Mill and Brown Snout. These aren’t eating apples. They are cider apples. Varieties from England’s West Country where cider is still a way of life.
Jonathan Mackie appreciates the cold climate of the Central Highlands. “The cold weather is great for fermenting,” he says. “I like to make my cider nice and slow. It develops more complex flavour.” The apples are picked by hand and binned by variety. Some are sharp, some are bitter sharp, others are sweet while the rest bittersweet. To achieve different styles of cider Jonathan chooses and mixes different varieties of apples and then crushes them to make a blended apple juice. This is then fermented using both wild yeast and cultured yeast depending on the style. The cider can spend weeks or up to 8 months on lees slowly developing more flavour and nuance. It is filtered, bottled and pasteurised on site. At Blake Family Grocers we carry their full bodied Wild Oaked Cider, fermented using the naturally occurring yeast strains on the skin of the apple, then aged for a couple months with oak. Then there is the Sweet Coppin, named after a sweet full flavoured variety, that is delicious as it is refreshing and then Spiced Cider, made with local honey and spices it can be a winter warmer but we think it tastes like Christmas in a glass.
“I used to go to pubs like the Black Pot or the Coronation Tap back home. I lived in Bristol where there was a cider called Exhibition that was so strong the publican would only sell it in half-pints.”
“The cold weather around Daylesford is perfect for fermenting cider. I like to make my cider nice and slow. It develops a more complex flavour. The cold is good for that.”
Jonathan and Clare Mackie, Daylesford Cider Co. Image by Richard Cornish.