It all started in 2014 at the school gate. Both Steve Rabson Stark (Beardy), previously from Brighton and Phil Day (Bignose), originally from London had moved to the countryside in the mid-Noughties to start families in Framfield, a small East Sussex village on the edge of the Weald.

One night over a pint in Framfield’s local, they discovered common interests in beekeeping and a joint curiosity for making cider. And that’s when the Bignose and Beardy journey began. A small band of dad’s turned up at Phil’s and spent a happy day chopping, milling and pressing on some borrowed hand powered kit. After a days effort the team had produced 75 litres of delicious apple juice. All they had to do then was wait. The others drifted away but Steve kept coming back to see how it was going. It started off well, but as the sugar fermented into alcohol it started to taste a little… well not great. However patience saved the day and after seven months of waiting the cider was drinkable. Not amazing but alright. No matter: Phil and Steve had become hooked.

After researching the industry and taking advice from Phil’s successful cider making friend in the Midlands, they took the plunge and decided to buy some kit. They distributed flyers at the local village fair advertising for local apples to be donated in exchange for cider. Offers of apples started to pop up all around the village.

Traditional real Sussex cider made with enthusiasm in a sleepy East Sussex village called Framfield.

Our cider is flat, still, unfiltered and wild fermented in small batches.

No fuss cider made in a no fuss way. We leave it alone for months and months and let nature do its thing.

It doesn’t seem right to mess with it so we add nothing – unless we decide to sweeten it at the end of course. We never know what we are going to get and we celebrate each batch as a unique offering – those apples, that orchard, that mix of fruit from that season, handpicked early or late depending on when harvest falls. And when a batch is gone, it’s gone.

Framfield is a small village on the edge of the Weald. We are surrounded by green rolling fields, oak trees, sheep and horses against a backdrop of the South Downs just where they meet the sea. It’s good apple country and it’s a good place to be outdoors. All around us are forgotten orchards in gardens, estates and neglected corners as well as good friends we’ve made who grow fruit commercially – a lot of their sweat and tears go into our cider too. The sun always seems to shine when we are picking or pressing.

The Cidery is based on Bignose’s small holding, set amongst the rolling hills of Sussex with hens, ducks pigs and sheep.

Our Cider Selection

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