Products

Rutts Gold (med sweet)

Rutts Gold was our first cider made as hobby cider makers. It came about as out next door neighbour had an apple tree where the apples were just left on the ground to go to waste, so we wondered what we could do to put them to good use. There is only so much room in the freezer for apple pies so cider it was. We collected from a few trees in the area and spend a day with the juicer and ended up with about 80L of juice. Closed it up in a plastic barrel with an airlock and left it in the utility room for a few months. A quick tasting showed it was a bit on the acidic side, understandable really as it was from eating and cooking apples and when all the sugar is fermented to alcohol the fruit acid comes to the front. Adding a little sugar on tasting made a big difference and it was fairly drinkable. We bottled it swing top bottles with a small amount of sugar to make it fizzy and put it away for 6 months, big difference in flavour now much smoother, it still needed sweetening but not as much as when it was younger. Rutts Gold was born and has become our most popular cider, served cold on a hot summers day there is nothing to beat it. Now made with a mix of 30 or so different varieties of apple from local orchards and gardens around Devizes it is a really local cider. Boxes and bags are still, bottles are sparking

Rutts Rascal (sweet)

Rutts Rascal Came about after I found a commercial cider orchard in Dorset that did a pick your own option, most commercial orchards only sell by the Tonne, and if you you don’t know what you want it is a lot to do a test batch with. We were offered an apple called Balls Bitter Sweet, Developed by Bulmer’s Cider in 1927 it produces a full bodied medium bitter sweet juice. The tannin’s are soft and not too assaulting on the taste buds. Blended with some of the Rutts Gold to add a bit of acidity we believe we has produced a nice balanced west county style cider. Due to some limited availability of the normal apples used in the blend the 2020 Rutts Rascal is a blend of Balls Bitter Sweet, Somerset Redstreak and for the Sharps we have used Jonogold Red. There has been good feedback from those who have tasted it. Boxes and bags are still, bottles are sparking

Rutts Revenge (dry)

Rutts Revenge is a true dry west country cider. It is a single variety cider and is made exclusively from the Balls Bitter Sweet apples we use for the Rutts Rascal. Often refereed to as a “scrumpy” cider. It is bone dry, with no acidity or sweetness at all, just soft to mid tannins. Proper dry ciders are not easy to obtain as the market is geared towards more easy drinking sweeter drinks with low alcohol levels so you can consume (and buy) more drinks in an evening. On a good year Balls Bitter Sweet can produce a cider nearing 8% Alc. As the apples sugar levels are dependent on the years weather all our cider will vary from year to year and Rutts Revenge is normally around the 7% Alc mark. Best served at room temperature to bring out the soft tannins. Boxes, bags and bottles are still

Rutts Redstreak S (dry)

Rutts Redstreak S is another single variety dry cider, this one being made from Somerset Redstreak apples. This is an old variety of unknown origin dating back to the 1800’s at least, possibly further. It is another Mid bitter sweet with soft tannins but a different taste to the Balls Bitter Sweet. Our customers who appreciate a truly dry cider seem to be split 50/50 as to which they prefer between the Revenge and the Redstreak S. The “S” is for the Somerset as there is also a Hereford Redstreak, of which we have a number in our orchard and with any luck should be producing cider from in a year or two. The general consensus is that the Redstreak is not as dry as the Revenge, this is purely down to the different apple variety and nothing to do with the process or additions to raise the sweetness. Best served at room temperature to bring out the soft tannins. Boxes, bags and bottles are still

Rutts Reserve (med dry)

Rutts Reserve is a simple blend of Somerset Redstreak apples and Rutts Gold to add some acidity, The sweetness level has been lifted slightly, it is just off of dry and was created for the cider drinkers who find a fully dry cider a bit too extreme but who also don’t like anything with any level of sweetness. Best served room temp to cool rather than cold as the tannins get suppressed if too cold. Boxes and bags are still, bottles are sparking

Pewsey Perry (med sweet)

While on an apple picking trip to Pewsey we drove past a couple of pear trees, laden with fruit. So on the way home we decided to make a quick stop to check them out. They were dropping in large numbers so obviously ripe. A quick taste confirmed they tasted horrible, the tannins started to dry my mouth out and they were not edible. Perfect for Perry. It took a while but eventually tracked down the farmer who said we could have them if we wanted as they wen’t any good for eating. On chatting with the farmer it seems the 2 trees were planted by his father back in the 50’s or 60’s he had no idea of the variety. There were two trees so it was not a wilding but must have been grafted, I decided to get them DNA tested and was surprised when the results come back as unique, not matching anything in the databases. Pewsey Perry has a light, delicate fragrant flavour and is best served cold. Very limited stock, only available sparkling in bottles

Browns (med sweet)

Rutts Browns is made from 100% fresh pressed Browns apples. Browns apples are a Sharp cider apple, originating in the 1800’s in Devon. Browns make a slightly scented cider with very soft tannins with a soft smooth mouth feel with a good aroma. An easy drinking cider without some of the challenges of the more tannic full bodied cider apples. Alcohol levels are normally around the 5% mark

Dabinett (med sweet)

Rutts Dabinett is made from 100% fresh pressed Dabinett apples. Dabinett apples are a full bittersweet cider apple, full bodied with soft astringency with good balance of tannin and acid making them one of the most popular cider apples in the UK today. The original Dabinett apple was found growing in a hedge in Middle Lambrooke by a Mr William Dabenett. Dabinett apples normally ripen in early November which helps spread the pressing season out from the October rush of many cider apples. After the initial gentle sweetness the soft tannin come through to give dry finish, the complex taste of Dabinett apples has helped to make this one of the most popular cider apples grown in the UK.