The Oldfields Approach

The Oldfields’ approach to farming, cider making and life, in general, can be boiled down into a simple maxim. Whatever you’re doing, put in the graft and do it right. For nearly 40 years we grew hops, a fickle crop that requires an inordinate degree of attention to detail. They’re prone to disease and pests, incredibly vulnerable to drought and in the space of a week can go from perfectly ripe to commercially unviable. You need to be amongst your hops continuously through the summertime assessing their needs and reacting accordingly. It’s a huge burden that leaves little time for anything else but the skills we developed during our tenure as hop farmers put us in good stead for the rest of our farming life. That instinctual recognition of the first signs of hop wilt is the same instinct that alerts you to the first signs of sickness in a ewe or the first notes of an off flavour in a batch of cider. You don’t learn these skills overnight, they come from years of dedication.

But a keen eye isn’t going to harvest your hops. It’s fair to say that without the help of the community around us we could have never brought all our hops in. Back in our hopping days, we employed half the village come September and though cider making doesn’t have the same staffing requirements we haven’t forgotten that we are a part of our village. We’re rightfully proud to live in Frith Common and we hope they’re proud to have us too. Never underestimate the importance of getting on with your neighbours. It’s the reason why back in the day we always held a village bonfire party in November and why today we feel the need to put on our parlour pub nights, summer parties and wassails in place of those gone but not forgotten Friday nights in the local pubs that are all now sadly closed.

‘Put in the graft and do it right.’ It’s why we hand prune our bajillion apple trees. It’s why we’ve planted and renewed almost a mile of native hedgerows around the farm. It’s why we don’t use concentrates in our cider (our apples testify to our hard work). And it’s why we took the decision to do every part of the cider-making process, from planting the trees to packing the bottles, in house. That way we can cast that meticulous eye for detail across all aspects of our products, resulting in the perfect cider!