Full name: Ben Culpin
Role: Cider maker
DOB: 31.03.1973
Birthplace: London
Twitter Handle: @apple_countyco
Website: www.applecountycider.co.uk
Fun Fact: Ben’s a self described “Ice cream junkie”
OK, please tell us about your journey up to today! I have read that you worked in music publishing (any overlap with the world of craft cider?) before starting Ty Gwyn Cider with your brother. Flash forward a few years and you’re doing something new with Apple County Cider Co…
Yes I worked for another cider company ( I would rather not mention their name!), then decided to go it alone and rebrand the company to Apple County Cider Co. Monmouthshire is the Apple County of Wales and I wanted to bring this identity back – but I also wanted to have more of a national brand appeal with a new name.
Did you know from a young age that this was going to be the career for you or was it a transition you made later in life?
I was living in London and I came back to the farm to visit my parents. That’s when I got chatting with my stepfather Jimmy. He said “Ben would you be interested in making cider? I think you’d be good at it!” So I decided to move back to the family farm in Wales and started making cider under my stepfather’s wing.
I never looked back.
I read that your specialism is in ‘single variety’ ciders? Could you tell us a little about what those are and why you’ve chosen this style?
There are over 400 different bittersweet varieties of apples and around 50 are grown on the farm in Wales. My orchard has about 10 varieties in and they are all great for making cider. Using single variety really draws out the quality of flavour in that one apple.
I think single variety or naming the apples you use overlaps the production process with that used in the wine world. As in, wine makers identify the grapes they are using for the wine, and we identify the apple we use in the cider. My cider has ‘wine like’ qualities and a vintage for each year!
You’re a craft cider maker, right? What’s the difference between what you do and say, what the bigger mass market guys put out? (asides from volume!) – and then the difference between you and the ‘little guys’ who do homebrew? (there seems to be quite a few….)
We use 100% apple juice which we press in the autumn and leave to ferment in a barn over the winter months. In spring we ‘rack off the lees’ and the juice then enjoys a secondary fermentation. I believe some larger producers make a concentrate from the pressed juice and then add water to it, so it’s a different process to ours.
Homebrewers tend to produce under 7000 litres to avoid paying duty and tend to use lots of different types of apples (from cookers to bittersweets to eating apples). This is a fun way to make cider as you are never really sure what the outcome is going to be.
What makes a good cider anyway and how do you make one, in a nutshell? (I know it’s a lot harder than that!)
I think everyone’s pallet is different and you get some ‘cider drinkers’ that think some ciders are great and others that think they are not so great. For me a good cider is one with the right amount of tannins – and that is not too sharp and well balanced.
I often find the secondary fermentation is key for me – as this is the malolactic fermentation, which gives the right balance to the finished product. It gives it a honey characteristic.
Is there a particular style or distinguishing character of Welsh cider? And of your cider?
The soil here is very iron rich and fertile and apple trees love it. We therefore get very top quality fruit from the trees which in turn makes for a very good cider.
I read you say that if you weren’t making cider you’d be ‘driving around in an ice cream van serving my homemade ice-cream.’ – could you tell us a little more about that? Do you still make ice cream?
I’ve never made ice cream but it is one of my weaknesses… so if I wasn’t making cider I’d certainly start an ice cream company!
In terms of drink, and asides from your cider (of course!) – what else is good in Monmouthshire?
Ancre Hill Winery is just over the hill from us and they make excellent wines and sparkling wines. Penderyn Whiskey is also excellent which is just outside Monmouthshire.
By the end of the day are you sick of the smell and taste of cider or will you drink it on your ‘days off’ too? If so, what’s your favourite?
I have just produced a single variety blakeney red perry so I’ve been drinking that at the moment. It is very light and refreshing and a different taste to the ciders I make.
And what else might we find you drinking, asides from the cider of course?
I love wine! Red and white – especially Pinot Noir.
What’s a ‘day in your life’ like? Could you give us an insight into the craft cider business?
It depends on the time of year really. In the summer we supply lots of festivals so I’m normally tasting the ciders and making up bag in boxes and dropping them off to various places.
What’s your greatest/most memorable professional moment been, so far?
We have won 3 stars for our Vilberie Cider in the Great Taste Awards and it has also been picked as one of Britain’s Top 50 Foods out of 10000 products entered. This means we have been nominated for a prestigious Golden Fork Award to be announced in September.
Where do you get your ideas?
From my late stepfather, from sampling ciders and trying other drinks around the globe.
Where do you see the British cider scene going in the next few years?
I think it’s definitely growing and people are becoming more switched on to the craft cider scene. People are experimenting with flavours and apple varieties, which is fantastic.
Did you ever have a point where you knew it was working, or that you’d ‘made it’? Do you remember that point?
When you taste the cider after several months of it sitting in the barn and it tastes great then you know you are in for a good year. In terms of business we are still growing the business so I’ve not quite made it there yet!
What’s your philosophy, summed up in a sentence?
“The world is your oyster”
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had, how did you overcome it, and what did you learn from it?
Realising that people don’t always have the same view as you, accepting it and moving on.
Who’s the person who’s most inspired you in your work – food industry or otherwise? Is there anyone that you draw inspiration or strength from? Do you have any specific culinary influences?
My late step father Jimmy McConnel
I also love the work of Angela Hartnett & Rick Stein
What do you enjoy most and least about what you do?
Most: Tasting the cider
Least: Getting covered in apple juice when I’m pressing
What advice would you give to aspiring food entrepreneurs who’d want the kind of results that you’ve had?
Never give up and always persevere
If you could get anyone to try the cider (fictional or real, living or dead) who would you pick and which of said ciders would you like them to try? Assume that they go on to be your brand ambassador…
Valentine Warner to be our new ambassador. I love the way he thinks about food and drink
What’s your ultimate aim and goal for Apple County Cider Co?. If you could achieve anything with it, what would you pick? Money and reality are no obstacle, so shoot for the moon…
To be the best cider in the UK!
Where next for you and the business?
Building a new premises on the farm
And we always ask three customary ridiculous questions…
If, for some reason, you were forced to turn your business into a travel agency, what would you call it, what types of holidays and locations would you specialise in and what would your game plan be?
Don’t know – not thought about that one…
If you had to get into a no holds barred, 20 round fist fight with any fictional character, who would you square off against?
Voldemort.
If you had to have any character from Greek mythology come and work with you, who would you employ?
Demeter – Goddess of grain, agriculture and the harvest, growth and nourishment. So we would always have a great apple harvest with the highest quality fruit!
Image Credits: David Broadbent Photography