Autumn. It is the gateway to colder and darker days. It is the start of the pathway into winter. The long, warm days of summer are over and it is all downhill from here.
This is actually unfair. The very mixed and transitional season of Autumn, which almost has its own distinct phases, is dramatic, fruitful and beautiful. We often lament the loss of summer when Autumn arrives but in reality the weather can be just as pleasant and the countryside becomes cloaked in new garb that brings it to life all over again.
Before then there is the harvesting of all kinds of natural goodies and quite a lot of this is fruit, whether that is cultivated or wild. Autumn is probably the best forager's season thanks to the hedgerows being full of sloes, damsons, plums, crab apples, blackberries and so much more.
For us at Wych's Brew this season is dominated by apples as we take our own crop and hunt down others locally. We will probably press half a tonne of apples by the time we get to mid October, all of it for cider which has already started fermenting in large tubs. We are fortunate to have donations of crops from a number of local friends though it can be quite a job to pick them all. Our favoured approach is to lay down a tarpaulin and get shaking. It tends to be very effective and the children quite enjoy it too, though it is important to stand clear as a big apple landing on the head is not much fun.
From here the apples are washed, bagged and then go into the process of being crushed and pressed in large batches. For us Autumn and apples means Cheshire Gold cider - something to really look forward to. As the colours of the countryside change around us so we also turn the green apples into the gold of cider - embracing the movement through the seasons.
Happy Autumn everyone.
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