Gwynt
Y Ddraig Cider started production in
the late autumn of 2001. Bill George
and Andrew 'Drew' Gronow embarked on
a cider making venture with one remit,
to make Cider using traditional methods.
There were no plans with what would
be done with the cider once made, apart
from being drunk that is, and it was
all very much approached as a hobby.
With
no real experience in the cider making
field, apples were picked and pressed
pretty much at random, and the resulting
juice was left to ferment in some old
oak casks. Surprisingly the resulting
cider wasn't half bad, although it was
strong enough to knock out a couple
of elephants! Many a person fell at
the hand of that first batch! Importantly
though, it gave them the cider bug.
Realising that they had no way of reproducing
the cider they had made due to the random
mixture of apples used, they decided
to take a more methodical approach.
From
then, they used apples recognised and
had information about their cider producing
properties.Through trial and error the
technique slowly evolved into the methods
used today. Still very much on a learning
curve Gwynt Y Ddraig continue to experiment
with traditional methods with an emphasis
placed on experimenting with apple blends
to produce new and unique flavours.
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