21 Ryelands Street, Hereford, Herefordshire, England, Tel: +44 01432354207

Street View of The Cider Museum Hereford | Map of The Cider Museum Hereford location

Visit Hereford's famous Cider Museum and learn about the history of cider making - how the apples were milled and pressed and how the resulting juice was fermented to produce cider. Set in a former cider making factory, visitors can explore original cider champagne cellars and view cidermaking equipment, a cooper's workshop and a vat house. Listen to oral history recordings and view 19th century watercolours of cider apples and perry pears and appreciate the delicately engraved collection of English lead crystal cider glasses dating from the 18th century onwards. King Offa Distillery: Distilling- the process of heating a liquid until its more volatile constituents pass into vapour, and then cooling vapour to recover the distillate. The Cider Museum was granted a licence in 1984 by H.M. Customs and Excise to revive the craft of distilling cider. This was the first such licence to be granted in over 200 years and even now it is only one of two places making cider brandy in the British Isles. Cider Brandy is produced by distilling cider twice. The cider spirit is then matured in oak casks for a minimum of five years during which time the spirit loses its fire and gains its colour from the tannin found in the oak wood. The King Offa Distillery also produces Apple Aperitif and Cider Liqueur. Collections: The extensive collections include- cider mills and presses, paintings, old photographs and films, 18th and 19th c. printed pomonas, 18th century glass cider flutes, horn drinking vessels, casks, vats and cooper’s craft tools, company records and early commercial equipment, marketing and packaging items from 1900 onwards, apple brandy distillery equipment. Also oral histories and a research library. Shop: There is a shop at the entrance (not in Ryelands Street but on the road to Sainsbury's, Grimmer Road) which sells a wide range of local ciders, gifts, cards and books. You do not have to pay an entrance fee to use the shop. The Museum sells a range of local cider and perry and its own brandy, aperitif and liqueur, made on the premises and sold at a very reasonable price.....