98 years, 4 generations, 24 acres, 12,000 bottles a day and 3 birds lead us to Somerst’s Perry Cider makers of the Perry’s Barn Owl Farm House Cider.
In 1920 a local blacksmith bought the farm in Somerset. He had a bit of a side hustle in cider making. A few years later the orchard was handed onto his nephews, Henry and Bert who kept up the cider making. More recently the family farm has come into the hand of Henry’s son John and Grandson, George. Much of the equipment in the cider house was installed in the 1950’s. It’s still pressing about 7 million pints of cider a year.

When you see the Barn Owl Farm House Cider on the shelf you’ll be struck by the classic post stamp style label. Working in collaboration with Tom Frost, a local screen- printing artist, Perrys have created a series of bottle labels showing off some of Britain’s iconic birds. The Barn Owl often nests in the type of old shed where the Farmhouse style cider was traditionally made.

Perry’s Barn Owl Farm House Cider is made from 100% apple juice and it’s all bitter sharps and bitter sweet apples including Dabinetts, Redstreaks, Porters Perfection, Michelin, Browns, and Tremletts, you know some of the classics and a couple of rarer apples.

Perry's Barn Owl Farm House Cider review
The product is kept simple, don’t muck around with it, no added water and fermented low and slow with wild yeasts.

The Nose

Sweet Marshmallow, dry straw. There’s just enough barnyard funk to let you know its proper English, not enough to turn you away

The Taste

This is very easy to drink with a medium sweetness that would be considered dry in today’s landscape of bastardized berry ciders. Very round and fruit forward, apples watermelon and what makes it easy to drink is the low acidity and warm baked apple flavours. After the apples’ residual sweetness glides off slightly into the night, all that is left behind is a chalky dryness.

Final Thoughts on Perry’s Barn Owl Farm House Cider

Perry’s take a modern approach their ciders. It is a traditional Somerset cider that is very drinkable. Go to a local CamRA event in Somerset and there will be a few gems but there will be some that are basically undrinkable with an off-putting taste. Yeah there must be a few people who like it or why would it be being made? Perry’s have made a craft cider that uses traditional apples and techniques that will have broad appeal. And isn’t that good for cider drinkers and good for the market?

Product Barn Owl Farm House Cider
Company Perry’s Somerset Real Cider
Sweetness Medium
Alc/Vol 6.5%
Website perryscider.co.uk
Country of Origin England
Region Somerset

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