I’d been tasting cider straight from the barrel for a good fifteen minutes with James and Susanna Forbes, the founders of Little Pomona Cider & Perry. It had been an eye-opening education in apple varieties and flavour profiles, my mouth puckering from dryness one minute, to being drenched in sweetness the next. I watch an oversized pipette reach into a barrel and draw out more cider to taste, impatient for it to fill my glass. Colours range from golden hour yellow to deep burnt orange, the complexities and deviations opening my mind. This was an awakening.

We take the short drive back to James and Susana’s house making a stop at the pub en route. Despite this being our first meeting they welcomed me into their home like an old friend, with hospitality to match. They both wear broad smiles and speak softly, but each word—much like what they have planned for Little Pomona—is thoughtful and considered. We spent the evening tasting more ciders and talking late into the evening until my head was fuzzy.

The couple met while working for wine retail chain Oddbins many years ago. Fuelled by a passion for fermentation both went on to pursue a career in wine—something that has shaped their approach to cider. James made his way through the commercial wine trade in marketing and buying roles where he found winemakers to be the most fascinating people in the trade; he loved to hear them talk about fruit, what they were doing and why they were doing it.

Susanna went into wine publishing and tourism, which led her to set up Drink Britain in 2010: a website dedicated to drinks tourism in the UK. Driven by a joint desire to make and create something with their true interest laying in fermented fruits, they talked about the possibilities of producing English wine, starting a distillery, or maybe even a brewery. But, by a twist of fate—or luck as they both refer to it—on a trip to Herefordshire for Drink Britain, that all changed.

Prior to visiting Herefordshire, James had little interest in cider until a fateful meeting with renowned cider and perrymaker Tom Oliver. The genesis for James was a 2011 dry vintage cider that he found slightly wine-like and thought, “maybe there’s something here.” For Susanna it was finding what she describes as “the amazing world of cider,” with complexities in Herefordshire cider she hadn’t found before, and realising there was a gap in the market.

***

Our next day together started slowly. Coffee, sourdough and scrambled eggs followed by a tour of the orchard with James, a stone’s throw from their back door. The branches barren after a long, wet winter, stretching up towards the sky in need of pruning in preparation for reawakening in the spring.

The quality of apples is crucial to James and Susanna. With their cider, they want to let the apples speak and share their story of the land, the seasons and of the harvest. Their approach to cider is natural, with as little interference as possible, allowing the flavours to speak for themselves. This is why they dedicated two years between 2012-14 looking for the perfect piece of land to establish their cidery and why they kept coming back to Herefordshire. Susanna likens Herefordshire to Bordeaux “a real place of quality, the terroir, the community, the heritage.” When they found their orchard, with house and land attached, they just knew.

In yet another twist of fate, the previous owner of the land was a friend of Tom Oliver’s and supplied him with apples, one of the many strings that bind them. “The mix of fruit off the orchard made great cider,” Tom says. “So it had been planted by someone who knew what they were about. Long story short, Steve Everitt [the previous owner] had to sell and James and Susanna had to buy. Thus Little Pomona was born.”

Since their initial meeting, and James’ taste of that 2011 Vintage, Tom has become a mentor. “We get reality and pragmatism from Tom,” Susanna tells me. Initially their business plan saw them releasing their first cider two years after the first harvest but Tom told them to “give the cider more time.” He helped them to rework their business plan to allow time for the cider to mature and to only release it when it was ready. Tom has a slightly different take on his mentorship “They mistakenly thought that I could assist them in the formative early days,” he says “but I think they already knew what they were about and they certainly bought wisely.”

““In principle cider is relatively simple to make, but can take a lifetime to perfect.””

— Susanna Forbes, Little Pomona

As we stroll around the orchard James points out the pool of rainwater in the far corner, a remnant of February 2020’s devastating Storm Dennis. He says they keep that corner free of trees as they would drown in wet seasons. The clay soil holds enough water to nourish the trees but also provides drainage, just not quite enough at the bottom of a slope. This natural drainage system and the trees' strong roots have helped them weather the recent storms, but only time will tell the impact on this year’s harvest.

On our way back to the house we pay a visit to the double garage sized shed that was the beginnings of Little Pomona, and still holds some full demijohns waiting to be moved to the new premises and old equipment. Having grown steadily, this shed soon became too small for them. Last year they had to enlist the help of Simon Day—owner of another local cidery, Once Upon a Tree—to house their 2,000 litre overflow of cider which he was more than happy to do.

Community is a word that comes up regularly in our conversations and Susanna is keen to admit it was a big draw for them moving to Herefordshire. Simon himself owes a lot to the local community for Once Upon a Tree’s beginnings and success, everyone seems keen to pay it forward. “It is a friendly industry, and on the whole, cidermakers are keen to see the whole category succeed, communication and sharing of knowledge is key,” he tells me. “In recent years, I think that sharing of knowledge and support has grown even further.”

Herefordshire has a rich cider history, being the birthplace of the now Heineken-owned Bulmers in 1887, and the county continues to play a large role in UK cider. Mike Johnson, founder of Ross on Wye Cider and Perry, has been making cider in Herefordshire since the early 80s. Back then there were just a handful of artisanal cidermakers, which made it easy for them to be connected. He’s since seen the community grow exponentially.

“As the amount of producers increased there has always been this openness,” Mike tells me. “I've always seen new cidermakers as a good thing as there's so few of us and so few people who know about real cider.”

This sentiment is echoed by his son Albert. “When new cidermakers, who are genuine and interested in making a real product appear, then there is a recognition that nurturing them and seeing them get established is going to benefit all of us,” he says. “Craft cider is something like 2% of all cider in the UK, which is 5% of all alcohol. We can afford to have more makers coming.”

***

After another coffee James, Susanna and I take the scenic route over to the new premises, stopping in at the damson orchard that supplies Little Pomona. As we approach Brook House Farm, where James and Susanna’s new production space is located I notice a European flag—a nod to the EU funding that James and Susanna secured to expand into this new building. They were lucky to find Will Kirby, owner of Brook House Farm (which also grows and sells hops), who shares a lot of their values, and has offered them a supportive place for their business to grow.

A stark contrast to the old shed on their own property, the new building is constructed of corrugated green metal and towers above the surrounding fields. It’s a far cry from the 4,500 litre capacity of their previous site. This new space offers the potential to produce 75,000 litres per year with the aim to put out 35,000 litres in 2020.

“This is the really exciting bit, it’s like your horizons are expanding,” Susanna exclaims. Down one side sits the press and silver fermentation tanks and the other white plastic crates holding cider that is maturing. In the middle is an abundance of barrels: whisky, bourbon, cognac, rum, Burgundy, Chardonnay, Chianti and Bordeaux.

For James and Susanna—who are fascinated by the complexities of taste and flavour—this is their playground. James aims to produce cider “[that] should be drunk to enjoy, like really fine wine, really drinkable but complex and balanced”. With the larger space James’ intention is not to fill it, rather to “try and make better, more interesting cider.”

Their recently acquired pneumatic press gives them more flexibility with macerations (the softening and breaking down of apple or pear skins) and efficiency in pressing and juice extraction, jumping from 65% on their old twin pack press to 80%. This process is important to cider making as it can help reduce tannins and aids the release of juice when fruit is pressed. Every few hours the new press will turn automatically, breaking up the pomace, enabling a greater level of maceration. The ability to leave pomace in the press to be left overnight to rehydrate has also enabled them to make ciderkin—a low ABV cider or perry, equivalent to what a winemaker might call a piquette.

Little Pomona’s new space allows for even more barrels, and they are looking to double the amount they already own by next year. James wants to continue to experiment with different types of fruit, including quince and damsons which they already use, but next year he plans to introduce grapes. All the while they’re working to steadily improve quality but always with a focus on making “things that people like.” Susanna adds “In principle cider is relatively simple to make, but can take a lifetime to perfect.” It’s obvious they’re in it for the long haul.

In this new building an on-site tasting room was of real importance to them. On my visit, it’s still a building site, but they have big plans for the space that overlooks the orchard. Susanna is determined that cider should be enjoyed by a wider audience—perhaps to a similar level as craft beer—but is keen to point out that there “needs to be a demand, there is a lot of work to do. There needs to be a shift in perceptions.”

Little Pomona’s future tasting room will not only be a place to come and try their cider, see the cidery and amble in the orchard, but also a place where they host classes and work to change perceptions, helping to get great cider in more restaurants, bars and pubs. James and Susanna’s dedication and excitement for cider resonate deeply within me, and I have no doubt that those who visit Little Pomona will leave with a new appreciation for cider and perry, just as I did.

The team at Pellicle were deeply saddened to hear about the death of Susanna Forbes, who passed away on the 15th September 2024. Susanna was a passionate and curious advocate for cider, but above all she was our friend, and we will miss her dearly.