454: Wild Ferment Meets Fine Cider: Inside Oliver's Barrel Room

454: Wild Ferment Meets Fine Cider: Inside Oliver's Barrel Room

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist April 9, 2025 Duration: 1:02:43
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Rainy Days Goes Best with Dry Cider in the Barrel Room

Walking into the barrel room at Oliver's Cider and Perry Company, you might think you know what to expect. But surrounded by whitewashed stone walls, standing beneath the old Hessian sacking floor, and facing rows of aging barrels, I quickly realized this wasn't just a cidery—it's a living, breathing creative space for cider making.

Cider Chat Ep 454 Tom outside the barrel room at Olivers 200x300

Tom Oliver sources fruit both from his farm and from local orchards across Herefordshire. This isn't an estate cidery where everything is grown on-site—but what sets Oliver's cider and perry apart is Tom himself. A master blender with an instinct for balance, he brings character to every bottle. And while the farm may not produce every apple, it certainly imparts its own terroir through the land, the barns, and the quiet, purposeful rhythm of the work.

Cider Chat Ep 454 Tom and Ria at Oliver's Cider and Perry 200x300
Tom and Ria

In this Cider Chat

Blending Tradition with Innovation

  • Tom is now experimenting with distillation: apple brandy, pommeau-style blends, and barrel-aged perry into brandy too!
  • He's careful with naming, refusing to call something a "Pommeau" unless it honors French tradition.
  • Barrels sourced from rum, sherry, port, bourbon, and white wine shape each unique blend.

Tasting in the Barrel Room

Cider Chat Ep 454 Tom in the barrel room
In the barrel room

We tasted perries straight from the barrel—some from single ancient trees, others blended with gin pears or red pear varieties. Each sip revealed:

  • Confectionary sweetness
  • Banana, melon, pineapple notes
  • Mellow malolactic fermentation

This isn't a showpiece cidery as Tom puts it, "It's a working farm", evolving from a hop yard and now cider. Tom calls it "just a part of the agricultural calendar." No pretense, just purpose.

Tom Oliver straddles the line between tradition and experimentation with ease. Whether it's a single-varietal showcase or a spirit-kissed blend, the goal remains the same: make cider that speaks of time, place, and people.

Contact info for Oliver's Cider and Perry Co.

Mentions in this Cider Chat


There’s a whole world in a glass of cider, and Cider Chat is your invitation to explore it. Hosted by award-winning cidermaker and writer Ria Windcaller, this podcast travels far beyond the bottle to meet the people who make the global cider culture so vibrant. Each conversation is a journey-you might find yourself in a heritage orchard learning the history of forgotten apple varieties, in a bustling taproom with an importer explaining regional traditions, or in a kitchen with a chef pairing cider with unexpected foods. The discussions get into the delightful nuances, too, whether that’s the semantics of what we even call this drink or how the concept of terroir translates from soil to sip. It’s not just about production; it’s about the community, the travel, and the stories that fermentation unlocks. This is for anyone curious about the craft, history, and sheer enjoyment of fermented apple juice in all its forms. So, pour a glass and settle in for a series that feels like a wide-ranging, informative, and genuinely good-humored chat with friends who happen to be obsessed with cider. You’ll come away with a deeper appreciation for every effervescent, tart, or sweet sip, hearing directly from the growers, makers, and enthusiasts who are shaping this drink’s exciting present and future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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