Apple amnesty offers cider in return for fruit

A Scottish cider maker is willing to swap ripe apples for cans of its product.

Thistly Cross has announced its 2018 Apple Exchange, seeking to rediscover any overlooked, abandoned or neglected local apple trees.

Looking for donations of ripe apples to hand-press into juice, which will then be matured into their famous cider, they’re offering to swap those apple donations (over 7kg) for Thistly Cross’ newest 330ml cans of ‘straight from the Cidershed’ cider.

Some lucky beer-lovers may also be able to swap their apples for lager, to celebrate Eyeball Brewing’s new premises at the Thistly Cross site.

Apples (and pears) can be dropped off at: Belhaven Smokehouse, Thistly Cross Roundabout, Dunbar, EH42 1ST just off the A1 – from 10am-4pm (please avoid lunchtime if possible), 7 days a week.

Head cidermaker Peter Stuart, emphasised the company’s ambition to find as many local apples as possible, encouraging donations both large and small. He said: ‘The Exchange will run for a number of weeks so there’s plenty of time for apples to reach proper ripeness.

‘One of the things that make Thistly Cross Cider so unique is its blend of Scottish heritage apples, hand-pressed at our Cidershed in the heart of East Lothian – continuing a proud tradition of using apples grown across the country from a wide range of sources, including local schools, professional apple growers, estate and farm owners and the general public.’

In previous years, the ‘Bucket for a Bottle’ scheme has resulted in hundreds of tonnes of apples, and Thistly are hoping to top that with this year’s #apples4cider campaign.

Based in the heart of East Lothian, Thistly Cross was established in 2008 as a collaboration between farmer, Ian Rennie, and artist-turned-cidermaker, Peter Stuart, and has rapidly gained a growing reputation for making ciders that people love.

Further details are available HERE.