Reviews and press
Country Living, 9-page feature, November 2024
"You all know Tom and Lydia" said Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall at Hay festival last Summer, handing a glass of Artistraw cider to his co-speaker the health guru Tim Spector...
Hereford and Monmouthshire Living, Pressing Ahead, March 2024
Natural cider makers Tom Tibbits and Lydia Crimp are the toast of apple orchards across Herefordshire...
One producer whose transparency is increasingly unimpeachable is Herefordshire’s Artistraw. They’ve long been a favourite here on Cider Review, with their range of natural, full-juice ciders playing around with various varieties, often little-seen Herefordshire apples...
Drinks Retailing, Craft Work, March 2024
"Small batch, natural cider has the capacity to become the drink of choice for the sustainability concious consumer interested in high-quality, wine-like drinks" says Lydia Crimp of Artistraw Cider...
Waitrose Weekly, A warm welcome to cider country, 8th June 2023
Four years ago Tom Tibbits and Lydia Crimp planted a small orchard full of rare varieties perched high on a hill above Hay-on-Wye...
Pellicle,Turn, Turn, Turn — Herefordshire’s Artistraw Cider and The Circle Unbroken, 8th February, 2023
Pagan and Celtic traditions have for a long time captivated Lydia Crimp and Tom Tibbits of Herefordshire’s Artistraw Cider. They’ve even started marking each season with their own series of ciders called ‘The Circle Unbroken’ to celebrate this...
Woman and Home, Harvest Holidays, October 2022
Herefordshire's rich biodiverse orchards provide the raw ingredients for artisan cider wizards Tom and Lydia of Artistraw...
Hereford Times, How Herefordshire is trying to save special cider trees, 12th March 2022
A rare pear tree has been donated to a local cider company to safeguard the varieties' future.
Mayor of Hereford Coun Paul Stevens presented a new Holmer Perry Pear tree to Artistraw Cidery and Orchard in Clifford, near Hay-on-Wye on Monday.
Cider Review, 'Four Ciders by Artistraw', 17th May 2021
Artistraw have knocked it out of the park with this flight. Not just the best set of new Artistraw releases I can remember, but one of the most consistently excellent flights of ciders I’ve tasted for this blog.
Cider Review, Behind the Bar with CiderWomen' 21st October 2020
The group just celebrated their first birthday, and I was lucky enough to sit down (over Zoom) with Elizabeth Pimblett and committee members; Cath Potter, Fiona Matthews, Isy Schulz, Hannah Barton and Lydia Crimp. We discussed how the group was formed, how their first year had gone and the effects that the global pandemic is having on cider making.
Cider Review, 'A visit to Artistraw Cidery', 12th September 2020
“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by sceptics or cynics … we need men who can dream of things that never were, and ask why not” John F. Kennedy.
The Hardwicke Brook’s phosphate levels are too high, and the potatoes have blight this year. The cauliflowers are in revolt for some reason and there’s a press that needs rebuilding. But it’s ok. Tom and Lydia are on it....
Cider UK, 'Sustainability sits at the heart of Craftcon', 4th March 2020
“With 60% of the world’s cider produced in the UK, we are uniquely vulnerable to changes which affect the viability of orchards in the UK, both from a climatic and commercial perspective,” said programme chair Tom Tibbits of Artistraw Cider. “In uncertain times, fostering a resilient and vibrant industry founded on genuine sustainability will ensure future generations also inherit our ancient yet robustly modern cider culture".
