Aston Manor Cider (also Aston Manor and formerly Aston Manor Brewery) is a former
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
and current cider maker and bottling company in Aston,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
, England. Having started out as a
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
brewery, the company now produces exclusively cider and
perry
Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...
. In 2008 it was the third largest cider company in the UK by market share, and the fourth largest in the world. In August 2018 Aston Manor cider was acquired by French co-operative
Agrial
Agrial is a French agricultural cooperative and food-processor with operations in dairy, beef, poultry, vegetables and fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flower ...
.
Management
It was managed by Peter Ellis, son of Doug Ellis,} until 2013, when Gordon Johncox took over as managing director. Peter Ellis remained as executive chairman until his death in December 2017. Peter's son, James Ellis, is financial director. Cider production director is Rod Clifford.
Products
Its products include the Frosty Jack's brand of white cider, Kingstone Press Cider, Friels First Press Vintage and Hop Infused Cider Knights Malvern Gold, Crumpton Oaks and 3 Hammers.
In 2017, the business won 29 awards for its products and manufacturing.
History
The company was formed in 1981 by four former employees of
Ansells
Ansells Brewery was a regional brewery founded in Aston, Birmingham, England in 1858. It merged with Taylor Walker and Ind Coope in 1961 to form Allied Breweries. The brewery remained in operation until 1981, after which production transferred ...
, after Ansells closed its Aston Cross brewery. A new brewery was opened in nearby Thimble Mill Lane. In 1984,
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
hop farmer Michael Hancocks, one of the company's suppliers, bought into the business. By 1998, Aston Manor was reporting profits of over £1million, with 70% of its sales being cider. Because of a slump in the market and strong competition, by 2001 profits had fallen to £740,500, but by 2009 had risen to over £3 million, due to a large rise in demand in the UK. In 2009 the company took over the Devon Cider Company, based in
Tiverton, Devon
Tiverton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the Mid Devon district. The population in 2019 was 20,587.
History Early history
The town's name is conjectured to derive from "Twy-fo ...
and has expanded the manufacturing facilities on that site.
In spring 2013 the company planted of 1,000 acres of new orchards, using 350,000 trees, on sites in
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
and Herefordshire.
In the autumn of 2013, a new fruit processing and pressing facility was added in Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire.
In July 2014 the company moved to a new head office and logistics facility adjacent to the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at ...
at Witton in Birmingham.
In August 2018 Aston Manor cider was acquired by French co-operative
Agrial
Agrial is a French agricultural cooperative and food-processor with operations in dairy, beef, poultry, vegetables and fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flower ...
.
Industrial sabotage plot
In 2001, Michael Hancocks, then managing director and a major shareholder with 12% of the shares, and whose family owned 44% of Aston Manor, organized a conspiracy to contaminate the cider products of the company's rival, H. P. Bulmer. He recruited a former Aston Manor employee, chemist Richard Gay, to produce a yeast that he planned to introduce into Bulmer's production line, recruited his daughter's partner, Paul Harris, to transport the contaminant, and paid a Bulmer's employee, Russell Jordan, £16,000 to introduce the contaminant. Jordan did not introduce the contaminant, but reported the plot to Bulmers and to the police, and the plot was foiled. If the plot had succeeded, anyone drinking the contaminated cider would have suffered diarrhoea and nausea. Following his conviction for conspiracy to defraud, Hancocks was jailed for 18 months and dismissed from the board of Aston Manor.