b'Two BlokesCider HouseRulesSometimes, inspiration can strikeI ordered cider, he remembers.toimaginehowtomakeoursmall at the most unlikely time. It tasted like cider Id had at homefamily farm remain viable in todays VacationingintheU.K.,Mattfrom a neighbours farm. environment.I wanted to open new Somervilledidsomethingtrivial,An idea germinated. avenues.A cidery was the perfect ad-which many travellers do: he stoppedIm afth-generation farmer, hedition to the livestock and crops we at a nearby pub for a drink.Mattsexplains.I work as an urban plan- already had.beverage of choice would changener but my heart is in on the farm. Matt returned to Britain to learn his life. In my early 20s, I startedthe ins and outs of cider making, both theproductitselfandthebusiness side of the equation.Nowformallyeducatedinthe craft, Matt and his business partner Andy Paul set the wheels in motion back home on the familys 125-acre farm.Weneededabuildingonthe propertytohousethecidery,soI kickedmyfatheroutoftheimple-ment shed, he laughs.Their newly appropriated place of business was a mere shell with a dirtoor.But it was a start.And so was the catchy name the pair created for the enterprise: Two Blokes Cider.Ciders a very popular drink in theU.K.,andblokeisacommon word there for a guy.So Two Blokes seemed like a natural.The division of responsibilities fell into place just as naturally.Mybackgroundismechanical engineering,Andysays.Somy role centred on the machinery: setting it up, keeping it humming.But a good idea, a place to set up their business, and two blokes enthu-siasm would not be enough to begin production yet, as Andy explains.Not all apples make the best ci-der.We had to import the trees we wanted from Europe.In2015,ninevarietieshadbeen planted.We werent ready to make cider yet, because the trees needed to ma-Two Blokes ture, Matt explains.That process Andy Paul and Matt Somerville. tookve years before we could har-vest fruit and begin production.Please turn to page 12FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 202111'