Eastbourne man’s cider journey - from his mum’s shed to Italy

A self-proclaimed ‘cider provider’ from Eastbourne has gone from making alcohol in his mum’s shed at the age of 15 to selling it as far as Italy.

Matthew Billing, from Upperton Gardens, is the director of Ascension Cider and works alongside his dad Martyn in producing and exporting more than 30 different types of ciders from Ringden Farm, in Hurst Green.

Matt said, “When I was younger I used to go to punk and metal gigs but couldn’t get alcohol. So I took out a book from the library on fermenting and started making it myself in my mum’s shed.”

The company started in 2017, building a reputation by word-of-mouth about Matt’s production skill, and prides itself on using apples discarded by supermarkets which do not make the grade to be sold on shelves.

The 29-year-old said, “The apples are imperfect. They are deemed too red, too green, too big, too small.

“It is mad how many apples are in that kind of limbo area. They always produce amazing cider.

“The amount of apples that could be used is astronomical. It is absolutely shock and horror madness to me.

“These apples are 100 per cent fine but are not allowed on the supermarket shelves. We take these apples and make them into a product.”

Matt said the amount of different types of apples is what he loves about the job, as the product is constantly changing, and that the public’s reaction has been positive over the last three years.

Matt said, “This is what I love about it. It changes every time we make it. It is a good thing to show to the public.

“The number one thing I hear people say is ‘I don’t like cider but I like your cider’.”

The company says on its website it does not use any extra sugars or acids to adjust what nature gives them, they ‘roll with it’.

Matt said lockdown has been ‘weird’ but that the company is coming out of it ‘strong’ and he is looking forward to the future.

He said, “When lockdown happened we didn’t know what to do. We started canning our cider and the orders have been almost unmanageable. We have had an amazing reaction to the cans, so we are going to focus on them for now.

“I think more exports are going to be on the cards. We’re seeing some good reaction to our stuff in Europe. The reaction we have had in Italy has been huge.

“We are waiting for the UK to get back on its feet post-covid. We’ll be doing more experimentation.”

Matt said he is a ‘big advocate’ of pubs and that his products are available in the town at Bottle Grove, Levels Bottle Shop, The Belgian Cafe, The Stage Door and also online.

The third-generation hot air balloon pilot recommends Pilot, the company’s biggest selling cider; Wrath, which is made with red grapes and has a fruity taste to it; Hide in the Sky, which has a sour taste to it.

When asked what his mum thinks about the business now, Matt said both his parents are ‘proud’.

For more information, visit www.ascensioncider.co.uk

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.