From the Living Museum
Brown Snout
- Origin
- Herefordshire, England
- Era
- 19th c. or earlier
- Type / use
- Cider (Bittersweet)
Portrait to be revealed
History & Stories
Classic English bittersweet cider apple, documented by the 19th century. Medium, often russeted fruit high in tannin. Unique as a traditional component of genuine West Country cider — the kind of variety that gives English cider its characteristic astringent backbone.
Folklore & Name
Classic English bittersweet; the ‘brown snout’ refers to the russeted stem end. Authentic West Country cider variety.
Digging into the History
Below my own notes, here is what the old fruit books and today’s collections record about this apple, kept apart from the stories people tell.
What we know
The UK National Fruit Collection says Brown Snout is "thought to have originated in Herefordshire" and was "known to have been in existence in the mid 1800s." It is late flowering and "moderately biennial," with small to medium fruit that "produces a bittersweet, average mild to medium cider" 1.
What we think: stories & traditions
What's in the name? We haven't found a written account of the name. The likeliest explanation is the patch of brown russet that often spreads around the eye of the fruit, its "snout." That's our guess from the fruit's appearance, not a recorded fact.
Like many Herefordshire farm cider apples, Brown Snout seems to have been grown for generations without anyone writing down who first found it. Its late flowering would have helped it escape spring frosts in the valleys, which may be part of why farmers kept it 1.
Sources
- UK National Fruit Collection, "Brown Snout." www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=790&fruit=apple
Curious about Brown Snout?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.