Heineken cheers record two billion apple harvest

Heineken uses 30% of all the apples grown in the UK

The drinks giant behind Strongbow and Bulmers ciders is toasting a record-breaking apple harvest.

Heineken, which uses 30 per cent of all the apples grown in the UK for its ciders, harvested and milled nearly two billion apples – some 128,000 tonnes – in 2015 at its mill in Ledbury, Herefordshire.

The group said that the record haul was down to the hundreds of farmers who work at the 10,000 acres of orchards from which it sources its apples.

Alexander Brinkerink, cider plant manager, said: “Our cider is down to the dedication and commitment of the hundreds of farmers who nurture, grow and harvest the bittersweet apples we need for the distinctive taste of Strongbow and Bulmers.”

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Heineken, which took over Scottish & Newcastle’s UK drinks operation in 2008, claimed that if they were placed on top of one another, the two billion apples would reach the International Space Station and back 100 times.