ellis bitter

Ellis Bitter is an early-fall, English bittersweet cider cultivar that originated in Newton St Cyres, Devon, England. We originally imported our Ellis Bitter though APHIS thinking incorrectly that it was Broxwood Foxwhelp (H47925A4). That has now been cleared up by DNA profiling. Despite the fact that Ellis Bitter is fairly commonly in the US, we decided to keep ours in the orchard. (The Ellis Bitter generally available elsewhere in the US is probably correct.)

Because it ripens in early fall, Ellis can be useful to cider-makers who look to add bitterness to early season pressings. The large, conic fruit is red-blushed and red-striped, mildly bitter, sweet, astringent, crisp and juicy. The tree is fast-growing, large, upright, rangy, open, vigorous, and productive. We grafted a tree at The Apple Farm in Fairfield in about 2010. That tree has been bearing for a number of years, every other year. We recently added it to our orchard in Palermo, although it is not yet bearing. Currently growing at Super Chilly Farm.