It’s been a golden year for Batlow’s The Apple Thief, which scored multiple medals and three best-in-class wins at the 2025 Australian Cider Awards. Photo: The Apple Thief.
The Apple Thief’s 2025 harvest of accolades at the Australian Cider Awards has marked a milestone for the Batlow-based maker, elevating the regional cidery onto the national stage.
With its Red Moon Rose and William Pear ciders securing major wins, topping their respective classes and drawing praise for their balance, clarity and orchard-forward character, there were also plaudits for a new kid on their block, The Apple Thief Ice Cider.
It’s produced using cryoextraction – which means leaving apples to freeze naturally on the trees during the winter, then picking them while frozen and pressing them to extract a concentrated, sweet juice which concentrates its natural sweetness and complex flavours.
The resulting cider – golden in colour, with notes of honeyed fruit, caramel, and tight acidity, and marketed as a dessert-style cider – also impressed judges, picking up a strong medal result and attention for its purity and depth of flavour.
The medals didn’t stop there. The Apple Thief also took home silver medals for its Pink Lady Cider, Granny Smith Cider and Braeburn Gala Cloudy Cider and scored bronzes with its Kingston Black and Apple and Lemon Myrtle ciders.
For founders Dave and Mel Purcell and their team, the recognition carries symbolic weight.
Batlow was devastated by the 2019–2020 bushfires, with orchards scorched and the town’s apple-driven economy thrown into turmoil.
In the face of this crippling disaster – what did Dave and Mel do? With their young family in tow, they relocated from the Southern Highlands to the Snowy Valleys, bringing their cider business with them.
For Dave, it was a return to his farming roots – the third generation of his family to make a living from the land – as they took over the old Wilgro Orchards on Batlow Road.
But his vision for The Apple Thief went beyond production.
Drawing on more than a decade of cider-making experience, Dave planned to build a local tourism destination that celebrated Batlow’s unique apples and craft ciders, giving visitors a taste of the region and its stories.
The move marked not just a physical return home, but a bold step in shaping the future of his business and the local cider industry.
Their philosophy is simple: no concentrates, no shortcuts – just orchard-grown apples that let the flavour of the land shine.
The 2025 awards confirm a cidery at the top of its game, excelling across styles from crisp, easy-drinking pours to rich, contemplative creations.
A key element of this new era is The Apple Thief Cider House which opened in May 2025 on Batlow Road.
The building is lined with reclaimed alpine ash timber milled after the fires – a tactile reminder of renewal.
Offering an orchard-to-glass experience with the full range on tap – including seasonal and limited releases – it has quickly become a local drawcard, supporting jobs, tourism, and Batlow’s hospitality scene.
For Purcell, the wins aren’t simply a triumph of craft — they’re a proof of concept.
They show that Batlow’s apples, long regarded as some of the finest eating fruit in the country, can command equal respect in fermented form.
As The Apple Thief prepares for a busy summer of visitors, the message from Batlow is clear: cider made well, with genuine connection to fruit and place, can stand confidently among the nation’s best.
