'Cider' (
IPA: ) is an
alcoholic beverage made from the
fermented juice of
apples mainly, though
pears are also used
[1]; in the UK, pear cider is known as "
perry". While any species of
maloideae may be used, certain
cultivar are preferred in some regions, and may be known as
cider apples.
In the
United States and parts of
Canada, where the term "cider" almost exclusively refers to non-alcoholic
apple juice (
apple cider), the phrase 'hard cider' is used to denote the fermented version.
The drink varies in
alcoholic content from less than 3% in
Cidre Doux to a maximum of around 8%, and appears golden yellow and sometimes cloudy.
Cider is very popular in the
United Kingdom, especially in
South West England, in comparison to other countries. The UK has the highest per capita consumption as well as the largest cider producing companies in the world
[2] including
H. P. Bulmer, the largest
[3]. The drink is also popular and traditional in
Brittany and
Normandy (
France), in
Ireland and
Asturias (''sidra''). Pear cider is popular in
Sweden. The drink is making a resurgence in both Europe and the United States
[4]. Overall, the UK produces five million
hectolitres (110 million imperial
gallons) of cider per year.
Types of cider
Cider comes in a variety of
tastes, from sweet to dry, although flavour differs enormously within these descriptions. The appearance of cider ranges from very dark, cloudy and sludgy through to very crisp, clean and golden yellow, and with the most processed, almost entirely clear. The varying
colours and appearances are generally as a result of how much of the apple material is removed between pressing and
fermentation. Sparkling cider is most common, but still version is also made.
Modern, mass-produced ciders are generally heavily processed and resemble
sparkling wine in appearance. More traditional brands tend to be darker and cloudier, as less of the apple is filtered out. They are often stronger than processed varieties, tasting more strongly of apples.
'White cider' is made by processing cider after the traditional milling process is complete, resulting in a nearly colourless product. This processing allows the manufacturer to produce strong (typically 7-8% ABV) cider cheaply, quickly, and on an industrial scale.
Brands of white cider include
White Lightning,
Three Hammers,
Polaris and
Frosty Jack's.
More detail about the various types of cider by region can be found under the
country headings below.
Cider production
Scratting and pressing
Most cider is made industrially nowadays, although traditional methods still survive. In this picture the layers of pomace are wrapped in canvas.
Apples grown for consumption are suitable for cider making, though some regional cider-makers prefer to use a mix of eating and
cider apples (as in
Kent,
England), or exclusively cider apples (as in the
West Country, England). There are many hundreds of varieties of cultivars developed specifically for cidermaking.
Once the apples are gathered from trees in
orchards they are "scratted" (ground down) into what is called "
pomace" or "pommage". Historically this was done using pressing stones with circular troughs, or by a cider mill. Cider mills were traditionally driven by the hand, water-mill, or horse-power. In modern times they are likely to be powered by electricity. The pulp is then transferred to the cider "press", where the pommage is pressed and formed by pressure into a kind of cake, which is called the "cheese".
Traditionally the method for squeezing the juice from the cheese involves placing clear, sweet straw or hair cloths between the layers of pomace. This will usually alternate with slatted ash-wood racks, until there is a pile of ten or twelve layers. It is important to minimise the time that the pomace is exposed to air in order to keep oxidation to a minimum. The cheese needs to be constructed evenly, or the whole pile slithers onto the floor.
This pile is then subjected to different degrees of pressure in succession, until all the 'must' or juice is squeezed from the pomage. This juice, after being strained in a coarse hair-sieve, is then put into either open vats or closed casks. The pressed pulp is given to farm animals as winter feed, composted or discarded, or used to make liqueurs
[5].
Fermentation
Fermentation is best effected at a temperature of 4 to 16
°C (40 to 60
°F). This is low for most kinds of fermentation, but works for cider as it leads to slower fermentation with less loss of delicate aromas.
Shortly before the fermentation consumes all the sugar, the liquor is "racked" into new vats. This leaves dead yeast cells and other undesirable material at the bottom of the old vat. At this point it becomes important to exclude airborne acetic bacteria, so care is taken to fill the vat completely, and the fermenting of the remaining available sugar generates a small amount of carbon dioxide that helps to prevent air seeping in. This also creates a certain amount of sparkle, and sometimes extra sugar, such as white cane sugar, is added at this stage for this purpose and also to raise the alcohol level. Racking is sometimes repeated if the liquor remains too cloudy.
Homebrewers can use elaborate 55 gallon plastic drums. More simply they use a 2 or 3 liter bottle of pasteurized store bought preservative free apple juice, add a touch of yeast (wine yeast ideally), and replace the cap after drilling a small snug hole for an airlock. For larger batches of hard cider, using a culligan water jug works with the addition of a rubber stopper, or even a garbage bag, to keep the system sealed. However, the use of a glass carboy is preferred, since the plastic jugs can affect the taste severely. The cider may then be racked by careful pouring and bottled with 3 tsp. of raw sugar into a 2 liter pop bottle to secondarily ferment for carbonation. Apple based juices with cranberry also make fine ciders; and many other fruit purees or flavorings can be used, such as grape, cherry, and raspberry.
The cider is ready to drink after a three month fermentation period, though more often it is matured in the vats for up to two or three years.
[6]
Blending and bottling
For larger-scale cider production, ciders from vats produced from different varieties of apple may be blended to accord with market taste. If the cider is to be bottled, usually some extra sugar is added for sparkle. Higher quality ciders can be made using the
champagne method, but this is expensive in time and money and requires special corks, bottles, and other equipment. Some home brewers use beer bottles, which work perfectly well, and inexpensively. This allows the cider to become naturally carbonated.
Health
Conventional apple cider has a relatively high concentration of
phenolics and
antioxidants which may be helpful for preventing heart disease, cancer, and other ailments
[1]. This is, in part, because apples themselves have a decent concentration of phenolics in them to begin with.
It can be very acidic and contain high sugar levels. Excessive consumption can therefore erode the
tooth enamel rapidly.
Cider festivals
A Cider Festival is a large event promoting cider (and usually
perry, a similar drink made from
pears). A variety of ciders and perries will be available for tasting and buying. A limited selection of other drinks, such as beer and soft drinks, is often available too. Some festivals are put on by cider-promoting private organizations , others by
pubs, and still others by cider producers themselves.
Uses of cider
A distilled spirit,
apple brandy, is made from cider. Its best known forms are
Calvados and
applejack. Applejack is a strong alcoholic beverage made in North America by concentrating cider, either by the traditional method of "
freeze distillation", or by true evaporative
distillation. In traditional freeze distillation, a barrel of cider is left outside during the winter. When the temperature is low enough, the water in the cider starts to freeze. If the ice is removed, the (now more concentrated) alcoholic solution is left behind in the barrel. If the process is repeated often enough, and the temperature is low enough, the alcohol concentration is raised to 30–40% alcohol by volume. In freeze distillation,
methanol and
fusel oil, which are natural fermentation byproducts, may reach harmful concentrations. These toxins can be separated when regular heat distillation is performed. Home production of applejack is illegal in most countries.
A popular
aperitif in Normandy is ''
pommeau''—a drink produced by blending unfermented cider and apple brandy in the barrel (the high alcoholic content of the spirit stops the fermentation process of the cider and the blend takes on the character of the aged barrel).
Cocktails may include cider. Besides kir and
snakebite, an example is
Black Velvet in a version of which cider may replace champagne, usually referred to as a "Poor Man's Black Velvet".
A few producers in
Quebec have developed "
ice cider" (French: ''cidre de glace''), sometimes called "apple ice wine"), inspired from
ice wines, where the apples are naturally frozen either before or after harvest. The alcohol concentration of ice cider is 9–13%.
Related drinks
Other fruits can be used to make cider-like drinks. The most popular is
perry, known in France as ''poiré'' and produced mostly in Normandy, which is made from fermented
pear-juice. A branded sweet perry known as
Babycham, marketed principally as a women's drink and sold in miniature Champagne-style bottles, was once popular but has now become unfashionable. Another related drink is
cyser (cider fermented with honey).
Although not widely made in modern times, various other
pome fruits can produce palatable drinks.
Apicius, in Book II of
De Re Coquinaria, includes a recipe calling for
quince cider.
Another similar drink is
plum jerkum, made from fermented
plums, traditional of
Warwickshire in the English Midlands. It is said that it "left the head clear while paralysing the legs". The
Warwickshire Drooper plum from which it is traditionally brewed is now uncommon, which explains the rarity of the drink.
Peach juice can be fermented into "peachy".
Cider by country
Before the development of rapid long-distance transportation, regions of cider consumption generally coincided with regions of cider production: that is, areas with apple orchards. For example, R. A. Fletcher notes that in the ''Liber Sancti Jacobi'', cider was said to be more common than wine in
12th-century Galicia.
Argentina
In
Argentina, cider, or ''sidra'' is by far the most popular alcoholic carbonated drink during the
Christmas and New Year holidays. It has traditionally been considered the choice of the middle and lower classes (along with ''ananá fizz'', a sort of pineapple cider), whereas the higher classes would rather go for champagne for their
Christmas or New Year toast. Popular commercial brands of cider are ''Real'', ''La Farruca'' and ''Rama Caída''. It is usually marketed in 0.7-liter glass or plastic bottles.
Austria
In Austria cider is made in the southwest of
Lower Austria, the so called "
Mostviertel" and in
Upper Austria. Almost every farmer there has some apple or pear trees. Many of the farmers also have a kind of inn called "Mostheuriger". There they serve cider and also something to eat.
Australia
In
Australia, 'cider' is considered an alcoholic beverage made from apples. The most popular brands of alcoholic cider in Australia are Strongbow, and
Mercury Cider made at the
Cascade Brewery in Hobart, Tasmania. Cascade's '
Apple Isle' Sparkling
Apple Juice is the most popular selling brand of non-alcoholic cider in Australia. Alcoholic cider is sold in
bottleshops, while the non-alcoholic version is stocked in the
soft-drink aisles of supermarkets.
Belgium
Scottish & Newcastle own Belgium cider maker
Stassen SA, who in addition to their own local brands such as
Strassen X Cider also produce
Strongbow Jacques, a 5.5% ABV cider with cherry, raspberry and blackcurrant flavours.
Zonhoven based
Konings NV specialises in private label ciders for European retailers and offers a wide variety of flavours and packaging options to the beverage industry.
Canada
In Quebec, cider is considered a traditional alcoholic beverage. Cidermaking was, however, forbidden from the early years of the British rule as it was in direct conflict with established British brewers' interests (most notably
John Molson). In recent years, a unique variety has emerged on the market:
ice cider. This type of cider is made from apples with a particularly high level of sugar caused by natural frost.
In
Ontario, apple cider or apple hooch is often home-made. Apples are de-cored, juiced, and boiled. Sugar is dissolved into the apple/water mixture. Brewer's yeast is added and the cider is fermented for up to two weeks, or three before bottling, and then aged to taste.
Waupoos is a brand of cider commercially manufactured in Ontario.
In
New Brunswick, cider is commercially available from the
Gagetown Cider Company and several small farms.
Cider is commercially produced in
British Columbia,
New Brunswick and Ontario, usually with a 7% alcohol content. It is sold in 341 ml glass bottles or sometimes in 2-litre plastic bottles, and does not have the added sugar injected into much of US hard cider.
Channel Islands
Few traditional horse-drawn circular apple crushers are still in use, but many may still be seen used as garden ornaments, flower planters or architectural features
Along with Normandy, the
Channel Islands had a strong cider-making tradition. Cider had been the ordinary drink of people of Jersey from the 16th century, when the commercial opportunities offered by cider exports spurred the transformation of feudal open-field agriculture to
enclosure. Until the 19th century, it was the largest agricultural export with up to a quarter of the agricultural land given over to orchards. In 1839, for example, 268,199 gallons of cider were exported from
Jersey to England alone,
[7] and almost half a million gallons were exported from
Guernsey 1834-1843
[8], but by 1870 exports from Jersey had slumped to 4,632 gallons
[9]. Beer had replaced cider as a fashionable drink in the main export markets, and even the home markets had switched to beer as the population became more urban. Potatoes overtook cider as the most important crop in Jersey in the 1840s, and in Guernsey glasshouse tomato production grew in importance. Small-scale cider production on farms for domestic consumption, particularly by seasonal workers from Brittany and mainland Normandy, was maintained, but by the mid-20th century production dwindled until only 8 farms were producing cider for their own consumption in 1983
[10]. The number of orchards had been reduced to such a level that the destruction of trees in the Great Storm of 1987 demonstrated how close the Islands had come to losing many of its traditional cider apple varieties. A concerted effort was made to identify and preserve surviving varieties and new orchards were planted. As part of diversification, farmers have moved into commercial cider production, and the cider tradition is celebrated and marketed as a heritage experience. In Jersey, a strong (above 7%) variety is currently sold in shops and a ''bouché'' style is also marketed.
[11]
In Jersey, cider is used in the preparation of ''black butter'' (
Jèrriais: ''nièr beurre''), a traditional preserve.
East Asia
Cider in
Japan and
Korea sometimes means just a
soft drink, not necessarily made from apples.
Finland
In
Finland cider became a very popular drink in the mid 1990s, especially among women and youth because of the sweet taste. Nowadays the consumption of cider has stabilized and owns the position as one of the most common drinks after
beer. The most well-known brands are ''Golden Cap'', ''Fizz'' and ''Upcider''. The cider usually contains 4,5-4,7 %vol of alcohol.
France
French ''cidre'' is an alcoholic drink produced predominantly in
Normandy and
Brittany. It varies in strength from below 4% alcohol to considerably more. 'Cidre Doux' is a sweet cider, usually up to 3% in strength. 'Demi-Sec' is from 3 to 5% and 'Cidre Brut' is a strong dry cider of 5% alcohol and above. Most French ciders are sparkling. Higher quality cider is sold in Champagne-style bottles (''cidre bouché''), and while much of cidre is sold in corked bottles, some screw-top bottles exist. Until the mid-
20th century, cidre was the second most-consumed drink in France (after wine) but an increase in the popularity of beer displaced cider's market share outside traditional cider-producing regions. In restaurants in Brittany, cider is sometimes served in traditional ceramic bowls (or wide cups) rather than glasses. A ''kir normand'' is a cocktail
apéritif made with cider and
cassis, rather than white wine and cassis for the traditional ''
kir''.
Some cider is also made in southwestern France, in the French portion of the
Basque Country. It is a traditional drink there and is making a recovery. Ciders produced here are generally of the style seen in Spanish part of the Basque country.
Keeving
Breton cidermaking employs the technique of 'keeving' (from the
French ''cuvée''). In keeving,
calcium chloride and a special
enzyme are added to the pressed apple juice, causing
protein in the juice to precipitate to the top for removal. This reduces the amount of protein available to the yeast, starving it and therefore causing the cider to finish fermenting while sugar is still available. The result is a sweeter drink at a lower alcohol level but still retaining the full flavor of the apples, without dilution.
Germany
Main articles: Apfelwein
German cider, usually called ''Apfelwein'' (apple wine), and regionally known as ''Apfelmost'' (apple must), ''Viez'' (from
Latin ''vice'', the second or substitute wine), or ''Saurer Most'' (sour must), has an alcohol content of 5.5% - 7% and a tart, sour taste.
German cider is mainly produced and consumed in
Hesse, particularly in the
Frankfurt,
Wetterau and
Odenwald areas, in
Moselfranken,
Merzig (
Saarland) and the
Trier area, as well as the lower
Saar area and the region bordering on Luxembourg. In these regions, there are several large producers, as well as numerous small, private producers often using traditional recipes.
In some of these regions, there are regular cider competitions and fairs, in which the small, private producers participate. Cider songs are composed and sung at these events. The Merzig region crowns a Viez Queen, and the lower Saar area a Viez King.
An official ''Viez route'' or cider route connects
Saarburg with the border to Luxembourg.
India
Cider is a new introduction in India under the brand TEMPEST, produced by Green Valley Cider located in the apple producing state of Himachal Pradesh, India. Tempest is primarily available in the carbonated form and is witnessing a resurgence in popularity.
However, traditionally and obviously not under the name cider, it has been known to be locally produced in villages in the apple producing states of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh .
Ireland
Cider is a popular drink in Ireland; for a long time cider production was officially encouraged and supported by a preferential tax treatment. A single cider,
Bulmers, dominates sales in Ireland: Owned by
C&C and produced in
Clonmel,
Co. Tipperary, this Bulmers is unrelated to the
British Bulmers cider - outside the Republic of Ireland, C&C brand their cider as Magners.
Mexico
There are two types of cider (''sidra'') sold in
Mexico. One type is a popular apple flavored carbonated
soft drink, sold under a number of soft drink brands, such as Sidral Mundet (a
Jarritos brand) and Manzana Blast (a
Coca-Cola FEMSA brand). The alcoholic ''sidra'' is a sparkling cider typically sold in champagne-style bottles. ''Sidra'' is, due to the expense of imported
champagne, the traditional drink used for
New Year's Eve toasts in Mexico.
Luxembourg
In
Luxembourg, ''viez'' (pronounced feetz) is rather like
English scrumpy. It is cloudy and varies from non-alcoholic to very alcoholic. It is made only in autumn.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, cider is fermented apple juice. The most popular brand is ''Scrumpy'' due to its low price, availability in supermarkets and high alcohol content,- this being taken advantage of by under age drinkers.
Norway
In Norway, cider (sider) is a naturally fermented apple juice. Pear juice is sometimes mixed with the apple to get a better fermenting process started. The main area for cider production is in the "fruit garden" surrounding the
Hardangerfjord. Most cider production is done by private persons. There is a cider festival in
Øystese each fall where a panel determines the year's best cider for the
Hardanger area.
South Africa
''Hunter's Gold'' and ''Hunter's Dry'' are popular ciders, along with ''Redd's'' and ''Savanna Dry''. A new cider brand has recently been introduced to the market - ''Sarita''. Most cider consumption in South Africa is by females.
Spain
The
Spanish regions of
Asturias,
Cantabria and the
Basque Country are well known for traditional ''sidra'', an alcoholic cider of 4 to 8% strength. ''Sidra'', also ''Sagardoa'' in the Basque Country, is traditionally poured in very small quantities from a height into a wide glass, with the arm holding the bottle extended upwards and the one holding the glass extended downwards. This technique is called to ''escanciar'' (also ''echar'' in
Asturian) and is done to get air bubbles into the drink, thus giving it a sparkling taste like Champagne that lasts a very short time. Spanish ''sidra'' is closely associated with ''sidrerías'' or ''sidreríes'' (Asturias) or ''sagardotegiak'' (Euskadi) ("cider houses"). In the Basque region of
Guipúzcoa, it is a tradition to visit ''sagardotegiak'' between February and May to drink new ''sidra'' from the barrel accompanied by a meal such as ''
txuleton''.
Sweden
Kopparberg Cider is growing in popularity, particularly in the UK. It comes in a variety of flavours, including apple, pear, summer fruits, forest berries, peach and cloudberry. Pear is the most popular - it is the fastest growing cider in any category in the UK. It is also the number 1 selling Pear Cider in the UK and the world.
The United Kingdom
In the
United Kingdom, cider is mostly associated with the
West Country and
Herefordshire, but is also produced in
Wales and the east of
England, particularly
Kent,
Suffolk and
Norfolk. Cider is available in sweet, medium and dry varieties.
There are two broad main traditions in cider production in the UK - the West tradition and the Kent and East Anglia tradition. The former are made using a much higher percentage of true cider-apples and so are richer in tannins and sharper in flavour. Kent and East Anglia ciders tend to use a higher percentage of, or are exclusively made from, culinary and dessert fruit; Kentish ciders (such as
Biddenden's) are typical of this style. They tend to be clearer, more vinous and lighter in body and flavour.
At one end of the scale are the traditional, small
farm-produced varieties. These are non-carbonated and usually cloudy orange in appearance. England's
West Country contains many of these farms. Production is often on such a small scale the product is only sold at the point of manufacture or in local
pubs and shops.
[12]. At the other end of the scale are the mass production cider factories producing
Magners "Irish Cider" and Herefords
Strongbow Cider.
Mass produced commercial cider such as that produced by
Bulmers is likely to be
pasteurised and
force-carbonated. The colour is likely to be golden yellow with a clear appearance from the
filtration.
''White ciders'' are almost clear in appearance.
Recent years have seen a significant increase in cider sales in the UK.
[13]
The West Country
Cider made in the
West Country may sometimes be referred to as "scrumpy", from "scrump",
[14] a local dialect term for a small or withered apple. It may be spelt as Cyder. Ciders from
Gloucestershire,
Herefordshire and
Worcestershire made from traditional recipes forms a
European Union Protected Geographical Indication; important traditional cidermaking also takes place in
Devon and
Somerset. Examples of a working
cider house still existed here in recent times, though many have now gone. There are, however, over 25 cider producers in Somerset alone, many being small family businesses.
5
During the 17th and 18th centuries, a condition known as
Devon colic, a form of
lead poisoning, was associated with the consumption of cider; a campaign to remove lead components from cider presses made the condition almost unknown by the early
19th century.
Shepton Mallet, Somerset, is home to the largest cider plant in Europe. This plant produces
Blackthorn and
Olde English as well as light perry
Babycham.
Wales
Cider and perry production in Wales began a dramatic revival in the early
2000s, with many small firms entering production throughout the country.
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has actively encouraged this establishment, and Welsh ciders and perries have won many awards at CAMRA festivals; meanwhile, the establishment of groups such as
UKCider and the
Welsh Perry & Cider Society have spurred communication among those producers.
Welsh varieties of apples and pears are often distinct from those grown in England, giving Welsh cider a significantly different flavour despite the proximity of the orchards.
Definition of "real" cider
CAMRA and UKCider, a
community of practice for small scale cidermakers, define "real" cider as a product containing either 90% fresh apple juice (CAMRA) or at least 85% (UKCider), and which has no added (CAMRA) or artificial (UKCider) flavourings or colourings. CAMRA add that no concentrate should be used, no micro filtration or pasteurising should take place, and that draught products should not be
force carbonated.
[15]
[16]
The United States
During colonial times, apple cider was consumed as the main beverage with meals, because water was often unsafe for drinking.
Somewhere around the time of
Prohibition, the word cider came to mean sparkling apple juice, possibly through the influence of
Martinelli's sparkling apple cider, which was once touted specifically as "non-alcoholic cider". Martinelli's is sold as "cider" or "juice" depending on regional preference of the term.
In other parts of the United States, the word "cider" simply means unfiltered, unfermented apple juice. For instance, in
Pennsylvania,
apple cider is legally defined as an "amber golden, opaque, unfermented, entirely non-alcoholic juice squeezed from apples". Natural or artificial flavours or colours generally recognized as safe may be added if their presence is declared on the label by the use of the word "Imitation" in type at least one-half the size of the type used to declare the flavour. Cider containing more than 0.15 percent alcohol by volume is classified as hard cider.
Despite this, alcoholic cider is produced in the United States, especially in
New England and upstate
New York.
Woodchuck cider, from
Vermont, is one of the most common brands in the north-eastern US, though the most known national brand is
Cider Jack.
See also
★
List of commercial brands of cider
★
Fassbrause
References
1. http://www.barkeeper.co.uk/News_Item.asp?News_ID=780
2. http://www.cideruk.com/
3. Bulmers to take on Magners in a cider decider
4. Hard Cider and Apple Wine Kristin Rowles
5. Somerset Cider James Crowden , '''a''' Orcharding year, '''b''' Somerset cider producers
6. History of cider
7. ''Balleine's History of Jersey'', ISBN 1-86077-065-7
8. ''Cider-making, An Old-time Guernsey industry'', Priaulx, Guernsey, nd
9. ''The Triumph of the Country'', Kelleher, Jersey 1994, ISBN 0-9518162-4-1
10. Jersey Society in London, Bulletin, 1983
11. Jersey Evening Post, 22 July 2006
12. Fare of the country; England's Realm Of Cider With a Kick
13. Magners leads the great cider revival (Times Online)
14. Scrumptious Somerset
15. http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=aboutciderandperry
16. http://www.ukcider.co.uk/real.htm
★ ''
Household Cyclopedia'',
1881
★ ''Farmhouse Cider & Scrumpy'', Bob Bunker
1999
★ Richard A. Fletcher, 1984. ''Saint James' Catapult: The Life and Times of Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela'' (Oxford University Press)
External links
★
The Hereford Cider Museum
★
UKCider Wiki
★
Cider and Perry
★
Cider news page -
Alcohol and Drugs History Society
★
Apples, Cider and Calvados in Pays d'Auge, France
★
Museum of Cider, Asturias, Spain
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