Cider
Production
Methods

Cider making is not new with first recorded mentions going back to Roman times. Cider production already took place then in several locations, including French Brittany and Normandy, Celtic Britons and parts of northern Spain. Over centuries, cider became such a well-known commodity that at one point it was used to pay tithes and rents in parts of the UK. There is a plethora of information available on the internet regarding the history of cider making including, for a start, the informative Washington State University website .

The types of ciders available on the market can typically be broken down into two main groups: modern and traditional ciders. The first group consists of ciders produced using principally culinary apples such as Cortland, Gala, Granny Smith and McIntosh. The second group consists of ciders produced mostly from bittersweet and bittersharp apples such as Russet, Crabapple and Kingston Black often referred to as heritage apples.

In addition, within each group, there are different production methods used to make a cider. For instance, many English ciders typically contain a drier, higher alcohol content version, using open fermentation vats and bittersharp apples. The French have developed a sweet, low alcohol cider taking advantage of the sweeter apples and the keeving process.

Over the years, cider styles have evolved based on different combination of apples and production methods influenced by many variables such as the choice of yeast used, type of vessels used, local taste preference, and environmental settings. Ciders produced under different conditions and apple varieties differ sharply in alcohol content, taste, sweetness levels, flavours, and colours. Modern ciders tend to closely resemble sparkling wines in appearance while more traditional ciders tend to be darker and cloudier and taste more strongly of apples.

What does this mean?

All in all, irrelevant of the apple varieties used, two common denominators tend to come back again and again in the production of authentic ciders:

  • Made from real apple juice
  • Fermented using a single-strength fermentation method, with no sugar, water or concentrate added at the fermentation stage.

It therefore makes sense that these two common recurring denominators become the backbone of any cider standard. By using these two variables to define the cider category and by reviewing the most widely used current cider production methods, we identified three main production methods to produce an alcoholic cider in the 5% alc./vol. range. These 3 production methods and main elements relevant to each method are highlighted in the table below:

Suggested Category

Method One

Method Two

Method Three

Cider

Single strength cider made with 100% freshly pressed apple juice with no water, sugar, or concentrate added at the fermentation stage.

Cocktail

Also known as high alcohol cider-making – Sugar/fructose is added to the apple juice base and fermented to 10 to 12% alc./vol.  Before packaging, 50 to 65% water is added to dilute the alcohol content to 5%.

Alcopop / Fermented Beverage

No apple juice required. The apple concentrate is mixed with water and sugar/fructose and fermented to desired % alc./vol. Anything goes in terms of ingredients and method of production. Final dilution of 65 up to 85% with water.

Full Apple
Three-Quarters of an Apple
Apple With Half Missing

Production Method

  • Single strength cider

Production Method

  • High alcohol cider

Production Method

  • Industrial cider

Main Raw Material

  • Apple juice

Main Raw Material

  • Apple juice
  • Apple concentrate
  • Sugar and/or fructose
  • Water

Main Raw Material

  • Apple concentrate
  • Sugar and/or fructose
  • Water

Juice Pressing

  • Pressing of apples mostly onsite

Juice Pressing

  • Pressing of apples mostly offsite

Juice Pressing

  • None

Fermentation

  • Wine-like fermentation with 100% freshly pressed apple juice
  • No sugar/fructose, water or concentrate added at the fermentation stage
  • Ferment to around 6% alc./vol. (up to natural sugar content in apple juice)

Fermentation

  • Ferment to 8 to 12 % alc./vol.
  • Apple juice mixed with sugar and/or fructose and/or apple concentrate and/or water prior to fermentation

Fermentation

  • Ferment to 4% up to 12% alc./vol.
  • Apple concentrate mixed with water and sugar/fructose
  • Ferment to desired % alc./vol.

Final Blend

  • Back sweeten as needed
  • Adjuncts added as per recipe
  • All-natural ingredients

Final Blend

  • Dilute 50 to 65% with water to bring down to target alcohol content
  • Back sweeten as needed
  • Adjuncts added as per recipe

Final Blend

  • Final dilution of 65 to 85% with water. Dilution occurs at the fermentation stage and final blending stage
  • Back sweeten as needed
  • Adjuncts added as per recipe

Water Content

0 to 20%

Water Content

50 to 65%

Water Content

65 to 85%


Apple Origin

Identifiable region

Apple Origin

Wherever

Apple Origin

Wherever

The above three cider production methods for ciders, cocktails and fermented beverages respectively probably account for more than 80% of the ciders and so called ciders currently sold in markets worldwide.

The production methods are straightforward to understand and would be an ideal way to segment and label ciders and other fermented apple-based products currently sold on the market.

They would eliminate the confusion in the cider category where ciders made from 100% apple juice using the single strength cider-making method are sold side-by-side with so called ciders better known as cocktails and fermented beverages. A win-win criteria for producers, retailers and consumers alike.