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A glass of cider

Cider (/ˈsdər/ SY-dər), known as hard cider in North America, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples.[1]

The juice of any variety of apple can be used to make cider, but cider apples are best.[2] The addition of sugar or extra fruit before a second fermentation increases the alcoholic content of the resulting beverage.[3][4]

Cider is popular in the United Kingdom, especially in the West Country, and widely available. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, as well as its largest cider-producing companies.[5][6][7] Cider is also popular in other European countries including Ireland, Portugal (mainly in Minho and Madeira), France (in particular Brittany and Normandy), and Spain (especially Asturias and the Basque Country). Central Europe also has it own types of cider with Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse producing a particularly tart version known as Apfelwein.

Cider alcohol content varies from 1.2% ABV to 8.5% or more in traditional English ciders, and 3.5% to 12% in continental ciders.[8] In UK law, it must contain at least 35% apple juice (fresh or from concentrate),[9] although CAMRA says that "real cider" must be at least 90% fresh apple juice.[10] In the US, there is a 50% minimum.[11] In France, cider must be made solely from apples.[12] In 2014, a study by The Daily Telegraph found that a pint of mass-market cider (Bulmers) contained five teaspoons (20.5 g) of sugar, nearly as much as the WHO recommends as an adult's daily allowance of added sugar, and 5–10 times the amount of sugar in lager or ale.[13]

Perry is a similar product made from fermented pear juice.[14]

Appearance and types[edit]

American hard cider in a bottle


Modern, mass-produced ciders closely resemble sparkling wine in appearance. More traditional brands tend to be darker and cloudier. They are often stronger than the mass-produced varieties and taste more strongly of apples. Almost colourless, white cider has the same apple juice content as conventional cider but is harder to create because the cider maker has to blend various apples to create a clearer liquid. White ciders tend to be sweeter and more refreshing. They are typically 7-8% abv in strength. Black cider, by contrast, is dry amber premium cider which has an abv of 7-8%. The descriptor black usually comes after the brand name such as Union Black and Barnstormer Black.


Scratting and pressing[edit]

Main articles: Cider mill and Cider press







Main article: Fermentation (food)

Fermentation is carried out at a temperature of 4–16 °C (40–60 °F). This is low for most kinds of fermentation, but is beneficial for cider as it leads to slower fermentation with less loss of delicate aromas. Fermentation can occur due to natural yeasts that are present in the must or some cider makers add yeast, such as Saccharomyces bayanus.




Blending and bottling[edit]

Layers of pomace are shown wrapped in canvas.




Uses and variations[edit]

Calvados and applejack are distilled from cider. Calvados is made throughout Normandy, France, not just in the Calvados département. It is made from cider by double distillation. In the first pass, the result is a liquid containing 28–30% alcohol. After the second pass, the concentration of alcohol is about 40%.

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 20–30% alcohol by volume. Home production of applejack is illegal in the US, but popular in Europe. A few producers in Quebec and England, inspired by ice wine, have developed ice cider (French: cidre de glace). For this product, the apples are frozen either before or after being harvested. Its alcohol concentration is 9–13% ABV.

A popular apéritif in Normandy is pommeau, a drink produced by blending unfermented apple juice and apple brandy in the barrel (the high alcoholic content of the spirit prevents fermentation of the juice and the blend takes on the character of the aged barrel).



Related drinks[edit]

Other fruits can be used to make cider-like drinks. The most popular is made from fermented pear juice, known as perry. It is called poiré in France, and produced mostly in Lower Normandy there. 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 become unfashionable. Another related drink is cyser – cider fermented with honey.


National varieties[edit]




In Austria cider is made in the south west of Lower Austria, the so-called "Mostviertel" and in Upper Austria as well as in parts of Styria. Almost every farmer there has some apple or pear trees. Many farmers also have a kind of inn called a "Mostheuriger", similar to a heuriger for new wine, where they serve cider and traditional fare. Cider is typically called "Most".[citation needed]


Cidrerie Ruwet SA, established in 1898, is the only independent craft cider producer in Belgium. In addition to their own brand Ruwet, the company produces 'high-end' ciders for private labels. Heineken owns the other Belgian 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. Stella Artois Cidre is produced in Zonhoven and has been marketed since 2011.[18]







Artisanal Cider from Brittany


Some cider is also made in south western France, in the French part 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 the Spanish part of the Basque Country. A recently popular variety is the Akived, a piquant drink served cold.



Main article: Apfelwein
"Apfelwein" by Bembel-With-Care, made from traditional Odenwälder orchards




Magners Cider.

Cider is a popular drink in Ireland. A single cider, Bulmers, dominates sales in Ireland: owned by C&C and produced in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Bulmers has a connected history to the British Bulmers cider brand up until 1949. Outside the Republic of Ireland, C&C brand their cider as Magners. It is very popular in Ireland to drink cider over ice and encouraged in their advertising. Cidona, a non-alcoholic version of Bulmers, is a popular soft drink in Ireland, and used to be a C&C-owned brand.







Three brands of sparkling cider with an abv of approximately 10% are available to the Norwegian public through distribution by the monopoly outlet Vinmonopolet, Hardanger Sider Sprudlande from Hardanger, Krunesider from Bergen sourcing apples from Hardanger, and Liersider from Lier.[27][28] In line with the law of 1975 prohibiting all advertising of alcoholic beverages of abv above 2.5%,[29] the products receive little exposure despite a few favourable press reviews.[28][30]

Ciders of low alcohol levels are widely available, mostly brands imported from Sweden; carbonated soft drinks with no alcoholic content may also be marketed as "cider".[30]




Poland is the largest producer of apples in Europe. Cider is known in Poland as Cydr or Jabłecznik. In 2013 Poles drank 2 million litres of cider, which adds up to 1% of the country’s annual alcohol sales. Sales more than doubled from the previous year. In the summer of 2014, Minister of Economy Janusz Piechociński supported in vain the creation of a draft law to legalise television cider publicity.[32]

The category is just gaining popularity among consumers. Areas strong in cider production are focused around the centre of the country in the Masovian and Łódź voivoideships. [33] Large quantities of Polish apple concentrate are exported to UK, Scandinavia and Ireland for cider production.


Asturian cider.

The making and drinking of cider is traditional in several areas of northern Spain, mainly Galicia, the Principality of Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country.




Basque people drinking cider in a sagardotegi (cider house).

Cider has also been popular in the Basque Country for centuries.[citation needed] Whilst Txakoli and Rioja wines became more popular in Biscay, Álava and Navarre during the 19th century, there is still a strong Basque cider culture in Gipuzkoa. From the 1980s, government and gastronomic associations have worked to revive this culture in all Basque regions. Known as sagardoa (IPA: /s̺a'gaɾdoa/), it is drunk either bottled or in a cider house (called a sagardotegi), where it is poured from barrels. Most of "sagardotegis" are in the north of Gipuzkoa (Astigarraga, Hernani, Urnieta and Usurbil), but they can be found everywhere in Gipuzkoa, the north-west of Navarre and the Northern Basque Country.



A glass of Rekorderlig wild berries cider.


United Kingdom[edit]




South America[edit]




Cider has been made in Chile since colonial times. Southern Chile accounts for nearly all cider production in the country. Chileans make a distinction between "sidra" ("cider"), in fact sparkling cider, and "chicha de manzana" ("apple chicha"), a homemade cider that is considered of less quality.


East Asia[edit]

Cider in Japan and Korea refers to a soft drink similar to Sprite or lemonade. A popular drink in China is called "Apple Vinegar", which is apple juice. Shanxi Province is noted for the "vinegar" produced there.


A filtered carbonated apple juice called "Appy Fizz" was introduced by Parle in India a decade ago and it became a big hit.


Non-alcoholic, apple-flavoured carbonated drinks are popular in the country, with local brands such as Mehran Bottler's Apple Sidra and Murree Brewery's Big Apple in the market.


Draught cider

Cider in Japan refers to a soft drink similar to Sprite or lemonade. Cidre is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from the unfiltered juice of apples.

As 'cidre', the drink is popular in Japan with brands such as Asahi Nikka cidre and Kirin hard cidre being present. It is sometimes called apple sparkling wine.

Asahi Nikka cidre was awarded the International Cider Challenge silver medal in 2014. Kirin hard cidre is able to be drunk as draught cider in izakaya in Tokyo.

Cidre can be used as a marketing term to describe canned or bottled ciders containing a cider widget, or ciders which are cold-filtered rather than pasteurised.

Beer bottles are used for bottling cidre. Glasses are used for drinking cidre in izakaya.



South Africa[edit]


Southwest Pacific[edit]




New Zealand[edit]





North America[edit]

In the US, as well as some parts of Canada, "cider" refers to unfiltered apple juice, traditionally made with a distinct sweet-tart taste, and in these regions the fermented beverage is known as "hard cider".



Frozen apples in Quebec for the making of ice cider

Quebec cider is considered a traditional alcoholic beverage. It is generally sold in 750 ml bottles, has an alcohol content generally between 7% and 13% (with aperitifs ciders having alcohol content up to 20%), and can be served as a substitute for wine. As in the rest of the world, sparkling cider is getting more and more popular in Quebec and thanks to the law cider sold in the province can only be made from 100% pure apple juice.[citation needed] Cider making 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 new type called ice cider has been sold. This type of cider is made from apples with a particularly high level of sugar caused by natural frost. Cider is commercially produced in British Columbia (large and small producers), Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario, usually with a 5-7% alcohol content. It is sold in 341ml, 355ml, 500ml and 750ml glass bottles and two litre plastic bottles, and does not usually have added sugar.



United States[edit]


See also[edit]


  1. ^ Martin Dworkin, Stanley Falkow (2006). The Prokaryotes: Proteobacteria: alpha and beta subclasses. Springer. p. 169. ISBN 9780387254951. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
  3. ^ E. F. Lindsley (Nov 1960). "Popular Science Vol. 177, No. 5". p. 137. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
  4. ^ Sanborn Conner Brown (1978). Wines & beers of old New England. UPNE. p. 100. ISBN 9780874511482. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 
  10. ^ Paul Gallagher (25 November 2012). "Pear cider boom angers purists". The Independent. Retrieved 20 July 2014. 
  17. ^ Fletcher, R.A., Liber Sancti Jacobi
  19. ^
  20. ^ "Carlsberg Group - Somersby Cider". Retrieved 28 September 2014. 
  21. ^ Very ApS | Somersby Cider byder foråret velkommen! -
  23. ^ "Apple Journal - Cider History". Retrieved 28 September 2014. 
  31. ^ a b Hélder Marques (1987). "A Região dos Vinhos Verdes" (PDF). Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto. p. 139. Retrieved 30 July 2012. 
  32. ^ Sedia, Giuseppe (16 September 2015). "The Rise of Polish Cider". Krakow Post. Retrieved 11 November 2015. 
  36. ^ Sidra Real. YouTube. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2015. 

Further reading[edit]

  • Farmhouse Cider & Scrumpy, Bob Bunker 1999
  • Household Cyclopedia, 1881

External links[edit]