Cider glossary
By Cider Radar · Updated
Cider words explained: cider styles, apples, making methods and tasting terms, with links to cider makers in the regions they come from.
AcidityAncestral methodApfelweinAstringencyBack-sweeteningBarrel-aged ciderBittersweet, bittersharp, sharp and sweet applesBodyBottle-conditionedBrutCalvadosCiderCider appleCider houseCidreCyserDemi-secDouxDryEscanciadoFarmhouse ciderFermentationFinishFruit ciderFunkHard ciderHopped ciderIce ciderKeevingLeesMalolactic fermentationMostPerryPommeauRosé ciderSagardotegiScrumpySidraSingle-varietal ciderSparklingStillTanninTraditional methodTurbidityWild fermentation
- Acidity(sourness)
- The tart, mouth-watering side of a cider. Apples contain mostly malic acid; sharp and bittersharp apples have the most. Acidity makes a cider taste fresher and drier.Read more
- Ancestral method(méthode ancestrale, pét-nat)
- A way to make sparkling cider by bottling it before the first fermentation has finished, so the last of the fermentation makes the bubbles in the bottle. Often a little sweet and cloudy.Read more
- Apfelwein(Äppelwoi, Ebbelwoi)
- The traditional cider of Hesse in Germany, around Frankfurt: usually still, dry and tart, served in a ribbed Geripptes glass and often poured from a stoneware Bembel jug.Cider makers in Hesse, GermanyRead more
- Astringency
- The drying, puckering feeling that tannin leaves in the mouth. Cider tasters rate it from none to very astringent.Read more
- Back-sweetening
- Adding apple juice, sugar or another sweetener to a fermented cider before bottling to make it sweeter.Read more
- Barrel-aged cider
- Cider fermented or matured in wooden barrels, sometimes barrels that held wine or spirits, which can add oak, vanilla or spirit notes.Read more
- Bittersweet, bittersharp, sharp and sweet apples
- The traditional English grouping of cider apples by acid and tannin: sweet (low in both), sharp (high acid, low tannin), bittersweet (low acid, high tannin) and bittersharp (high in both).Cider makers in Somerset, United KingdomCider makers in Herefordshire, United KingdomRead more
- Body
- The weight or fullness of a cider in the mouth, from light or thin-bodied to thick or full-bodied.Read more
- Bottle-conditioned
- Cider that finishes fermenting in the bottle, which makes it sparkling. It may contain a little yeast sediment.Read more
- Brut
- French label word for a dry cidre. The exact sugar level behind the word depends on local rules and the producer.Read more
- Calvados
- Apple brandy from Normandy, distilled from cider (some styles also use pears) and aged in oak. It has a protected designation of origin.Cider makers in Normandy, FranceRead more
- Cider(hard cider, cidre, sidra)
- An alcoholic drink made by fermenting apple juice. It can be still or sparkling, dry or sweet, clear or cloudy.Read more
- Cider apple
- An apple variety grown for cider rather than for eating, often rich in tannin or acidity. Well-known examples include Kingston Black and Dabinett.Read more
- Cider house(cidery, cider mill)
- A place where cider is made, and often where it is sold and tasted.Read more
- Cidre
- French cider, mainly from Normandy and Brittany; often lightly sparkling and labelled brut, demi-sec or doux.Cider makers in Normandy, FranceCider makers in Brittany, FranceRead more
- Cyser
- A fermented drink made from honey and apple juice, usually classed as a kind of mead.
- Demi-sec
- French label word for a medium (semi-dry) cidre.Read more
- Doux
- French label word for a sweet cidre, usually lower in alcohol because less sugar was fermented.Read more
- Dry
- A cider with little or no sugar left after fermentation. Semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet are the next steps on the scale.Read more
- Escanciado(escanciar)
- The Asturian way of serving sidra natural: pouring it from a height into a wide glass, a small amount at a time, so it froths and opens up.Cider makers in Asturias, SpainRead more
- Farmhouse cider
- Cider made on the farm, usually from its own apples by traditional methods; often still and cloudy.Cider makers in Somerset, United KingdomCider makers in Devon, United KingdomRead more
- Fermentation
- The process in which yeast turns the sugar in apple juice into alcohol and carbon dioxide.Read more
- Finish
- How long, and how, the taste of a cider stays after you swallow.Read more
- Fruit cider
- Cider with other fruit or fruit juice added, such as berries or cherries. Naming rules differ by country.Read more
- Funk(funky)
- Farmyard, earthy, leathery or other unusual notes, often from wild yeasts and bacteria. Tasters rate it from very clean to very funky.Read more
- Hard cider
- The usual North American name for alcoholic cider, used because “cider” there often means unfermented apple juice (sweet cider).Cider makers in the United StatesCider makers in CanadaRead more
- Hopped cider
- Cider with hops added after fermentation for aroma, borrowing a technique from beer.Read more
- Ice cider(cidre de glace)
- A sweet, concentrated cider made from apples or juice concentrated by natural winter cold before fermentation; closely associated with Quebec.Cider makers in Quebec, CanadaRead more
- Keeving
- A traditional French and English technique that removes nutrients from the juice before fermentation, so the yeast slows down and the cider keeps natural sweetness; keeved ciders are often clear and lightly sparkling.Cider makers in Normandy, FranceCider makers in Brittany, FranceRead more
- Lees
- The sediment of spent yeast and fruit solids that settles after fermentation. Some makers age cider on its lees for a fuller texture.
- Malolactic fermentation
- A conversion by bacteria of sharp malic acid into softer lactic acid, which makes a cider taste rounder and less sour.Read more
- Most(Apfelmost, Birnenmost)
- In Austria, Switzerland and parts of southern Germany, fermented apple or pear juice; in some areas the word can also mean unfermented juice.Cider makers in Upper Austria, AustriaCider makers in Lower Austria, AustriaCider makers in SwitzerlandRead more
- Perry(poiré)
- An alcoholic drink made by fermenting pear juice, traditionally from perry pears grown for the purpose.Cider makers in Herefordshire, United KingdomCider makers in Normandy, FranceRead more
- Pommeau
- A blend of apple juice and apple brandy (Calvados in Normandy, lambig in Brittany) aged in oak; sweet and usually served as an aperitif.Cider makers in Normandy, FranceCider makers in Brittany, FranceRead more
- Rosé cider
- Pink cider, coloured by red-fleshed apples or by added fruit or juice.Read more
- Sagardotegi(Basque cider house, sidrería)
- A Basque cider house where, in the txotx season, guests drink cider poured straight from large barrels, usually with a set meal.Cider makers in Basque Country, SpainRead more
- Scrumpy
- An informal English name for rough, traditional farmhouse cider, especially from the West Country.Cider makers in Somerset, United KingdomCider makers in Devon, United KingdomRead more
- Sidra(sidra natural, sagardoa)
- Spanish cider, mainly from Asturias and the Basque Country. Traditional sidra natural is still or barely sparkling, tart and often cloudy; sparkling sidra is also made.Cider makers in Asturias, SpainCider makers in Basque Country, SpainRead more
- Single-varietal cider
- Cider made from a single apple variety, named on the label, to show that variety's character.Read more
- Sparkling
- Cider with noticeable bubbles, from light to heavy carbonation, whether added or from fermentation in the bottle.Read more
- Still
- Cider without bubbles, or with so few that you barely notice them.Read more
- Tannin
- Natural compounds (polyphenols) in apple skins and flesh that give bitterness and astringency. Bittersweet and bittersharp cider apples are rich in tannin.Read more
- Traditional method(méthode traditionnelle, bottle-fermented)
- Sparkling cider made like Champagne: a finished cider gets a second fermentation in the bottle; the yeast is usually removed afterwards.Read more
- Turbidity(cloudiness, haze)
- How cloudy a cider looks, from clear to very cloudy. Haze comes from yeast, fruit solids and pectin left in unfiltered cider.Read more
- Wild fermentation(spontaneous fermentation)
- Fermentation by the yeasts naturally present on the apples and in the cider house, rather than by an added cultured yeast.Read more