Types of cider: styles and regional traditions
By Cider Radar · Updated
Cider styles differ by region and by how they are made. English cider ranges from farmhouse to sparkling; French cidre from Normandy and Brittany is often naturally sweet and lightly sparkling; Spanish sidra natural is poured from a height; German Apfelwein is dry and tart; ice cider is sweet and concentrated; perry is made from pears.
What is English cider like?
England's best-known cider regions are the West Country, especially Somerset and Devon, and the Three Counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. Traditional ciders there often use bittersweet cider apples, which give tannin and body. Styles range from still, cloudy farmhouse cider and scrumpy to clear sparkling and bottle-conditioned ciders.
Cider is also made in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as in Ireland.
What is French cidre like?
French cidre comes mainly from Normandy and Brittany. It is often lightly sparkling and can keep natural sweetness, traditionally thanks to keeving. Labels usually say brut (dry), demi-sec (medium) or doux (sweet). Protected designations include Cidre Pays d'Auge in Normandy and Cornouaille in Brittany.
The same orchards give pommeau, a blend of apple juice and apple brandy, and Calvados, the apple brandy of Normandy.
Find it on the map
What is Spanish sidra like?
Spain's main cider regions are Asturias and the Basque Country. Traditional sidra natural is still or barely sparkling, tart and often cloudy. In Asturias it is poured from a height (escanciado) in small servings to wake it up; in the Basque Country people drink it from the barrel in cider houses during the txotx season. Sparkling sidra is made too.
Find it on the map
What is German Apfelwein like?
Apfelwein — Äppelwoi or Ebbelwoi in the local dialect — is the cider of Hesse, around Frankfurt. It is usually still, dry and tart, served in a ribbed glass called a Geripptes and often poured from a stoneware jug called a Bembel. In Austria, Switzerland and southern Germany fermented apple and pear juice is called Most.
Find it on the map
What is ice cider?
Ice cider (cidre de glace) is a sweet, concentrated cider made from apples or apple juice concentrated by natural winter cold before fermentation. It is most closely associated with Quebec in Canada and is usually served in small glasses, like a dessert wine.
Find it on the map
What is perry?
Perry (poiré in French) is made by fermenting pear juice, traditionally from perry pears — varieties grown for the purpose. It is made in the English Three Counties, in Normandy (Domfrontais), in Austria and elsewhere, and its styles mirror those of cider.
Find it on the map
What is modern craft cider?
In North America, Australia, New Zealand and across Europe, newer makers combine traditional methods with ideas from wine and beer: single-varietal ciders, traditional-method sparkling, barrel-aged, hopped, rosé and fruit ciders, and wild-fermented ciders.
Find it on the map
How else are ciders grouped?
Whatever the region, ciders are often described by a few simple traits:
- Still or sparkling;
- Dry to sweet — see cider sweetness;
- Clear or cloudy;
- Clean or funky, and how much tannin and acidity they have — see how to describe cider taste.