Cider Styles – What’s the difference?
With cider consumption levels sky rocketing in Australia and
New Zealand of present, it’s easy to get confused with the many various styles
and types. Like beer, cider is not grounded by just one style or identity and
comes in many different forms. These stylistic differences range from the
common, well known ciders, to the ultra expressive and highly traditional. With
consumers being constantly bombarded with new cider products, exposure to these
differing styles in inevitable. But with the right knowledge on hand, choosing
the right cider for the right occasion can become a whole lot easier and
memorable.
General Apple
If you look
closely this very minute, you will notice the ever growing presence of apple
cider in retail liquor outlets. Consumers are really spoilt for choice in this
category, as more and more Australian and New Zealand ciders are being
produced. But as local apple cider becomes increasingly popular, so does the
ever emerging range of imported ciders from countries like France and England. As
a whole, they all have their own unique stylistic differences which offer loads
of diversity and variety.
Australian and New Zealand Apple Cider
The ciders
being produced in both Australia and New Zealand are characterised by their
fresh, clean and floral features. They are mainly made using the more
traditional eating or cooking apple such as Pink Lady, Granny Smith or Golden
Delicious. It’s the use of these apples that give the unmistakeable dry, acidic
and crisp edge making them perfect served ice cold on a hot summer’s day. Filtered to brilliant, artificially
carbonated and having an alcohol content at, or around 5%, this style of cider
is really booming. It also helps that Australia and New Zealand have perfect
apple growing regions like the Adelaide Hills, Batlow, and Moutere Valley. Stylistically, these types of ciders
are relatively straight forward and can be rather one dimensional in their
flavour and textural spectrum. But the more superior examples are able to
capture the purity of the apple in the bottle, and really highlight the
strength of the fruit.
Recommendation
of Australia
The Hills
Cider Company – Apple Cider
Recommendation
of New Zealand
Monteith’s
Brewing Company – Crushed Apple Cider
French and English Apple Cider
As cider
increases in popularity, so does the curiosity to try new products from far and
wide. Many different and fascinating ciders are currently being imported into
Australia and New Zealand, and it’s now very easy to acquire them. What you see in these offerings is a thousand
years of tradition, combined with traditional cider making methods. These
ciders offer much more in terms of complexity, texture and authenticity through
the use of traditional cider apples. These apples offer the fundamental characteristics
of tannin structure, astringency, bitterness and sharpness, all the hallmarks
of a traditional cider.
France has
two main cider producing regions consisting of Normandy and Brittany, which
have been producing cider since the sixth century. Ciders from these two
regions offer lower alcohol levels, with naturally sweet and naturally carbonated
attributes. It is not rare to find a Cidre Bouché at or around the 2% alcohol
content. A natural and traditional farmhouse process called keeving ensures
that the cider retains residual sweetness and natural carbonation without
filtration. It is most commonly cloudy, excessively bitter and astringent, but most
importantly very complex. These characters of traditional French farmhouse cider
may frighten many new cider consumers away but the complexity, authenticity and
individuality is what makes these ciders.
They also match very well with food such as pork and cheese, and can be
consumed as an aperitif.
French
Recommendation
Domaine Dupont
– Cidre Bouché Effervescent Naturel
English
cider hails from the West Country in the counties of Somerset and
Herefordshire. Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Cornwall and Wales are also known
to produce small quantities too. English cider comes in all shapes and sizes,
from the mass produced made from concentrate, to the small artisan made
offering. English cider is commonly vat aged, artificially carbonated, slightly
astringent, pasteurised and filtered clear. Alcohol contents can range from the
humble 5% to anywhere up to 10% for the vintage styles. A cider can commonly be
a blend of up to 30 different cider apple varieties to help gain a balanced
flavour profile. Single varietal ciders are also very common with varieties
like Kingston Black, Dabinett, Yarlington Mill and Somerset Red Streak all
perfect candidates. These ciders do lack the fresh, crisp punch to which the
Australian and New Zealand ciders offer. But this is made up for by the use of
superior cider apples along with deep rooted cider making methods and
traditions.
English
Recommendation
Thatchers
Cider Company – Green Goblin Oak Aged Cider
Scrumpy
The term
scrumpy is thought to be an historic term meaning to steal or gather old
apples, from which they had fallen off the trees and began to shrivel. The history of scrumpy cider can be traced
back to when the Normans conquered England in 1066. Since being introduced to
cider, the English mastered the art of cider making and importantly the scrumpy
style. These are the real traditional English ciders, where the cider itself is
usually higher in alcohol, bottle conditioned, astringent, volatile and very
cloudy. Scrumpy is commonly labelled as the most pure and hands off style of
cider with no filtration, no preservatives and no water or sugar added. But
unfortunately, constant referral as being highly alcoholic and aggressive has
stigmatised the style. Alcohol contents
are known to reach dizzying heights of 15%, which is heading into apple wine
territory. Scrumpy is slowly becoming represented in Australia and New Zealand
with some commendable, cleaner examples being produced. Overseas scrumpy
imports, especially from England, are now also becoming readily available to the
more curious cider consumer.
Scrumpy
Recommendation
The Real
River Company – Scrumpy Cider
Fruit Flavoured
Fruit
flavoured ciders are fast becoming the new, trendy drink of choice when it
comes to the every day cider drinker.
The popularity of these new concoctions has exploded, and in a very short
time frame too. Consumers are being exposed to fruit flavourings like wild
berry, peach, mango and strawberry. The flavours are not just limited to fruit
with ginger, vanilla and cinnamon for example all being represented. The
authenticity of these ciders is questionable, and the term ‘cider’ is used
fairly loosely with these products. One could argue that these beverages should
not fall into the same category as traditional apple cider. Being made mostly
to a recipe, the alcohol content is always in the 4% to 5% range. Stylistically,
the ciders are angled towards being very sweet, lightly carbonated and somewhat
refreshing. Combine these characteristics with often flamboyant and eye
catching labels, and you have a formula for success.
Fruit
Flavoured Recommendation
Rekorderlig –
Strawberry and Lime Cider
Pear/Perry
Perry, or Pear cider as it is also known, is only now becoming
popular in Australia and New Zealand. What was misunderstood and unfamiliar, is
now becoming accepted and sort after. Pear cider is much more delicate than its
apple counterpart, usually being slightly lower in alcohol due to its higher
level of non-fermentable sugars. Just like
apple cider, there are two distinct forms of pear cider – the traditional and
the new wave. Traditional perry which dates back to the fourth century often shows
earthy, distinctive pear characters with lots of cloudiness, juicy sweetness, complexity
and mouth sapping tannin. Australian and New Zealand pear ciders in comparison show
crisper and cleaner features, combined with much subtle pear aromas. Pear cider
is a very refreshing alternative to apple cider no matter what the style, and
it is certainly sure to please.
Perry
Recommendation
Napoleone
& Cider Co – Pear Cider
This article can be read in Beer and Brewer Magazine - Issue 23 Summer 2012.
