The INCIDER View to Choosing Great Ciders
May 15 '01
The Bottom Line Ciders can be sweet or tart, still or sparkling, strong or weak -- here's how to pick the right combination for YOU!
It was almost three years ago that I trekked to London with some friends for the annual "Great British Beer Festival," held each year in the cavernous Olympia arena. Of course I spent most of my week there sampling great cask conditioned real ales, but I also came away with something else -- an appreciation for hard cider.
I don't know why Britain's Campaign for Real Ale (www.camra.org.uk) -- the group that sponsors the Great British Beer Festival -- is so keen on hard ciders, but they are. One large area at the back of the hall was dedicated to tasting hard ciders and perries (pear cider).
CAMRA is very good about educating people about the art of critical tasting, and they are just as good at educating people about cider. Before going to the festival, I'd never seriously thought there was much to know about ciders. Boy! Was I wrong!
Strong and Weak
The first thing to know is that ciders vary quite a lot in their alcohol level. While most ciders have about the same alcohol as beer, some can be as low as 3 percent while others can be as high as 12 percent!
Vintners know that the sugar content of grapes varies considerably depending on the type of grape (varietal) being used, seasonal weather patterns, and geographic location of the growing area (among other factors). Apples are the same way. Some varieties produce juices with higher percentages of sugar than others, and even when the same orchard grows the same types of apples, variations occur year-to-year.
Cider makers usually blend juice from different varieties grown at different orchards, although there are some that produce varietal ciders, just like varietal wines. The blending helps cider makers control both the sugar levels and flavors to create consistent products.
Cider strength isn't just a function of natural occurring sugars though. Cider makers often add sugar to increase the strength of the product, to ensure that they get sweetness in the final product, and to add depth to the flavor (in the case of adding sugars like brown sugar to the cider).
Tart and Sweet
The second thing to know about cider is that the flavor can be either very sweet, or very tart. It could also be somewhere in between.
Apples contain acids, just like grapes do, and these acids help make the juice taste tart. The tartness also balances and contrasts with the sugars in the cider to create a more complex and pleasant flavor experience, just the way it works with wine. When a batch of apple juice lacks the acid levels that a cider maker wants in order to make a wine tart enough for his tastes, he can add some acid.
Ciders and perries that CAMRA serves at the Great British Beer Festival are all rated on a scale of 1 to 9 according to their relative tartness or sweetness. A cider rated as 1 may have a very sweet flavor with very little acid, while one rated 9 may be very tart. Once you know how the levels work, it becomes easy to pick out the ciders that you want to sample. This is important at the GBBF because, unlike most festivals, drinks are served by full measure. That means you get a pint glass or at least a half pint of anything you drink (and British pints are 20 ounces, not 16 like we use in the United States).
When you start sampling different ciders, make a note about how tart or sweet you think the cider tastes. This will probably be the single biggest determining factor in deciding whether you like a brand!
Still or Sparkling
Most of the cider that is sold in bottles is called "sparkling" cider, which means that it is carbonated. Not all hard cider is carbonated. The politically correct word to use to describe non-carbonated ciders is "still". Telling a cider maker that you didn't like his "flat" cider probably won't go over real well.
CAMRA can't be content with just two words though, no sirree! They've got four! While they use "still" and "sparkling", they also use the word "petillant" to mean just a little bit tingly, and they use the word "spumante" to mean extremely effervescent, just like champagne.
One of the great things about getting into cider and perry is that you can find ciders that are very close in taste and appearance to champagnes and other types of wines. In fact, some people argue that because cider is fruit juice, that it should be discussed along with wine, but for whatever reason, most wine critics feel that cider is beneath their dignity while most beer critics are perfectly happy to tip back a pint of cider every now and then. I kind of like that.
What'll It Be?
Most of the cider sold in the United States is sold in 12 ounce bottles alongside six-packs of beer. Some of the more popular brands include Woodchuck, Bulmers, and Blackthorne. You will also find cider sold on tap in taverns.
In Britain, it is common to find craft-made ciders sold in pubs and served up via handpump, although CAMRA warns that a handpump is not a guarantee that you are getting a traditional craft-made cider, because some of the large corporate beverage companies want to improve their image and are using traditional pumps as well.
In the United States, craft cideries are fairly rare, but they do exist. When I was living in northern Virginia there was one a few miles southwest of me in the town of Sperryville called Mt. Vernon Cidery. They produced an excellent slightly dry cider called Freds Cider that had a great aroma of fresh apple juice. I don't know if this is still available, or what their distribution area might be. I imagine there are several others, particularly in New England.
If you're looking for something new and interesting to try, and you're tired of the same old drinks you've been drinking, try a glass of cider tonight. You just might find the taste you've been looking for!
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