Cider is one of humanity's oldest fermented beverages, predating both beer and wine in some regions. Its production process, while conceptually simple—press apples, add yeast, wait—contains nuances that separate exceptional ciders from ordinary ones. This guide walks through each stage of cider production, revealing the craftsmanship behind your favourite bottles.
Stage 1: Apple Selection and Harvest
Great cider begins in the orchard. While any apple can theoretically become cider, the choice of varieties profoundly impacts the final product. Cidermakers typically work with three apple categories:
Culinary Apples
Common eating apples like Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Fuji are widely available and produce clean, straightforward ciders. They're high in acid (providing freshness) but low in tannins (which provide structure and complexity). Most commercial Australian ciders use culinary varieties due to their availability and consumer-familiar flavours.
Cider Apples
Traditional cider varieties—Kingston Black, Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, Tremlett's Bitter—were bred specifically for cider production over centuries. They contain higher tannin levels, creating fuller-bodied, more complex ciders. Australian orchardists have only recently planted significant quantities, with maturing trees now producing increasingly sophisticated fruit.
Wild or Heritage Apples
Ungrafted seedling trees and heritage varieties produce fruit with unique character. These apples often make the most distinctive, terroir-expressive ciders, prized by craft producers seeking individuality.
Cider apples are classified by acid and tannin content: Sweets (low acid, low tannin), Sharps (high acid, low tannin), Bittersweets (low acid, high tannin), and Bittersharps (high acid, high tannin). Blending across categories creates balanced ciders.
Harvest timing is critical. Apples must reach full maturity for optimal sugar content (which ferments into alcohol) and flavour development. Underripe apples yield thin, acidic cider; overripe fruit can produce flabby, characterless results. Experienced cidermakers assess ripeness through taste, pressure testing, and measuring sugar levels (Brix).
Stage 2: Milling and Pressing
Once harvested, apples undergo milling (crushing) and pressing to extract juice. This process has remained fundamentally unchanged for millennia, though modern equipment improves efficiency.
Milling
Whole apples are crushed or chopped into a pulp called "pomace." Traditional scratter mills use rotating drums with teeth; modern hammer mills achieve faster throughput. The goal is thorough pulping without over-processing—excessive milling creates cloudy juice with harsh flavours from crushed seeds.
Maceration (Optional)
Some producers allow pomace to rest for several hours before pressing. This maceration period extracts additional flavour compounds and colour from the skins, similar to wine production techniques. It's particularly common with tannic cider apple varieties.
Pressing
The pomace is pressed to extract juice. Traditional rack-and-cloth presses (pomace layered between fabric cloths in a wooden frame) remain in use at artisanal cideries. Hydraulic basket presses and bladder presses offer greater efficiency while maintaining gentle extraction. Industrial operations use continuous belt presses for maximum throughput.
Pressing yields vary: expect 140-180 litres of juice per tonne of apples, depending on variety, ripeness, and pressing technique. The remaining pressed pomace is typically composted or fed to livestock.
Stage 3: Fermentation
Fermentation transforms sweet apple juice into alcoholic cider through yeast metabolism. This is where cidermaker artistry truly emerges.
The Science
Yeast consumes sugars (primarily fructose and glucose in apple juice), producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as metabolic byproducts. Secondary metabolites—esters, phenols, and other compounds—create the complex flavours distinguishing cider from plain apple juice.
Sugar + Yeast → Alcohol + CO₂ + Flavour Compounds
Apple juice typically contains 10-15% sugar, yielding ciders of 5-8% ABV after complete fermentation.
Yeast Selection
Cultured yeasts: Commercial wine or cider yeasts provide predictable, consistent results. Different strains emphasise different flavour characteristics—fruity esters, neutral fermentation, or enhanced mouthfeel. Most commercial ciders use cultured yeasts for reliability.
Wild/indigenous yeasts: Natural yeasts present on apple skins and in cidery environments can drive fermentation without inoculation. Wild ferments produce more complex, unpredictable results—sometimes brilliantly, sometimes problematically. Craft cidermakers increasingly embrace wild fermentation for its terroir expression.
Fermentation Vessels
Fermentation occurs in various vessels, each imparting subtle influences:
- Stainless steel tanks: Neutral, temperature-controllable, easy to clean. Industry standard.
- Oak barrels: Add tannin structure, vanilla notes, and micro-oxygenation. Common in premium ciders.
- Concrete eggs: Increasingly popular; provide gentle oxygenation and unique temperature stability.
- Plastic IBCs: Affordable, practical for small-scale production. Neutral flavour impact.
Temperature Control
Fermentation temperature dramatically affects flavour development. Cool fermentation (12-15°C) proceeds slowly, preserving delicate aromatics and producing cleaner ciders. Warm fermentation (18-25°C) works faster but risks losing subtle fruit character. Modern cideries use temperature-controlled tanks for precision; traditional farmhouse operations relied on seasonal cool temperatures.
Duration
Primary fermentation—the vigorous initial phase—typically completes within two to four weeks. Many ciders then undergo extended maturation (weeks to months) where flavours integrate and harsh edges soften. Patience distinguishes craft cider from rushed commercial products.
Stage 4: Post-Fermentation Processing
After fermentation concludes, several optional steps shape the final product:
Racking
Transferring cider off the settled lees (dead yeast and particulates) into clean vessels clarifies the liquid and prevents off-flavours from decomposing yeast. Multiple rackings produce progressively clearer cider.
Blending
Cidermakers often blend multiple batches—different apple varieties, fermentation vessels, or vintages—to achieve desired flavour profiles. Blending is an art requiring extensive tasting and experimentation.
Sweetness Adjustment
For ciders sweeter than fully dry, producers either stop fermentation before completion (through cold temperatures, filtration, or pasteurisation) or add fresh juice/concentrate after fermentation (back-sweetening). Each method creates different flavour characteristics.
Carbonation
Still ciders require no carbonation. Sparkling ciders achieve bubbles through:
- Force carbonation: Injecting COâ‚‚ directly into finished cider. Fast and consistent.
- Bottle conditioning: Adding sugar and yeast before bottling; secondary fermentation creates natural carbonation. Produces finer bubbles and additional complexity.
- MĂ©thode traditionnelle: Bottle conditioning with riddling and disgorgement, as in Champagne. The most labour-intensive, producing the finest sparkling ciders.
Bottle-conditioned ciders often show a thin yeast sediment at the bottle bottom. This is a quality indicator, not a flaw—though you may choose to pour carefully to leave sediment behind.
Filtration and Fining
Filtration removes suspended particles for crystal-clear appearance. Fining agents (bentonite clay, gelatin, or vegan alternatives) attract and precipitate haze-causing compounds. Some craft producers prefer unfiltered ciders, believing they retain more flavour and character.
Stage 5: Bottling and Packaging
The final stage prepares cider for distribution and sale. Bottles are filled, crowned (capped), and labelled. Some producers pasteurise at this stage for shelf stability, while others prefer unpasteurised cider for livelier character (requiring cold storage).
Package formats range from 330ml bottles to 750ml wine bottles, cans (increasingly popular for environmental and practical reasons), and kegs for on-premise service. Larger format bottles—magnums and beyond—are appearing in the premium segment.
Time and Terroir
From blossom to bottle, quality cider represents a year or more of work. Spring blossoms become summer fruit, harvested in autumn, fermented through winter, and finally bottled the following spring or beyond. Each vintage expresses that particular year's weather and growing conditions—terroir made tangible in the glass.
Understanding production helps appreciate what distinguishes mass-market cider from craft offerings. The shortcuts industrial producers take—concentrate reconstitution, rapid fermentation, aggressive filtration, artificial carbonation—save time and money but sacrifice complexity and character.
Next time you open a bottle of craft Australian cider, pause to consider the journey from orchard to glass. That appreciation enhances every sip. Explore our curated selection of carefully produced Australian ciders and taste the difference craftsmanship makes.