Cider is honest and bigger than us – A note on enjoyment of cider
Do you have a favourite cider? Or a treasured cider region or country?
My journey into cider wasn’t your typical one: I did not fall in love with it instantly, nor did I at once hate it. I did not get so drunk on it one day as a teenager that I never wanted to even smell it again. Nor did I associate it with certain people (cue the homeless on a park bench for full effect…). Cider has always been “just there”.
Growing up in one of Germany’s cider regions, Apfelwein has been present in the day-to-day backdrop of life – not particularly prominent, nor too hidden away to be forgotten. I’ve grown up with Ebbelwoi[i], Bembel[ii], Handkäsdippsche[iii], Gerippte[iv], süß[v] and sauer[vi] gespritzte, and even have my own Apfelwein Becher[vii] with my name on it – although I’m sadly missing a Deckelsche[viii] … sniff sniff
When I crossed the English Channel and settled in the pretty-as-a-picture county of Oxfordshire, I drank cider on the odd occasion, but slowly, yet surely, the fermented apple juice seems to melt into the background, and my love for all things beer took over.
I remember vividly drinking a delicious scrumpy or two (…) at a Steam Rally in the sunshine and happily declaring “I drink cider now!” in a hope to bring cider back into my life. Alas, to no avail as it took me several years to reconnect.
But reconnect I did, and for the past year I’ve been spending a bit more time discovering who I am as a cider drinker, which styles of cider I love, find challenging, weird and/ or wonderful, as well as how I like to drink my cider.
The thing is, cider is something rather special!
Cider is something so deeply engrained in who I am and where I was born, as much as it is part of the social fabric of the country, I choose to live in.
Cider is tradition and modernity, romance and hard graft, luck and skill – all coexisting in the same realm.
When you open a bottle of the stuff, you will experience more than eventual intoxication: you will be offered a glimpse into the cider maker’s choices, including the apples and orchards, the yeasts, the fermentation processes…
Germans have a great word for intoxication (through alcohol): Alkoholrausch: an excessive ecstatic state, a feeling that lifts someone beyond their normal emotional state.
Please note that alcohol can be addictive, and I am by no means promoting its consumption or advocating for its effects.
Please drink responsibly and if you’re so inclined have a #DesigneatedResponisbleAdult present.
Just like Federweisser in the wine world, German Apfelwein has its equivalent – young, still fermenting cider called Rauscher.
Typically, lower in ABV, but certainly enough to make you enter a (Alkohol)Rausch, Rauscher is very popular early in the season. It’s fun, fizzy and wild.
Treat Rauscher with respect though – not only because legend has it that the Perry Fairy[ix] likes to visit after one too many.
However, I digress, the point I was trying to make, although rather unsuccessfully was, that, fermented apple juice can be more than just alcohol consumption.
Sure, sometime all we want is a great pint, without any tasting notes[x].
A glass of liquid to be enjoyed in the sunshine, or by the roaring fire, or on an uncomfortable airport chair, or on a picnic blanket by the lake. Alone or with others.
Sharing cider with friends, family or even strangers (at a tasting event for example) can bring us closer. We can learn from and with each other, be inclusive and respect one another.
Other times, we want to analyse what in the glass, whether the questions of terroir can be answered[xi], whether the cider is a great representation of its style, whether it even fits a style… what we like or don’t like about it.
Cider is bigger than us
Cider has been there before me and will be there after me. And that is what makes it so great and almost intangible.
We can drink cider that has been made in a shed, inoculated with wild yeast, with knowledge been passed on from generation to generation, and we can drink cider which has been made in an ultramodern laboratory using culture yeast. We can drink modern cider and more traditional cider. We can choose co-fermented cider, hopped cider, still, sparkling on just a tad effervescent. We can drink French Cidre or English scrumpy… whatever you want, you can (most likely) get. And if not, you can find someone who isn’t afraid of experimenting 😊…
There’s a cider for every occasion and an occasion for every cider.
But what makes a cider a great cider? Well, that depends on the drinker as much as the time and circumstances the cider was made and drunk.
For example, the first glass of Apfelwein I had during my most recent visit was a great cider. I also had a rather special cider last year, which had been aged for several months in rum barrels and cost me a few more coins than my German supermarket buy.
But price does not equal greatness. The money you spend on a cider should (in an ideal world) compensate the cider maker for their efforts, the material they use, their time and knowledge. It should be an honest exchange between you and them. Here is my money, please make more of this deliciousness!
Real cider is honest and should be treated accordingly. Speak to any local cider maker and 9 out of 10 times they are more than happy to take you on a tour of the orchard, show you where the apples are pressed, where the juice ferments.
I write real in italics, as I’m not here to define what real cider is. There’s plenty of fantastic people who can argue and discuss this better than I ever could.
Thoughts however could include:
Is real cider still, made only of cider apples or fermented wild?
Is real cider made of dessert apples, sparkling, rosé, clear or hazy?
Is real cider blended or made of single varietal fruit?
Is real cider cheap or expensive?
Is real cider limited edition, orchard driven or made all year around?
Is real cider made from 100% juice, 30% juice and water or does it contain juice made from concentrate?
Is real cider made only in Britain? Is real cider Swiss, Spanish or Irish in origin?
Leaving those questions behind for a moment, how about aroma and flavour perception?
Do you like your cider tasting like sweaty horses and old leather? Good on ya – have some more!
Do you prefer cider bursting with the flavour of strawberry laces and kiwi? ‘appy Days! Go for it!
Do you prefer your tipple to be on the still side? Awesome!
Do you only enjoy cider when its fizzy and poured over ice? Great, enjoy!
A thought on tasting notes
Ah, tasting notes: do you make ‘em? Do you religiously add every drink you had to one of the many drinking apps? Do you use social media? Or are you more of a notebook and pen kinda drinker? Do you scribble note on a beer mat? Or do you just enjoy the booze without making any mental or physical notes of it?
I do and don’t keep tasting notes. If you have read some of my earlier posts, you’ll likely know that I treat them as highly personal (somewhat reflective). And sometimes I just don’t want to go into the depth of why I like/dislike a drink. I just want to consume it.
Other times, words just need to be written, or spoken, or, as in many cases, both. It’s called balance.
Irrelevant of whether you keep them or not, it’s likely that, whilst drinking cider out in public (or at home) you’ve come across someone who likes to let you know what they think of the stuff in the glass.
Let’s recall:
A: “I’m getting hints of zingy green apples amongst the rather warming vanilla notes from the wooden barrel….”
B: “I’m getting pissed!”
Do you join in? I must admit, I have found myself feeling rather intimidated at times when faced a situation like this… how come they are getting vanilla characters? And why do they taste strawberry laces when all I’m getting is, well, … ehhm… cider?
Although I make notes, and am happy to share them with others, I also think reading reviews can be a bit limiting or restrictive. Yes, it can be useful to read the label on a bottle which tells you all about the liquid inside, but those words are just someone else’s idea and perception, even if it is the cider makers own interpretation.
Makers will typically not allow ciders to be released if they are tasting or smelling slightly off. I mean, why would they? Afterall, the cider reflects who they are as a maker.
I say this, as experienced cider makers will be finely attuned to the aromas and flavours they wish to release into the wild. And because of that, they may wish to include a brief description of the cider flavours and aromas on the label. But that’s just how they taste and smell the cider.
I mentioned restrictive and limiting, as I can be easily influenced by what I am reading or listening to.
(takes a sip) There is this something I can’t place my finger on – I’ve definitely, 100% smelled it before but can’t figure it out… so familiar….
(reads the label) … reminiscence of the countryside in late summer … wildflower meadows … hay barns and animals in the sunshine…
(takes another sip) I’m getting distinct and very clear notes of dried grass and hay, combined with floral undertones and some funky mid tones hinting at farm animals
I’m not saying that this approach is wrong, far from it. Tasting notes can be a great tool for beginners and experts. Realising which words others use to describe something is fantastic as it helps build your own descriptors. Personally I prefer (if I am about to write notes) to experience the cider before I read up what others think of it. That’s a personal choice. You may be different.
Nevertheless, how come some peeps just seem to be so spot on with their interpretations? How can they always find the right descriptors? How come they can taste so much more than simply cider?
Some folks are just great at it, while others practice, and practice and practice some more. And some people have amazing palettes others can only ever dream off.
But honestly, your taste perception is your own and no one else will be able to taste what you taste. If you taste something, it is in there. Finding the words to describe the taste experiences may be challenging at times, but it will become easier and easier over time.
Some of my notes include nothing more than two or three words, whilst others border on small essays. They also depend very much on my mood, the location, the weather and who I am with. I don’t keep them for publication, I keep them for myself and as such, they reflect who I am as a drinker.
So don’t let others intimidate you or make you feel like you’re not tasting right. Sharing your experiences with others can be fun and help you develop your vocabulary further, but you certainly don’t have to keep and share notes.
We are, as much as the cider we drink – all different.
A cider enjoyed is a great cider
As you can see, cider is more than just fermented juice and how you consume it plays a part in your enjoyment of it.
Too challenging, too tannic, too sour, too sweet? Mix it, or in the words of Daft Punk
[…] Buy it, use it, break it, fix it
Trash it, change it, mail – format it
Charge it, point it, zoom it, press it[xii] […]
There is literally no right or wrong way to drink cider!
Even though some Apfelwein purists may tell you that “Though shall not drink Apfelwein süß and sauer gespritzt!” There is no right or wrong way.
And yes, as a German I have looked into all the “rules and guidelines” and can happily say that.
I love sharing a bottle of dry cider with the husband in the garden, and I love drinking some keeved goodness in a French Airbnb. Equally, I enjoy sipping some Apfelwein on my mum’s balcony watching my oak[xiii] sway in the wind, as much as I can’t get enough of some Spanish sidra on the sofa, albeit unsuccessfully thrown by moi (I’m working on that! Promise). I enjoy cider in a pub garden as much as I enjoy it sitting by the pub’s crackling fire in the winter.
I love a good cider and beer festival as much as I love browsing supermarket and bottle shop shelves. I’m only just beginning to explore who I am as a cider drinker, but that is such an awesome journey to be on. I love to order ciders I have never heard of, as much as going back to the ones I have enjoyed previously.
And that’s what’s great about cider: a cider enjoyed exactly how you like it is a Great Cider.
You may think of cider as something with locality and regionality, connected deeply to certain areas, whilst being almost invisible in others, but that’s not true. Cider exists beyond borders, it brings us, places, regions and countries together and offers (if done right) so much more enjoyment than simple flavours and aromas.
Cider connects, teaches and celebrates – and it would be a shame to miss out on that now, wouldn’t it?
So, what is Great Cider? A cider enjoyed!
Stay safe and keep dancing 😉
Wassail
xxx
[i] Ebbelwoi = Apfelwein, Ebbelwei, Äppler, Eppler, Äppelwoi, Äppelwei, Stöffsche, Schobbe ….
[ii] Bembel = the traditional earthenware jug used to serve apple wine
[iii] Handkäsdippsche = a small vessel (=Dippsche) used to store Handkäse. Handkäs’ mit Musik is one of the go-to foods you should have with an Apfelwein
[iv] Gerippte = drinking vessels made of glass with diamond-shaped outer structure
[v] Süß gespritzter Apfelwein = Apfelwein mixed with lemonade
[vi] Sauer gespritzter Apfelwein = Apfelwein mixed with sparkling mineral water
[vii] Apfelwein Becher = traditional earthenware mug without a handle used to drink Apfelwein from
[viii] Deckelsche = a small plate used to cover the glass to keep insects away
[ix] Perry, the drink made from fermented pear juice and not pear cider!, contains sorbitol, and fermentable sugar, which in excess can cause diarrhoea. Hence too much Perry can cause the Perry Fairy to pay a visit.
[x] A: “I’m getting hints of zingy green apples amongst the rather warming vanilla notes from the wooden barrel….” – B: “I’m getting pissed!”
[xi] I do believe so, but want to “conduct” some more research into this
[xii] Technologic, Daft Punk, Human After All (2005)
[xiii] One my greatest achievements as a kid was to plant an acorn in my parents’ garden. The resulting oak is one of the most stunning and beautiful trees I have come across in a long time. I’ll snap a pic next time I’m over there for you all to enjoy!
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