A guide to cider making built from insights shared across 500 episodes of Cider Chat.
After speaking with and featuring cider makers, orchardists, historians, and fermentation experts around the world, Cider Chat now holds a remarkable collection of knowledge about the craft of cider.
This milestone episode reflects on a simple question explored again and again in those conversations…
How is cider made?
Cider is made by pressing apples to extract juice and fermenting that juice with yeast to produce alcohol. During fermentation, yeast converts the natural sugars in apples into alcohol and carbon dioxide while creating the aromas and flavors that define the finished cider.
Depending on the cider maker’s approach, the cider may then go through additional steps such as malolactic fermentation, barrel aging, blending, and bottle conditioning before it is ready to drink.
Across nearly 500 conversations on Cider Chat, cider makers consistently emphasize three things:
- quality apples
- careful fermentation
- patience
Apples: The Foundation of Cider
Every cider begins with apples. The balance of sugar, acidity, tannin, and aromatics that define cider
Traditional cider apples are often grouped into four categories:
- Sweet
- Sharp
- Bittersweet
- Bittersharp
Episodes Featuring Apple Expertise
Episode 422 – John Bunker on Orchards and Legacy
Episode 423 – Apple Identification with John Bunker
Episode 389: Epic 7-Volume Compendium on North American Apples w/Daniel Bussey
Milling and Pressing
After harvest, apples are milled into pomace and pressed to extract juice.
Decisions made during pressing can influence:
- juice clarity
- tannin extraction
- aromatics
Episodes on Pressing and Juice
- Episode 182: Traditional Straw Pressed Cider | Sandford Orchards, UK
- Episode 013: Ryal Schallenberger | Northwest Mobile Juicing, Montana
- Episode 324: Šraml Cutting-Edge Cider & Wine Tools | Slovenia
Fermentation
Fermentation is the stage where yeast converts apple sugar into alcohol.
Cider makers may choose:
- wild fermentation
- cultured yeast
- co-fermentation
Episodes on Fermentation
Episode 366 – Tom Oliver on Wild Fermentation
Episode 271 – Yeast Slurry and Bottle Conditioning
Malolactic Fermentation
Malolactic fermentation converts malic acid into lactic acid, softening the acidity of cider and changing its texture.
Episodes
Episode 489: Natural Cider Production Seminar | CiderCon 2025
Episode 073 Shea Comfort The Yeast Whisper
Barrel Aging
Some ciders are aged in oak barrels where slow oxygen exposure and interaction with wood shape flavor and structure.
Barrel Aging Episode
Episode 495 – Cider Barrels Speak
Ask Ryan: Practical Cider Making
The Ask Ryan series with Ryan Monkman of FieldBird Cider answers listener questions about fermentation, barrels, and cellar management.
Ask Ryan Episodes
- Episode 221 – Ask Ryan Part 1 – 2020
- Episode 222 – Ask Ryan Part 2 – 2020
- Episode 223 – Ask Ryan Part 3 – 2020
- Episode 224 – Ask Ryan Part 4 – 2020
- Episode 269 – Gross Lees in the Barrel – 2021
- Episode 270 – Avoid Bottle Bombs- 2021
- Episode 271 – Yeast Slurry for Bottling – 2021
Lees Aging and Bâtonnage
Lees are yeast sediment left after fermentation. Some cider makers age cider on the lees to build texture and complexity.
Bâtonnage is the technique of stirring those lees during barrel aging.
Episodes
Blending
Many cider makers blend batches or barrels to achieve balance between acidity, tannin, aroma, and alcohol.
Blending is often considered the most creative stage of cider making.
The Science of Cider
Behind the orchard and the barrel lies the chemistry of fermentation. Cider makers constantly monitor factors that influence flavor, stability, and aging.
Key elements include:
- pH – influences microbial stability and sulfur management
- SO₂ (sulfur dioxide) – protects cider from oxidation and spoilage organisms
- temperature control – affects fermentation speed and aroma development
- yeast health – critical for successful fermentation
- malolactic fermentation – conversion of malic acid to lactic acid
Episodes
- Episode 495 – Cider Barrels Speak | Bâtonnage & Barrel Aging
- Episode 271 – The Exquisite Slurry for Bottling Cider
- Ask Ryan Series – Fermentation, lees management, and sulfur practices
Bottling and Conditioning
Before cider reaches the glass, it may be:
- filtered
- stabilized
- bottle conditioned
- naturally carbonated
Cider Around the World
Explore the Cider Chat Archive
Each region brings its own traditions, apple varieties, and fermentation styles.
Normandy, France
Known for bittersweet apples, keeved cider, and Calvados production.
Episodes featuring:
- Episode 435 5-Star Cider Dining with Eric Bordelet
Episode 430: Blending Cider Tradition with Modernity: Cidrerie Manoir du Val - Episode 431: Domaine Johanna Cécillon’s Elegant Ciders | Brittany FR
Somerset and Herefordshire, England
Historic cider regions famous for tannic cider apples and barrel fermentation traditions.
- 450th Roger Wilkins – The Cider King
- Episode 475: At the UK’s National Perry Pear Centre and the Story Behind 99PINES
- Episode 462: Cider in a Cathedral of Opulence at The Newt | UK
Episode 455 Zero % Sh** | John Edwards Returns
Asturias, Spain
Home of sidra natural, poured from height in the traditional escanciado style and celebrated in lively cider houses.
- Episode 493: Cider as a Sport | Sidra in Asturias (Epic Replay) – Anzu Fernández – La Sidra
Canada
A region known for Ice Cider and experimentation with barrel aging and blending.
Episodes featuring:
Episode 498 – Heeman Cellars | Somewhere Cider From Ontario
Episode 419 – Canadian Cider Making | Wooden Gate Cider Journey
United States
Cider traditions across the United States range from historic New England orchards to the modern craft cider movement in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Episodes
Field Maloney – 001- Field Maloney | West County Cider
Stephen Wood – Farnum Hill – 032 Steve Wood | Farnum Hill Cider, NH
Episode 484: Rethinking American Cider History with Patrick McCauley
Episode 465: The Integrated Table: Cider, Food, and Farming at 1000 Stone Farm
Why Episode 500 Matters
Five hundred episodes later, one thing becomes clear:
Cider is more than a drink.
It is a meeting place of:
- agriculture
- fermentation science
- tradition
- creativity
Cider Chat continues to explore these stories from orchards, cider houses, and barrel rooms around the world.
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