Brewery Setup Blog

When it comes to alcoholic beverages, beer and wine tend to be the first option for many people. However, there's another drink that has grown popularity in recent years – cider. Made from fermented apple juice, cider tastes refreshing and fruity. In this blog post, we'll explore the world of cider, how it differs from beer, and how it’s made.

What is Cider and How is it different from beer?

While beer is brewed using malt, yeast, and hops, cider is usually fermented with freshly squeezed apple juice and yeast. Although both use yeast to ferment, cider typically uses wine or champagne yeast strains, and beer uses lager or ale yeast.

Another significant difference between cider and beer is that cider is gluten-free. Because cider is made from pure fruit as a raw material, it doesn't contain any gluten. On the other hand, beer can contain gluten as it's made from grains such as barley and wheat.

In terms of ABV (alcohol by volume), beer can have a higher ABV than cider. However, cider can also be made into high-alcohol varieties.

The process of cider making

To make cider, the first step is to obtain the raw material – apple juice. You can either purchase apples and squeeze the juice out of a specialized fruit machine, or you can buy pre-processed apple juice. If you choose to buy apple juice, ensure that it doesn't contain any preservatives as they can change the flavor during fermentation.

Measurement

Once obtaining the raw apple juice, it's important to measure the sugar content and pH levels to ensure that the desired alcohol content is achieved after fermentation. Different forms of sugar like honey, white sugar, or dextrose can be added to increase the alcohol content. The pH should be in the range of 3.2-3.7. If the acidity of the cider needs to be increased, you can add malic acid, while calcium carbonate can be added to reduce acidity. Before pitching yeast, pectase can be added as an optional final step to help break down pectin in the juice, clarifying the cider.

Fermentation

When it comes to yeast strains, champagne or white wine yeast are popular choices for cider-making, but any type of beer's yeast can be used depending on the desired flavor profile and fermentation time. Cider fermented with champagne or wine yeast should be kept at 12-18°C for over one and a half to two months, while ale yeast is fermented at 18-22°C for only about three weeks to a month.

There are two stages in the fermentation process of cider. The first stage will take about 7-10 days and gas bubbles will be produced every 5-10 seconds. By the end of this stage, the gas release slows down, and the bubbling interval becomes once few tens of seconds. Once fermentation slows, the yeast and sediment settle at the bottom of the tank, and the cider is transferred to another container for the second stage of fermentation, which aims to improve the clarity of the cider. Different yeast strains and requirements for the sweetness or dryness of the cider can affect the length of this stage. To maintain the sweetness of the cider, this period should not be too long, as the yeast will continue to consume the sugar in the cider.

Carbonation

Not all ciders need to be carbonated, but if so, priming sugar (glucose, sucrose, or DME) can be added before bottling, to allow residual yeast to ferment and produce carbonation.

To cater to younger drinkers, fruit juices such as pear, strawberry, raspberry, and even elderberry, lactic acid bacteria, and tea can be added to flavor ciders, making them sour and sweet like fruit juice. This type of cider is suitable for daily drinking and can be produced with existing fermentation equipment in craft breweries. Tiantai offers conical or cylindrical two-stage stainless steel fermentation tanks that can be used for beer brewing and cider production. If you have any needs, please contact our sales engineers directly.