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Tannin gives grip
Traditional cider fruit can bring dryness and structure in much the same way grape skins shape red wine.
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Cider ingredients · Apples
Cider apples: why the best fruit for cider may be terrible to eat.
Eating apples are bred to be pleasant straight from the tree. Cider apples are selected for what happens after pressing and fermentation, which means tannin, acidity and bitterness can be advantages rather than flaws.
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Acidity gives freshness
Sharpness keeps sweetness and alcohol from feeling heavy.
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Fruit character changes after fermentation
A variety that tastes awkward raw can become complex once sugar has fermented away.
Sweet, sharp, bittersweet and bittersharp
Traditional cider language often groups apples by acidity and tannin. Sweet fruit is low in both; sharp fruit brings acidity; bittersweet adds tannin with lower acidity; bittersharp brings both.
Dessert apples can still make cider
Plenty of good cider is made from ordinary eating apples, especially in regions without specialist cider orchards. The difference is that traditional cider fruit gives the maker more structural tools to work with.
Blending is part of the craft
One apple may provide aroma, another acidity, another tannin and another fermentable sugar. Many traditional ciders are built from blends rather than a single variety.
The orchard matters before the press starts
Tree age, harvest timing, storage and ripeness all change the juice. Cider quality begins in the orchard rather than at fermentation.
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Put it to work
If this page has done its job, the next glass should make a little more sense.