In Maltese, we often talk about fermentation, the sugars that malts bring to the beer wort, the yeasts that “eat” them, and the aromas that this process, considered literally magical for many centuries, releases into our mugs, pints, glasses, and beer cups.
Today, let’s set aside – perhaps – our beloved beers for a moment to focus on another drink that is the result of the same, or at least a very similar, fermentation process: cider.
Cider, what is it?
Cider is an alcoholic beverage obtained from the fermentation of fruit and/or its juice, traditionally and most commonly apples, but it can also be made with pears, raspberries, cherries, and many other fruits, often in addition to apples. The artisanal production process of cider involves using selected apples, often from local farms, separating the pulp from the solid part (pomace), and a fermentation that reduces the sugar content, giving the drink an alcohol content similar to many beers: between 4% and 6% in most cases.
It is very interesting to note how, unlike beer, which is often described as bitter – and loved or hated for this reason – cider carries an equivalent but opposite “stigma”: too many people still categorize it as a drink that is too sweet for their taste, having never experienced tasting artisanal ciders different from those available in supermarkets.
Indeed, in the world of cider, there are styles and examples very different in terms of ingredient choices, production processes, and the aromas and flavors found in the glass. Just as with beers and wines, different ciders are obtained depending on the variety of apples chosen and the terroir where they grow, the yeast strains that conduct the fermentation and the conditions they are subjected to, the degree of attenuation (dryness), and the carbonation method.
From the birth of the drink to a 100% Italian cider
But when and where was this drink born, which in Italy was for many years linked to a fantasy-like culture, full of druids and magic potions? The oldest known records of apple and pear fermentation were found in Spain and date back to the mid-3rd century BC.
However, it is known that in Egypt and Asia Minor, apple cultivation was already widespread about ten centuries earlier, so it is reasonable to think that many liters of “proto-cider” were already produced and consumed and just need to be discovered.
Moving closer to modern times, England, and Great Britain in general, are certainly the lands that made this drink famous. It is no coincidence that in the Taverns and Inns frequented by some of the most famous characters in English literature, cider was already consumed in large quantities in the 17th century. It was precisely during this period that the arrival of the Redstreak apple from Normandy, brought by Viscount John Scudamore, allowed the production of a cider so good that it definitively won over the English aristocracy and replaced wine at the Stuart court. Another important figure of 17th-century England is Sir Kenelm Digby, the inventor of the bottle best suited to withstand the internal pressure of cider during and after refermentation. Today, that bottle with a bulbous base and narrow neck is called “Champenoise” or “Champagnotta,” and its use has spread worldwide thanks to the French father of Champagne, Dom Pérignon.
In the 18th century, cider experienced great growth also in Austria, where the area cultivated with apple trees even took space away from cereals. In Italy, in fact, the region historically most suited to apple cultivation – and the production of excellent ciders – is Trentino-Alto Adige, with its wonderful green valleys in summer and completely white in winter.
In recent years, however, many other areas of Italy have seen artisanal producers rediscovering and enhancing cider, carrying on small local traditions with an approach and quality very similar to those of craft beers. It is no coincidence, in fact, that one of the most appreciated Italian ciders is produced by a historic Italian brewery, one of the first to open in Italy in 1996: we are talking about Birra Baladin. Its face and founder, Teo Musso, passionate – if not obsessed – with Italian identity, could only take on the production of a cider made with 100% Italian apples that restores to this ancient drink the right balance between fullness of flavor and dryness, never becoming cloying.
Discover it on maltese.beer in the dedicated section of our site, along with various cocktails with apple cider, beer-based cocktails, and gin.
