Cider around the world

A brief guide to some fine cider-making traditions from France to the USA

Food blog: traditional cider polishes its apples
A short guide to British cider
Decanting Spanish cider from the barrel
Decanting Spanish cider from the barrel using the traditional (and flashy) 'throwing' method. Photograph: Bill Bradshaw

Britain drinks more cider than the rest of the world combined. But it's not the only country with a long, unique, and endearingly eccentric cider-making tradition.


Normandy and Brittany each have long cider making traditions, dating back as far as the twelfth century. French ciders tend to be sweeter and lower in alcohol than British: cidre doux is very sweet, usually up to 3% in strength, and demi-sec is 3–5% abv. But cidre brut is a strong dry cider of 5% alcohol or more. Normandy also makes Calvados, a cider brandy. The perfect match if you're in Normandy is a low strength, sweet cider, traditionally drunk from a ceramic cup or bowl, accompanied by creamy crepes.


Cider is popular across Spain, but there's nowhere quite like Asturias on the northern coast, where cider-drinking is pretty much an act of national pride. Bone dry sidra is served by a peculiar "throwing" method, where an expert escanciador (waiter) will pour the drink from a great height, splashing it onto the side of the glass to aerate it, giving it a mousse-like texture akin to champagne. These short measures should then be downed quickly. And often.


The country may be world-famous for beer but the Hessen region prefers apfelwein, a still cider between 5% and 7% ABV. The Sachsenhausen district of Frankfurt is almost entirely devoted to cider houses where the drink is taken neat, or diluted with water or orange juice, accompanied by local delicacy handkäse, a greasy, delicious cheese and onion concoction.


Twenty years ago America took European brewing traditions and created its own craft brewing industry. Now it's doing the same with cider. Influenced predominantly by the English ciders of Somerset and the three counties, but without access to the same stocks of bittersweet, tannic cider apples, craft American ciders tend to be sparkling, served chilled, and are increasingly common in Manhattan's best restaurants as a perfect low-alcohol substitute for wine.