Since the implementation of the Cider Judge designation in 2019 by the BJCP there have been 147 certified judges varying in rank from Recognized to GM XV. While only a small percentage of current judges hold the designation, there is a growing interest and need for qualified cider judges for many competitions worldwide. So, to help members navigate through tasting cider and entice more members to take the plunge in the certification, the BJCP Communications Team asked the help of some experts to break down best practice in cider judging.
Bruce Buerger is a National Judge, former Education Director for the BJCP, and former chair of the committee tasked with the implementation of the Cider Judge program. Sandy Cockerham is a Grandmaster IX judge, Mid-West Regional Rep, and Vice President of the BJCP. Cristian Galaz Torres is an Agricultural Engineer and a certified Enologist with the Catholic University of Chile who both teaches and advises on cider production. He is a certified BJCP Judge and a CCP certified professional level 1. Michael Wilcox is a Grandmaster Judge, a former member of the BJCP Cider Judge Committee, and has written extensively about judging cider (find the collection of his article on the BJCP website here). Michael, Sandy, and Bruce were also the first three cider judges certified by the BJCP. Responses have been edited slightly for clarity and focus.
What are some aspects of judging cider that only pertain to those BJCP categories?
Bruce Buerger: With cider it isn’t just one thing. Harmony is the key while still getting that underlying base cider or perry.
Sandy Cockerham: Certainly in comparison to beer or mead, I’d expect some apple character or at least the impression of apples. We know that a dry cider can be quite austere and a bit like a white wine, but I always look for the impression that apple is here.
Cristian Galaz: Cider tasting has a very unique and intrinsic characteristic compared to beers or even meads: astringency. The levels of astringency and its subqualities such as dry, velvety, silky, etc., give structure, personality, and finesse to the cider. Then, acidity, bitterness, and sweetness are elements of flavor balance, according to the style. Finally, the profile, complexity, and level of aroma define the local identity or the lack thereof.
On the other hand, while acidity can also be found in beer and mead, it presents itself in different forms in cider. Malic, lactic, or citric acids may dominate in different proportions depending on the style of cider or perry. Each of them has a characteristic sensory profile that should be known by the judge for a proper evaluation.
Michael Wilcox: Cider isn’t totally unique, but there are some aspects that are fairly unusual in beer. C1 styles (Standard Cider and Perry) are more like Traditional Mead, but generally less intense on the sweet end, and on average of lower alcohol. C2 styles (Specialty Cider and Perry) can vary significantly and some would be comparable only to Specialty Beer styles.
One needs to be able to appreciate a completely dry beverage and the body that can come with it, without even the viscosity on the palate one would get from a “dry” grain-based beverage. On the subject of dryness, if you’re doing mini-BOS, don’t pick that Ice Cider or other very sweet entry until you have a clear idea how the drier beverages on the table present themselves. Diacetyl in low amounts is OK. The cider styles overlap a bit, and judges should avoid looking for something that hits a “bulls-eye” in a style.
What is balanced to you? What sort of qualities are you looking for when judging cider?
Bruce Buerger: I discourage the use of the term balance when it comes to cider (and mead as well). A lot of judges associate the term balance to the comparison of two things. With beer it’s malt vs hops and cider (and mead) it’s acidity vs tannins. To break that stigma I try to use the term harmony when discussing with judges in an attempt to get them thinking about multiple aspects that contribute to the quality of the whole. Not all acids are the same so how do the observed acids contribute to the whole, and then how do they do when taking into consideration the observed tannins? What do the apple varietal characteristics do for the whole? What does the yeast choice and fermentation do to the whole? If fruit or spiced what do those contributions do to the whole? Complementing the base cider is good, overpowering it is bad. Here’s a shocker for a lot of judges, diacetyl doesn’t automatically equate to something bad for cider. Diacetyl is actually acceptable with all cider styles as long as it’s complementary to the whole. Residual sweetness, must oxidation, barrel character, alcohol level and character, back sweeteners, bitterness, etc. I encourage judges to look for how well all of the observed characteristics contribute to the whole and then compare that to what’s expected per the style guidelines.
Sandy Cockerham: Balanced to me, is when the three aspects of sweetness, tannins and acidity are harmonized and none take over. Adding to that, you want other aspects to not dominate, for example, alcohol.
Michael Wilcox: Harmonious. I don’t really want to say “I know it when I see (taste) it” but that’s about how it goes. There’s a synergy when everything is on point. It doesn’t have to mean “equal”. Each style will have their own point or points where the various levels of sweetness, tannin, acidity, alcohol, and other characters will “balance” out in a harmonious manner.
How does your perception of balance change between different BJCP categories?
Bruce Buerger: It doesn’t change too much but I’d like to take this opportunity to emphasize that nothing should overpower the base cider. Judges should always be able to observe the base cider and then ascertain how well additions like fruit, spice, wood, barrel, etc. contribute to the whole.
Sandy Cockerham: In a New World Cider we often see a higher acidity. In an Applewine or New England Cider I expect alcohol to become more of a player, yet to avoid being hot. Another kind of balance comes in where you have cider with other fruits, or with spiced ciders. You still need to have apple to be part of the balance. As an example, a berry fruited cider shouldn’t be a berry bomb, but rather should allow for the berries and apple to work together. It needn’t be an equal partnership, but they both need to be there.
Cristian Galaz: Balance will depend on the cider style being judged. For example, a Canadian Ice Cider doesn’t have the same balance as a French doux keeved-cider, both having an important sweet component. The first will balance acidity with sweetness, and the second will balance bitterness with sweetness. Therefore, a balanced cider will be one that presents the characteristics corresponding to its declared style.
Michael Wilcox: Basically each style has a target, but don’t think of it as a “bulls-eye” – there is more than one right answer for each.
New World Cider is very often acid-forward. Sometimes it can be quite sweet without seeming cloying – often made with something super “appley” like McIntosh, but it’ll still need fairly high acidity to balance. Anything that is sweet is almost always not going to have noticeable alcohol. Tannins are welcome, but will not be very high. If dry, expect it to be quite delicate. You may see crabapples used here to add a bit of tannin or significant acid, as well as increasing OG.
English Cider will vary depending on whether there is MLF (malolactic fermentation) or not. Without it, the acid can be moderate but full MLF will drop acidity in half (and increase pH). Inexperienced judges will often call English Cider with MLF “Brett Cider”, but the character is different. Tannins can be quite high and are much different for the inexperienced palate and will overall make the cider seem more dry than its gravity may indicate. Sweetness doesn’t play well at high levels with low acidity so you generally won’t see examples where sweetness dominates balance. Even the bittersweet/bittersharp apples used here alone without MLF can also have significant non-appley characters. I usually describe this family of flavors as “savory” and it is much different than you are used to with sweet/sharp apples.
French Cider is fairly scarce in the USA and most judges haven’t experienced the richness and sort of overripe apple character they can have. They can also be quite unstable and more prone than other styles to re-activate in the bottle, thus you can end up with something drier and more carbonated than originally intended. I don’t think I’ve ever detected alcohol in a French Cider without something like a Calvados barrel involved, and indeed some commercial examples may have stopped at 3%. For something with almost no alcohol and significant residual sweetness to not taste like unfermented apple juice, you really need tannins or acid, and the former is the main balance in this case. When really soft and astringent they can make something that could otherwise be cloying quite refreshing. The smoky bacon character of MLF is welcome, but not necessary. At low levels it plays well with the rich overripe apple and soft tannins.
New World and Traditional Perry are the best examples of the impression of balance changing between styles, and of course it is due to the unfermentable sorbitol, which level can vary significantly between pears. Just because something is predominantly pear, does not necessarily mean it cannot be truly “dry”. When fully dry, perry won’t generally have a lot of flavor; pears are too delicate for that. If you’re familiar with dry Riesling, Pinot Gris, Chenin Blanc, or unoaked Chardonnay you may have noted low pear character in a wine before, but Perry will have much lower alcohol. Diluting white wine by half with water is inexact (you’d be unnecessarily diluting everything including things like glycerine that helps mouthfeel) but may give you some idea of the balance and delicate nature. The tannins in Traditional Perry make less acid necessary to balance compared to New World Perry.
New England Cider and Applewine are the “cider with sugar added to elevate alcohol” styles. The most basic way to think of them is Flavorful Adjuncts vs Flavorless Adjunct. Both should have some alcohol in the balance, but I think it’s more important in Applewine because there is generally so much less character there to hide that alcohol. Sweetness especially can hide alcohol, and while neither NEEDS to be dry, New England can usually support moderate or higher levels of sweetness better than Applewine. Applewine, often with low sugar, cannot support much oak, which is the only added thing I can think could appear at very low levels without being out of style here (even though it’s not mentioned in the current guidelines) Applewine could have low tannins from bittersweet apples, but it would not be medium/high or I’d enter it as Specialty. Those grape white wines I mentioned up in Perry – very much like Applewine, but this time with similar alcohol. Applewine balance would tend to go acid/alcohol, with sweetness well behind and tannins only a minor feature and often not appearing at all. New England Cider tannin levels could be higher, thus any of the 4 could be up front in balance and still end up harmonious.
Cider with Other Fruit and Cider with Herbs/Spices are totally dependent on the fruits/spices used. But go look at C1 Standar Cider and Perry again and notice how we emphasize that cider may not have noticeable apple character. Then think about how strong, overt, identifiable many fruits and spices are. Those two facts often don’t play well together. Thus as an entrant this is where I use the sweeter, more overt apple ciders to balance the fruit/spice added. It is very easy to over spice a cider or turn it into a Fruity Acid Bomb with massive cherry or other strongly flavored fruit.
Ice Cider … As to Ice Cider’s actual balance, it should be sweet. Dry or semi misses the mark. It should be fairly rich, but acid should be high enough not to be cloying. Dessert-like is not in itself cloying – be fair to the entrant. Alcohol tends to be fairly high, but also fairly hidden by the sugar.
What role does apple variety play in your consideration of complexity, balance, and totality of the beverage?
Bruce Buerger: Apple or pear must sources are always important considerations. With any beverage, poor ingredients usually equate to a poor product. I don’t drink diet sodas or use any kind of artificial sweeteners so if anything like that is used it will usually stand out to me. Cider can have a white grape character but solid white grape character makes me wonder if a juice concentrate was used. In New World Cider or Perry the common source is table apples or table pears, which typically don’t produce the sugar levels to produce a stable cider or perry. So what else, if anything, is being added to the must or fermented cider to stabilize the final product?
One thing I’d like to emphasize to judges though, apple or pear varietal contributions to a cider or perry are not the same as ingredients for beer. Northern Brewer hops will contribute a minty, woody character to a beer. Maris Otter malt will contribute a bready / nutty character. Apple and Pear varietals can, but may not necessarily always have specific characteristics that get passed on to the finished cider or perry. Soil type, tree age, nitrogen content, seasonal moisture and temperature levels, etc., all influence the levels of apple and pear characteristics. For example, Kingston Black apples can contribute a smokiness to a cider, but don’t expect all ciders listing Kingston Black to have a consistent, if any, smokey character.
Sandy Cockerham: Drinking ciders, you do start to pick out layers of complexity from the use of heritage fruits. Certain apples have a fairly well known quality that becomes their calling card. Ciders made with predominantly table varieties often lack this.
Cristian Galaz: Apple variety may not play a role in itself, but if the right group and percentage of apples are used to achieve the desired style, it does. Of course, it may not be possible to find apples such as English Dabbinet, Spanish Raxao or French Douce Moen in all areas where cider is made. However, by knowing the percentage of each group of apples (sharp, sweet, bitter-sharp, bitter-sweet, etc.) used for a particular style, a producer can get closer to the desired style.
Michael Wilcox: It matters, but not THAT much. There’s simply too much variation. If someone tells me their cider is mostly or all Kingston Black, and it has a delicate floral character and no discernable tannin, I’ll say they missed the mark no matter how tasty it is. If it simply has a little different savory, but still very noticeably not stereotypical “appley” flavor than I’m used to, that’s fine. Look at how much variation there is among Cabernet or Pinot Noir. It happens with cider too. Allergy concerns aside, my advice for any beer or mead entrant for Specialty Styles has been to not put it on the entry sheet if it cannot be tasted. It goes for cider too.
What are some common mistakes novice cider judges make?
Bruce Buerger: Fruit or spice bombs for starters. I can’t emphasize enough that the fruit or spice addition needs to complement the underlying base cider or perry. Great story, a good friend of mine who’s also a judge entered a cherry cider in two different competitions that were taking place on the same weekend. As fate would have it I judged the cider in one of the competitions and scored it in the low 30s, commenting it was a great drink, but was unable to determine any apple character. In the other competition it ended up taking Cider Best of Show. We still joke about that because it was indeed a good drink, but he fully admits that there wasn’t any apple juice in it.
Ciders with a pink or red body are something that trips up new judges too. They don’t realize that the apple variety can contribute a reddish color to the finished product. Too often I hear cherry comments when discussing the cider after completing the score sheet, especially if any tartness is observed. Finally, I highly recommend not trying to provide suggestions pertaining to ingredient corrections. With all the different variables associated with varietals and the many things that can influence them, judges are just setting themselves up for embarrassment. Judges are much better off summing up what wasn’t working and / or how something wasn’t quite to style.
Sandy Cockerham: One big one is faulting phenolic characteristics on an English Cider. Those are often a very traditional part of those ciders, and done well they add interesting complexity.
Cristian Galaz: Not realizing that cider profiles can be subtle and that balance is usually sought according to style. For example, an English Cider may contain a slight Brett character (spicy/smoky, phenolic, farmyard/old-horse), but an excessive amount of Brett is a defect, and giving a high score for a cider with a high Brett profile would be a mistake.
What advice would you give a beer judge who was looking to start judging cider?
Bruce Buerger: Beyond studying the materials associated with the cider exam, get to know other fruits, fruit juices, and spices. Get your hands on a copy of The Flavor Bible as well. Cook, mix, bake, chill, blend, sample, and observe. Familiarize yourself with these different flavors, aromas, and textures so if you come across them you can detect and describe them. Don’t just try to pass a test, train to become a good judge.
Sandy Cockerham: Drink more cider! All the styles. Also, consider stewarding or volunteering to judge at a large cider competition such as the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry competition (GLINTCAP), which occurs in May.
Cristian Galaz: Although the cider making process is important, much of what makes a cider style unique comes directly from the apple blend and the area where the apples are produced. Therefore, try to find characteristic ciders from particular regions that are a reference for the style, so you can perceive the differences and subtleties of these styles. Get together with friends and have a tasting session where you can describe the ciders, hopefully with as much information about them as possible (harvest year, apples, blend percentage, particular elaboration technique, etc). This way, you can develop a better appreciation of the cider styles.
Michael Wilcox: Be open to subtlety. People in the “bigger is better” stage of beer appreciation often aren’t ready for this stuff. Sometimes they never get there, and that’s OK. To each their own.
Goes for all beer/mead/cider: Don’t award bigger flavors or “most unique” entries ahead of something actually well-made. Remember they are guidelines and cider especially is fairly short on specifics. Flaws like infection are a bigger deal than something like tannins that have a little bitterness to go with their astringency. On that note, simply detecting any tannin in New World Cider is not a bad thing; please stop penalizing it.
Go back and look at the mead article on this topic from several years ago. I’d especially focus on the discussion of detectable honey and the comments that were made about it re: honey/fruit balance in melomel. Most of the lessons here apply equally to cider. Again, apple tends to be subtle without help from sweetening or concentration.
Study (grape) wine. White wine generally has more in common with cider but there are aspects of red wine that can be appreciated. The MLF that most red wine undergoes is generally from a different organism than the lactic acid bacteria giving certain cider a smoky spicy character, so don’t be thrown by that. I have friends that continually call certain beverages “brett cider” when there is only MLF going on. However, appreciating the tannic nature of most red wines can be useful with ciders that have significant tannin content. For those who struggle to appreciate dry cider (or mead), studying and just getting used to drinking both red and white wine can usually help.
It’s important to keep training and trying new things – I like to point out that getting your BJCP badge is the beginning of the training, not the end. To that point, and as a cider maker myself, I do a ton of benchmarking. Buy some cider. See what is available locally while on vacation or get on an online store (such as Vinoshipper in the US) and see who will ship to you… I also recommend perusing the annual results of the Great Lakes International Cider And Perry Competition (GLINTCAP) and looking into whether the winners will ship.
Are there any distinctive cider styles to be aware of or that you’d like to see included in future BJCP guidelines?
Bruce Buerger: Spanish for sure. I’d also like to hear more about (and sample) any cider or perry styles that are native to other regions that BJCP members reside in.
Sandy Cockerham: Given the interest I’ve seen, I hope to see Fire Cider (or Cidre de Feu) in future guidelines.
Cristian Galaz: I believe it is crucial to consider adding the cider styles from Spain, perhaps starting with both Asturian and Basque ciders. As they form a fundamental part of the world cider history and culture, but having their own unique characteristics when comparing them to other countries as well as between the two regions. There are different varieties of apples, production techniques and a cider pouring culture very specific to Spain, and even between these two regions mentioned, it is quite different. The Asturian cider poured from over a meter high with a meticulous technique, or the txotx from the kupelas (large wooden barrels) in Basque cideries (bars/restaurants), deserve to be included in the BJCP cider guide.
It is worth noting what is happening in southern Chile, where there is a dormant cider culture due to a great diversity of apples brought over centuries ago by Spanish, English, German, and French immigrants. Later, they were crossed and selected by locals. To this day, it is possible to find a great diversity of apple ecotypes with cider aptitude, such as the Limona (sharp), Fierro (bitter-sweet) and Camuesta (bitter-sharp) apples, among others. In the past, cider was traditionally made using the “ancestral” method, i.e., a single fermentation that ended with the carbonation of the cider in the bottle.
Michael Wilcox: As currently written, we don’t really have a home for cider with moderate and noticeable levels of tannins while retaining significant acidity, yet I would argue they are a significant portion of the best ciders currently being produced in the USA. (Can’t really speak for other countries, unfortunately.)
Also, the authors of the current guidelines aren’t really a fan of sour cider. I tend to share their views for the majority of the ones I’ve experienced, but I understand there is demand. I think it’s probably something that will get created eventually…
Edited by Johann Renner Rouliez & Andrew Luberto.
Photos courtesy of Sandy Cockerham & James Foster.