[Editor's Note, July 2003: The text on this page was originally written by Morgan Miller as part of his CyderSpace
website, which is sadly defunct. The files were taken over by Dick Dunn of the cider digest, and in turn Dick has kindly passed on
the pages relating to Spanish cider to me, for incorporation into the Real Cider & Perry site. If you have any comments or updates on the page,
please send them to
.]
Most cider drinkers are unaware of Spanish cider, and those who are assume
it is inferior to those of the UK and France. I am pleased to notify the
cider drinking public, that Spanish ciders on a par to those of the West
Country and Normandy. And the consumption of sidra is a highly evolved artform.
In the Asturias region on the northern Atlantic coast above Madrid; cider
is the local alcoholic beverage. Driving the highway to the Asturian capital
of Oviedo, I was shocked to see Sidrerias and producers everywhere! Traditional
sidra is still and comes in corked wine bottles. After ordering a bottle
at the bar, a bartender opens it for you and then pours it in an arc over
his head into a wide mouth glass held at the waist. This procedure aerates
the cider and opens up it's flavor. You then drink the entire glass while
it is still 'carbonated', except for the lees which you throw ceremoniously
upon the floor. Some Sidrerias have troughs on the floor to catch this sidra
run-off.
Historically, cider is the national drink of Euskadi, the Basque country
of Spain. These days cider seems to be more common in the hinterlands than
in the cities. In fact, the province of Gipuzcoa has published a tourist
guide to farmhouse cider makers and cider bars! A problem however, the guide
is in Castillian and the incomprehensible Euskadi. The Basques are very
proud of their traditional cuisine, which cider compliments wonderfully.
Drink Basque sidra while eating Idiazabal, or any number of the flavorful
Basque sheep's milk cheeses.
Allow me one last attempt to coax a free trip from the Asturian Tourism
Board. The Northern coast is the Spaniards' vacation area. In summers southerners
escape to the north avoiding the 35ºC/110ºF temperatures inland.
The weather on the North Coast of Spain is quite similar to the Southwest
of England or the Oregon, Washington and British Columbia coasts. We traveled
there in August and the weather was cool and misty- a great relief! With
the exception of the faithful making the pilgrimage to the Gallician holy
city of Santiago, foreigners are relatively uncommon. We found both the
Asturians and Euskadi quite friendly, especially when sharing their sidra.
Traditional Spanish ciders are still, very dry, with a delicate apple aroma.
In flavor they fall somewhere between a traditional English farmhouse cider
and the best English and North American 'commercial' ciders. Traditional
Sidra is available only in unlabeled corked wine bottles, the producer is
identified on the cork. To make traditional sidra, apples were crushed with
large wood mallets called mayando in troughs bfore pressing. One Asturian
cider maker ages their sidra in chestnut barrels, which I believe is traditional.
There are commercial 'new' ciders available on draft and in cans from thetwo larger Asturian cider makers.
I was lent several chapters from a Spanish language book on cider. I am
unaware of the title of the book, but the chapter which was the most use
to me was titled "La Obtencion del Mosto" by Juan
José Mangas Alonso. Apparently Spanish ciders vary from both Anglo-American
and French styles of cider in their use of acid apples as the base of sidra
vs. sweets and bitter-sweets in cider/cidre. For example:
North American Still Cider:
Sweets 30-60%, Acids 10-20%, Bitters 5-20%, "Aromatics" 10-20%
from "Sweet and Hard Cider"
Spanish Cider Composition
Acid 40%, Sub-Acids 30-25%, Sweet 10-15%, Bittersweet 15-20%, Bitter 5%
from "La Obtencion del Mosto"
To make this acid base palatable, a malo-lactic fermentation is necessary
to convert the malic acid to lactic acid. According to Mangas Alonso several
yeast strains are being used experimentally which convert both sugars and
malic acid into alcohol and CO2. These varieties of yeast allowing malo-lactic
fermentation are Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Schizosaccharomyces malidevorans.
Spanish Cider Apples
This very incomplete listing and analysis is from an agricultural text titled:
Análisis tecnológico de variedades, compaña 1989, by
Centro de Experimentación Agraria (Villaviciosa) quoted in "La
Obtencion del Mosto". The Centro in Villaviciosa seems to be much like
the Long Ashton station was in the UK.
If anyone knows anything more about Spanish ciders please let me know
and I'll update this article. I hope to expand the sidreria listings to
include some farmhouse producers!
Contact me, Morgan Miller
[Editor's Note, July 2003: From now on please send updates to
.]
