Short version: if you let yeast do its job, it will eat the apple sugars and turn them into alcohol and CO₂, marching steadily toward dry. That’s cider’s natural destination.
“Sweet” cider typically takes intervention after fermentation—most commonly back-sweetening with fresh juice/concentrate or with unfermentable sugars (sugar alcohols such as sorbitol/xylitol). These modern sweetening methods can sometimes give cider an artifical quality. There are, however, historic, technical ways to make legitimately sweet cider without modern back-sweetening. Two of the best known are French keeved cider and ice cider.
What “dry” actually means in cider
- Fermentation basics. Cider yeast (usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae) consumes fermentable sugars in apple juice and produces alcohol and CO₂. If you don’t stop it, it keeps going until the sugars are depleted or the yeast hits a tolerance limit.
- Residual sugar (RS). “Dry” means low RS—very little fermentable sugar remains. A fully dry cider commonly lands ~6–8% ABV from typical starting gravities.
- Perception vs chemistry. Acidity, tannin, carbonation, and temperature all tweak perceived sweetness. A dry, high-acid cider can taste taut and bright; a dry, low-acid cider can read rounder even with similar RS.
- The sorbitol wrinkle. Apples naturally contain small amounts of sorbitol (unfermentable by standard yeast), which means even bone-dry cider can show a light, natural hint of sweetness.
How sweetness is usually added today (back-sweetening)
Modern sweet ciders are often made by fermenting dry (or nearly) and then adding sweetness back:
- Fresh juice or concentrate. Adds sugar and apple aromatics. Requires stabilization to prevent re-fermentation (filtration, pasteurization, chilling, sulfite/sorbate, or sterile packaging).
- Unfermentable sweeteners. Sorbitol, xylitol, lactose, etc., won’t ferment, so they can sweeten with less risk of refermentation—but they also change mouthfeel and finish compared to natural apple sugar.
This approach is flexible and predictable—but it’s still an intervention.
Traditional paths to naturally sweet cider
French cider (keeving and slow, nutrient-limited fermentation)
Classic French cidre (especially from Normandy/Brittany) often derives sweetness from keeving, a traditional clarification and nutrient-management technique:
- Build the juice: bittersweet/bittersharp apples with higher pectin and tannin are milled and pressed.
- The “brown cap”: pectin and calcium form a gel (the chapeau brun) that traps solids and nutrients. Juice clears underneath.
- Nutrient limitation: by removing yeast nutrients, fermentation slows and becomes fragile. Cool cellaring keeps things gentle.
- Racking & bottling: the cider is racked off the sediment and sometimes bottled while still holding sugar. A slow, cool bottle fermentation may add fine bubbles while leaving meaningful residual sugar.
The result: lower ABV, natural sweetness, and soft sparkle—labeled doux (sweet) or demi-sec (off-dry), depending on the residual sugar. No modern sugar additions are needed; sweetness is the consequence of a deliberately under-nourished, slow fermentation.
Ice cider (freezing concentrates sugar, fermentation stalls sweet)
Ice cider borrows a page from ice wine. There are two main modes:
- Cryoextraction: apples are left to freeze on the tree; pressing the frozen fruit yields a super-concentrated must.
- Cryoconcentration: fresh juice is frozen and then partially thawed; the first runnings (not the ice) are sugar-dense.
Either way, you start fermentation with very high sugar concentration. Yeast struggles under the osmotic pressure and rising alcohol, and will typically stop before consuming all sugars. The result is naturally sweet, intensely aromatic cider—a dessert-style balance of sugar and acid with pronounced apple character. No back-sweetening required; sweetness is inherent to the concentrated must and the yeast’s inability to finish it.
At Two Broads Ciderworks, we use a cryoconcentration method to make our ice ciders, like Frost, Chez Baco, and Elvis Legs.
Dryness, sweetness, and balance
Whether a cider is dry or sweet, balance is the point:
- Acid counters sugar and lifts fruit.
- Tannins (from bittersweet apples or oak) add grip and structure.
- Carbonation brightens, making the same RS feel less heavy.
So yes—cider wants to be dry when you give yeast a full run. If you encounter sweetness, it’s usually because a maker added it back or because they used a method that bakes sweetness into the process—like keeved French cider or ice cider.
Quick glossary
- Back-sweetening: Adding sweetness after fermentation (juice/concentrate or unfermentables), typically with stabilization.
- Keeving: Traditional French process that removes nutrients and slows fermentation, preserving residual sugar.
- Ice cider: Cider from cryo-concentrated must; yeast quits early, leaving natural sweetness.
- Residual sugar (RS): The sugar left after fermentation; lower RS = drier.
- Sorbitol: Naturally occurring, unfermentable sugar alcohol in apples; contributes a faint sweetness even in dry cider.
Have questions about sweetness levels on our menu or how a specific cider was made? Ask us at the bar; we’re always happy to talk process.