Exam Focus
- Evaluate fruit and fermentation aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel, finish, balance, and overall impression in a repeatable sequence.
- Distinguish sweetness, acidity, tannin, astringency, bitterness, alcohol, body, carbonation, and phenolics.
- Revisit volatile, sulfur, oxidation, fruit, and structural character as the cider or perry warms and loses carbonation.
Core concept
Assess volatile fruit, fermentation, sulfur, and oxidation notes early; then clarity, color, flavor, sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, body, carbonation, phenolics, and finish.
Judging and study application
Revisit as temperature and carbonation change. Keep acidity, tannin, astringency, bitterness, sweetness, and carbonation distinct so the structural diagnosis remains useful.
Why It Matters
- Calling both acid and tannin 'sharp' hides whether the sample is sour, bitter, astringent, or some combination.
- A second pass can reveal pear aroma, volatile acidity, mousiness, alcohol, or finish changes that were not evident on pouring.
Practical Sensory Exercises
Separate cider structure
Taste one cider and make independent intensity marks for sweetness, acidity, bitterness, astringency, alcohol warmth, body, and carbonation. Only after marking each axis, write a one-sentence balance conclusion.
Key Terms
- Tannin
- Phenolic structure contributing bitterness and astringency.
- Acidity
- Sour structure from organic acids.
- Perry
- Fermented beverage based on pears.