How Cider Is Made | Lessons from 500 Episodes of Cider Chat

How Cider Is Made | Lessons from 500 Episodes of Cider Chat

Author: Ria Windcaller: Award-winning Cidermaker, Podcaster | Craft Beer Columnist April 22, 2026 Duration: 30:31

In this milestone Episode 500, we return to a simple question that has come up again and again over the past ten seasons of Cider Chat:
How is cider made?

After hundreds of conversations with cider makers, orchardists, historians, and fermentation experts around the world, this episode brings together the core lessons shared across 500 episodes - from orchard to bottle.

This episode walks through the cider making process step by step, including:

  • Apples and cider apple varieties
  • Milling and pressing
  • Fermentation and yeast
  • Malolactic fermentation
  • Barrel aging and lees aging
  • Blending
  • Bottling and conditioning
  • The science behind cider making

Throughout the episode, listeners are directed to past Cider Chat episodes where these topics are explored in depth with cider makers and experts from around the world.

Episode 500 also reflects on the growth of Cider Chat, the global cider community, and the people who make up Ciderville.

Thank you for listening, supporting, and being part of the journey to 500 episodes.

00:00 Welcome Episode 500

00:36 Season Voices Montage

01:51 Why Cider Chat

06:12 Cider Back To Basics

08:07 Orchard And Apples

11:10 Apple Stories And Resources

13:11 Milling And Pressing

16:57 Fermentation Essentials

18:27 Barrels And Oak Choices

19:30 Blending Art And Science

24:58 Time Bottling And Patience

25:43 Episode 500 Reflections

28:15 Thanks And Season Eleven

29:14 Outro And Bonus Banter


Find the full show notes for Episode 500 at CiderChat.com

Direct Link at: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/500-how-cider-is-made/

Listen to wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss what's coming next in Ciderville.

Prefer to watch?
Find Cider Chat on YouTube for more cider stories, orchard adventures, and global cider culture.

💛 Enjoy cider? Help keep #ciderGoingUP - by supporting Cider Chat.
Your support helps keep the podcast on the air and makes it possible to share more conversations like this one.

 
 

There’s a whole world in a glass of cider, and Cider Chat is your invitation to explore it. Hosted by award-winning cidermaker and writer Ria Windcaller, this podcast travels far beyond the bottle to meet the people who make the global cider culture so vibrant. Each conversation is a journey-you might find yourself in a heritage orchard learning the history of forgotten apple varieties, in a bustling taproom with an importer explaining regional traditions, or in a kitchen with a chef pairing cider with unexpected foods. The discussions get into the delightful nuances, too, whether that’s the semantics of what we even call this drink or how the concept of terroir translates from soil to sip. It’s not just about production; it’s about the community, the travel, and the stories that fermentation unlocks. This is for anyone curious about the craft, history, and sheer enjoyment of fermented apple juice in all its forms. So, pour a glass and settle in for a series that feels like a wide-ranging, informative, and genuinely good-humored chat with friends who happen to be obsessed with cider. You’ll come away with a deeper appreciation for every effervescent, tart, or sweet sip, hearing directly from the growers, makers, and enthusiasts who are shaping this drink’s exciting present and future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Cider Chat
Podcast Episodes
514: Doing More With Lees | Ryan Monkman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:39
Lees are more than sediment at the bottom of a tank. Recorded at CiderCon 2026 in Providence, Rhode Island, cidermaker and fermentation consultant Ryan Monkman explores how cidermakers can put lees to work throughout fer…
513: Still Cider, Single Apples and Time | Sowams, Rhode Island [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:34
What happens when a cidermaker decides to do less and give cider more time? Spencer Morris of Sowams Cider Works in Warren, Rhode Island, makes cider with more than 70 apple varieties, old mechanical rack-and-cloth press…
512: Plant the Damn Apple Tree | Special Edition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:10
Cider Chat MC Ria Windcaller reads her August eCiderNews editorial, Plant the Damn Apple Tree, reflecting on entrepreneurship, uncertainty, abundance, and what an apple tree might teach us about the time in between. FROM…
511: Hungarian Cider Comes of Age | Bright Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:15
Hungary may not have a centuries-old cider tradition like England or France, but that is exactly what makes its modern cider movement so exciting. In this episode, Cider MC Ria Windcaller travels to Budapest to meet Andr…
510: From Barrels to the Pub | The People's Cider Co., Michigan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:44
Most cider makers dream of expanding their barrel program. Jason Lummen did the opposite. In Episode 510, Ria Windcaller visits The People's Cider Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Jason explains why he shifted fr…
509: Mr. Plūme | In the Heart of Latvia's Fine Cider [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:03
Episode 509 takes us to the heart of Latvia to meet Dace and Māris Plūme, the husband-and-wife team behind Mr. Plūme, an award-winning orchard cidery known for both still and naturally sparkling ciders. Their journey beg…
507: Expand Your Universe | Woodfolk Cider, Ontario Canada [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:19
Sometimes all it takes is one sip. It happened to the founders of Woodfolk Cider, Martha Lowry and Alistair Whitehead, and it can happen to YOU! What began as a shared love of food, drink, and hospitality eventually led…
505: Cider Senseis: Discipline, Craft, and the Cost [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:25
There is a question that keeps coming up in cider, small business, and independent media: Is this sustainable? In this episode, Ria sits down with Adrian Luna, known as the Hard Cider Guy, for a conversation that goes we…