Medium Cider
Cider in between dry and sweet.
What is Medium Cider? Medium Cider is a sweetness classification that sits between dry and sweet styles, defined by the level of residual sugar left after fermentation. It is not a production method or an apple variety, but a descriptor of balance on the sweetness spectrum. Under classic BJCP guidelines, medium cider falls between roughly 0.9% and 4% residual sugar by weight, with a final gravity of 1.002 to 1.012. The 2025 BJCP revision narrows this band further to 0.9–2.0% RS, positioning medium between semi-dry and semi-sweet sub-categories.
Where Medium Sits on the Sweetness Spectrum
In the BJCP framework, dry cider falls below 0.9% residual sugar and sweet cider climbs above 4%, leaving medium as the intermediate band. Translated into grams per litre, the classic medium range corresponds to roughly 9 to 40 g/L of residual sugar — a wide window that producers use to fine-tune balance. The 2025 guidelines slot medium between semi-dry, which carries only a hint of sweetness, and semi-sweet, which reads as noticeably sweet but still refreshing.
Labelling, however, is not standardised worldwide. The same cider may be sold as off-dry in one market and semi-sweet in another. French tradition classifies sweetness by alcohol rather than sugar — Cidre Doux runs up to about 3% ABV, Demi-Sec sits at 3–5%, and Cidre Brut starts at 4.5%+ — meaning a French Brut can land inside the American medium band. Cross-market comparisons should therefore be treated as approximate.
How Medium Cider Is Made and Perceived
Cidermakers reach the medium range through two main routes. The first is arrested fermentation, slowing or stopping yeast activity before it consumes all the sugar — techniques include keeving, cold-crashing, and sterile filtration. The second is back-sweetening, in which a fully fermented dry cider is adjusted with juice or sugar to hit a target residual sweetness.
Perceived sweetness in a medium cider is not driven by sugar alone. Acidity sharpens and lifts the palate, tannin adds grip and dryness, and alcohol contributes its own perception of weight. A cider with 2% RS but firm tannin and bright acidity can drink leaner than one with the same sugar level and softer structure, which is why BJCP frames the numbers as judging guidelines rather than absolute definitions.
