Glossary · Fermentation
Forced carbonation
Also written injected carbonation, carbonation. Each is a name for the same thing, which is why none of them has an entry of its own.
Definition
Dissolving carbon dioxide into finished cider under pressure, in tank or in line, rather than generating it by fermentation.
- Subject
- Fermentation
- Also written
- injected carbonation, carbonation
In more detail
Force carbonation is fast, exactly controllable and repeatable, and it decouples carbonation from sweetness — a still, back-sweetened, filtered cider can be given any level of gas without risk of refermentation. What it does not reproduce is the fine, persistent bead and the lees-derived character of a conditioned cider.
Where this is covered properly
The glossary defines; these pages explain. Each is described in its own words.
Related terms
Terms that belong to the same part of the subject, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Fermentation
Bottle conditioning
Carbonating cider by fermentation inside the sealed bottle, either from primed sugar or from sugar left over from an incomplete ferment. The yeast deposit remains unless the bottle is disgorged.
Cider
Sparkling
Carrying enough dissolved carbon dioxide to form a persistent bead and a distinct prickle, whether from bottle conditioning, tank conditioning or injected gas.
Chemistry
Carbon dioxide
The gas produced alongside ethanol in fermentation, and the gas that makes a cider sparkle. Its solubility falls as temperature rises, which is why a warm bottle foams.
Cider
Real cider
A campaigning definition, established by consumer organisations, for cider made from fresh-pressed juice without pasteurisation, carbonation, concentrate or extensive additions.
Where to go next
- Cider glossary — The whole vocabulary, by subject and A–Z.
- Comparisons — Terms that are only really clear when set against the thing they are not.
- Search — Finds terms by their aliases and by their spellings in other languages.
Sources
What this page rests on. Where a source is marked as registered rather than read, CiderHQ is recording that the body is authoritative on the subject without claiming to have worked through the document itself. See our evidence policy for what each state means.
Cider and perry production technical training material
Peter Mitchell / Cider and Perry Academy · reference work · registered as competent for this subject
Searched again on 2026-08-25 and it remains the one printed source here that a bibliographic check cannot fix, because it is not a published work with an edition. It is course material issued to participants of a training programme, so there is no catalogue record to verify, no ISBN, and no lawful public copy. Its state stays `registered` for that reason rather than through inattention.
The New Cider Maker’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for Craft Producers
Claude Jolicoeur, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2013. ISBN 9781603584739 · reference work · bibliographic record verified, not opened 2026-08-25
Bibliographic record verified on 2026-08-25 against the Open Library union catalogue: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2013, ISBN 9781603584739, one edition recorded. That establishes the citation points at a real book in a stated edition, which is what a citation needs and is all it establishes. No copy was opened and nothing is quoted from it. The book itself is in print and not digitised in any open collection; where CiderHQ needs a figure from this territory it uses an accessible research source instead and says so.