Glossary · Sensory
Oxidative
Definition
Showing the character that oxygen exposure brings — bruised apple, nuts, dried fruit, sherry and toffee — with fresh fruit aromas diminished. It may be a fault or a deliberate style.
- Subject
- Sensory
In more detail
The distinction between oxidative character and oxidation as a fault is one of intent and control. Traditional West Country and Normandy ciders matured in cask are oxidative by design and are the better for it; a light modern cider showing the same notes has been damaged. The chemistry is the same in both cases.
Where this is covered properly
The glossary defines; these pages explain. Each is described in its own words.
Fault
Oxidation
The cumulative effect of oxygen on finished cider: fruit aroma flattens, colour deepens towards amber, and a bruised-apple or sherry-like character replaces the fresh one.
Production
Oxidative maturation
Ageing a cider with a deliberate, measured oxygen supply so that tannins polymerise and soften and an aldehydic character develops on purpose, which is not the same thing as the oxidation fault.
Related terms
Terms that belong to the same part of the subject, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Faults
Oxidation
The chemical damage done by oxygen to a finished cider: loss of fresh fruit aroma, browning, and the arrival of acetaldehyde, nutty and sherry-like notes.
Chemistry
Acetaldehyde
A volatile carbonyl formed as an intermediate in fermentation and by the oxidation of ethanol. In small amounts it lifts fruit character; in excess it smells of bruised apple, sherry and cheap paint.
Sensory
Reductive
Showing sulphurous, struck-match, rubbery or drain-like character arising from a lack of oxygen during fermentation or lees ageing. The opposite condition to oxidative.
Fermentation
Maturation
The period after fermentation in which a cider settles, clarifies and changes chemically — esters forming and hydrolysing, phenolics polymerising, harsh notes integrating — before it is packaged or drunk.
Fermentation
Barrel ageing
Maturing cider in wood, either in neutral casks used purely as vessels or in barrels chosen to contribute oak, spirit or wine character.
Sensory
Bruised apple
A descriptor for the soft, slightly oxidised apple note characteristic of acetaldehyde and of mild oxidation. Distinct from fresh-cut apple, which is bright and green.
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.
The Science of Cidermaking and associated technical writing
Andrew Lea · reference work · passage verified 2026-08-24
Written by a food chemist who worked at Long Ashton on apple phenolics. Unusual among specialist cider writing in that it is primary-research-adjacent: the author is describing work he did, and cites the literature. This is why it is registered at tier 1 for chemistry while a general cider book is not.
BJCP Beer Style Guidelines — cider and perry categories
Beer Judge Certification Program · classification framework · retrieved 2026-08-24
Opened on 2026-08-24, and the edition matters. CiderHQ registered the 2015 cider guidelines; BJCP has since published a 2025 cider edition, and the old URL now redirects into the current guidelines index. A competition style guide is a dated framework rather than a standing definition, and citing the wrong edition of one is the same class of error as citing a superseded specification. CiderHQ treats BJCP as one competition framework among several and never as the universal cider taxonomy.