Sensory descriptor
Clove
The clove note of 4-vinylguaiacol, formed when yeast decarboxylates ferulic acid from the fruit’s own phenolics.
Also called Clove-like, Vinylguaiacol.
- Aroma family
- Spice
- Does it indicate a fault?
- It depends on the style it is met in
What causes it
Apples carry ferulic acid as part of their hydroxycinnamic acid fraction, largely esterified to quinic acid. Yeast possessing phenylacrylic acid decarboxylase activity — a property that varies sharply between strains and is present in most wild Saccharomyces and absent from many wine strains — decarboxylates it to 4-vinylguaiacol, which has a distinct clove and carnation odour at low concentration. This is the first step of the same pathway that Brettanomyces continues by reducing 4-vinylguaiacol to 4-ethylguaiacol, the smoky and bacon note of the phenolic family. Clove is therefore the stage before phenolic character, chemically as well as perceptually.
At low levels 4-vinylguaiacol contributes a spicy lift that is part of the character of many traditionally fermented ciders. Above threshold it reads as medicinal and pushes the drink into the phenolic family, and where Brettanomyces is present it will not stay at that level for long.
The compounds responsible
Where the molecule is established. Some descriptors in this lexicon name a compound the compound register does not yet hold a record for; those are named in the cause above instead.
4-Vinylguaiacol
The clove compound produced by any yeast carrying a ferulic acid decarboxylase, which gives a spicy character without any Brettanomyces being involved.
Hydroxycinnamic acids
The family of small phenolic acids that browns a juice, and whose release from their esters supplies the raw material for every volatile phenol a cider can develop.
p-Coumaroylquinic acid
The second most abundant hydroxycinnamic ester in apple, and the reservoir from which the p-coumaric acid behind 4-ethylphenol is slowly released.
What raises it
Processes that increase this character, or preserve it where it would otherwise be lost.
Wild fermentation
Letting the microflora already present on the fruit and in the press house carry the ferment, in a succession rather than as a single organism.
Yeast selection
Choosing which cultured strain to pitch, on the basis of the temperature, nitrogen, alcohol and aroma behaviour that separates one commercial yeast from another.
Inoculated fermentation
Starting a ferment by pitching a chosen yeast culture so that one known strain, rather than the fruit’s resident population, does the work.
Where it is usually met
Fruit and styles this character is recorded in. A record here is where the descriptor is commonly found, not a claim that every example shows it.
About Clove
Clove is one of the most mechanistically satisfying descriptors in cider because the whole chain is known: fruit phenolic to yeast enzyme to volatile phenol, with a second organism able to take it further. A cider showing clove has a wild or POF-positive yeast in it, and that is a fact about the ferment rather than an impression.
In a spiced cider the same word may describe added eugenol from clove itself, which is a different molecule with a similar odour. The two should be distinguished wherever the label allows it.
Others in the spice family
Clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper.
Cinnamon
Warm sweet-spice character from cinnamaldehyde in added spice, or from oak-derived compounds in a barrel-aged cider.
Ginger
Hot, citrus-edged spice from added ginger, distinguishable from alcohol warmth by its aromatic component.
Mulled spice
The combined clove, cinnamon and citrus-peel character of a mulling blend, always an addition.
Nutmeg
A dry, woody-sweet spice note from added nutmeg or mace, or from oak-derived phenylpropanoids.
Aniseed
A sweet liquorice-anise note from anethole in added botanicals, or occasionally from fennel and related infusions.
What people ask next
Questions readers ask about the things this page mentions. Each one goes to the section that answers it rather than to a page written to receive the question.
- How does cider ferment — Yeast consumes the sugar in apple juice and produces roughly equal masses of ethanol and carbon dioxide, along with the esters and higher alcohols that give cider much of its aroma. In a wild ferment several yeast species take turns before *Saccharomyces* finishes the job.
- What yeast should i use for cider — CiderHQ does not recommend brands. The choice is between a neutral, reliable strain that lets the fruit show, an aromatic wine strain that adds its own esters, and no addition at all. Alcohol tolerance, cold tolerance and nitrogen demand are the properties worth comparing.
- Can you make cider from shop bought apple juice — Yes, provided the juice contains no preservative — check for potassium sorbate or benzoate on the label. Pasteurised juice ferments perfectly well once yeast is added, because pasteurisation removes the organisms but not the sugar.
- What is a traditional west country cider blend — Predominantly bittersweet fruit for body and tannin, with a proportion of sharp fruit for acidity and sometimes a smaller share of bittersharps for both. The exact composition varied by farm and by what was in the orchard.
- What is apfelwein — Apfelwein is the dry, still, tart apple cider of Hessen in Germany, known locally as Ebbelwoi and served from a stoneware jug into a ridged glass. Despite the name it is a cider, not a wine in any technical sense.
- What is wild fermented cider
Where to go next
- The sensory model — The thirteen structural dimensions and the twenty aroma families, in full.
- Compounds — The chemistry behind the words.
- Troubleshooting — When a perception turns out to be a problem, this is where it is diagnosed.
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.
Peer-reviewed literature on cider fermentation microbiology
Various journals · peer-reviewed literature · registered as competent for this subject
Covers the microbial succession of spontaneous cider fermentation, the role of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in the early stages, malolactic conversion by Oenococcus and Lactobacillus species, and the organisms behind the principal spoilage faults.
Hochschule Geisenheim University — beverage technology
Hochschule Geisenheim · university · retrieved 2026-08-24
German beverage-technology research covering apple wine and fruit juice processing, including the enzymology of clarification.