Sensory descriptor
Hawthorn
A heavy, faintly fishy hedgerow-blossom note from trimethylamine and phenylacetaldehyde in ageing cider.
Also called May blossom.
- Aroma family
- Floral
- Does it indicate a fault?
- No — a normal part of cider and perry aroma
What causes it
Hawthorn blossom smells as it does because it combines phenylacetaldehyde and anisaldehyde with trimethylamine, the amine responsible for the note most people describe as faintly fishy or animal. In cider the corresponding perception arises where phenylacetaldehyde accumulates through mild oxidation of 2-phenylethanol and where small quantities of amines are present from yeast autolysis or from bacterial amino-acid decarboxylation. It is a note of ageing rather than of fresh cider, and it is one of the descriptors that sits at the point where floral character starts turning into something else.
A trace of hawthorn is part of the character of many traditionally made ciders with lees contact. Where the amine component rises further the perception loses its floral framing and becomes plainly animal, and biogenic amines are then a compositional concern as well as a sensory one.
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.
2-Phenylethanol
The yeast-made alcohol responsible for the rose and honey note in cider, produced from phenylalanine and one of the few floral aromas that is not carried in from the fruit.
Biogenic amines
Amines produced when bacteria decarboxylate amino acids, associated with long lees contact at high pH and low sulphite, and a reason bacterial activity is managed rather than simply tolerated.
Dissolved oxygen
Essential to a healthy yeast population at the start of fermentation and the principal enemy of a cider from the moment fermentation ends.
What raises it
Processes that increase this character, or preserve it where it would otherwise be lost.
Lees ageing
Deliberately holding a cider or perry on its fine yeast deposit so that autolysing cells release material that changes texture and foam behaviour.
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.
Bottle maturation
What happens to a cider after it is sealed in glass — which for most ciders is slow decline rather than improvement, and saying so is more useful than implying otherwise.
Malolactic fermentation
A bacterial conversion of sharp malic acid into softer lactic acid, which lowers acidity, changes aroma, and in most traditional cider happens whether it was planned or not.
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 Hawthorn
This descriptor is included because it names a real and specific perception in traditional cider that panels otherwise struggle with, reaching either for an inaccurate floral term or for an overstated fault term.
It is a useful early marker of the transition from clean floral ageing to amine-driven character, and it points at lees management and at whether malolactic bacteria have been left to work unchecked.
Others in the floral family
Blossom, rose, elderflower, hawthorn.
Apple blossom
A light, sweet floral note from terpene alcohols and 2-phenylethanol, distinct from the fruit character of the same tree.
Elderflower
A green-tinged floral note from terpene alcohols and cis-rose oxide, or from direct botanical addition.
Geranium
The crushed-geranium-leaf note produced when lactic bacteria metabolise added sorbate — a fault with one cause and no remedy.
Rose
The rose-petal note of 2-phenylethanol, a higher alcohol produced by yeast from phenylalanine.
Violet
A powdery floral note from β-ionone, formed by degradation of carotenoids carried in from the fruit.
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.
- Does cider get better with age — Some does. Tannic, dry, bottle-conditioned ciders and ice ciders can gain for several years. Light, fruit-driven and commercially filtered ciders lose their aroma and do not gain anything in exchange.
- What is malolactic fermentation — Malolactic fermentation is a bacterial conversion of sharp malic acid into softer lactic acid, releasing carbon dioxide. It lowers total acidity and raises pH, and in cider it is often the source of a farmyard or buttery note as well.
- What is sidra natural — Sidra natural is the still, dry, unfiltered cider of Asturias and the Basque Country, bottled without added carbonation and poured from a height to rouse it. It is tart, funky and made to be drunk in small measures poured one at a time.
- 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 wild fermented cider
- How long can cider sit on its lees
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.
European Food Safety Authority scientific opinions
EFSA · regulator · retrieved 2026-08-24
Registered for the food-safety questions cider genuinely raises: patulin in juice from rotten fruit, sulphite sensitivity, and the toxicology behind additive limits.