Cider Maker
Produce artisan cider and perry from traditional and vintage apple and pear varieties — combining orchard knowledge, fermentation science, and sensory evaluation in a growing craft drinks sector.
Moderate
Moderate
1–3 years: food safety qualification and practical cider making experience via volunteering, harvest work, or courses; a full cider-making cycle (autumn harvest to spring bottling) provides the essential practical grounding
No mandatory qualification; WSET Level 2 Award in Wines and Spirits as a sensory foundation; Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) General Certificate in Brewing; Level 3 Food Safety in Catering; NACM membership for professional recognition; Hartpury College cider making courses provide practical training
typical
What you do
Artisan cider makers manage the full production process from orchard to bottle — selecting and blending varieties, milling and pressing fruit to extract juice, managing wild and inoculated fermentations in tank or barrel, monitoring sugar content and specific gravity through fermentation, racking and conditioning the finished cider, carrying out blending trials, and packaging into bottle, keg, or bag-in-box. Traditional methods include keeving (the production of naturally sweet cider by calcium deficit and racking before fermentation is complete), pet nat bottle conditioning, méthode traditionnelle for sparkling cider, and extended barrel maturation in used wine or whisky casks.
Orchard management — knowing apple and pear varieties by name, understanding their contribution to acidity, tannin, and sweetness, and managing harvest timing — is integral to quality cider production. Perry making from Oldfield, Thorn, and Moorcroft perry pear varieties is a specialised related craft concentrated in the Three Counties (Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire).
The National Association of Cider Makers (NACM) supports the industry. The Three Counties cider making tradition is a significant heritage craft. WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) qualifications provide a useful sensory and beverage knowledge foundation. Cider must comply with HMRC excise duty regulations, labelling law, and food safety requirements for commercial sale.
Why this career is resilient
The UK craft cider market has grown significantly, driven by consumer appetite for artisan, provenance-led beverages and a move away from industrial cider products. Traditional cider making from bittersweet and bittersharp apple varieties is geographically concentrated in the West Midlands and South West, creating place-based identity that premium brands exploit commercially. The knowledge required to manage wild fermentations, carry out successful keeving, and blend finished ciders to consistent profiles is genuinely technical and takes years of practice to develop. Orchard-to-bottle integration — a working farm producing its own fruit — creates a resilient circular model. The growing craft drinks market and consumer willingness to pay premium prices for genuinely artisan products sustain small-scale producers.
A typical day
Morning: check the fermentation tanks — record specific gravity readings on three active fermentations, assess progress, and adjust temperature control to slow a fermentation that is running too fast. Rack a finished cider from lees into a clean tank, add sulphite at the calculated dosage to stabilise. Afternoon: carry out a blending trial — taste and assess five single-variety ciders from the current season, record tasting notes, and begin combining samples to evaluate potential blends for the flagship dry still product. End of day: prepare the orchard pick schedule for the following week — assess fruit ripeness in the main Dabinett block, contact the harvest team, and arrange the press booking.
Routes in
Full-time college course
Study full-time at a further education college, usually for 1–2 years. You will need to fund yourself or apply for a student loan (available for Level 4+ courses).
Employer-funded training
Some employers — particularly the NHS, emergency services, and larger care providers — run their own funded training programmes. You apply for a job and train as you work.
Pay and costs
Earning potential: Employed cider maker in a larger producer: £24,000–£36,000. Self-employed artisan producer with orchard and direct sales: £18,000–£40,000. Established premium cider brands with national distribution can generate revenue significantly above these figures.
Training costs: IBD or WSET qualifications: £300–£800. Level 3 Food Safety: £200–£400. Small-scale cider production setup (mill, press, tanks): £5,000–£20,000. HMRC excise duty registration: free. NACM membership: variable by production volume.