Flavor is one of the most important quality aspects of ciders and can be diverse and complex. Theapple cider flavor is consisting of a wide range of volatile and non-volatile compounds able to resultin differences in sensory qualities and affect consumer acceptance. Recently, consumers haveshown an increasing interest in apple ciders and more local cider producers are emerging in themarket. It is essential to better understand the cider flavor properties in relation to differentprocessing approaches and consumer acceptance. However, current knowledge of variations incider sensory attributes and consumer acceptance is limited. Especially lacking is knowledge ofhow the flavor compounds, sensory attributes and consumer acceptability can be connected. Theoverall aim of this PhD thesis was to increase knowledge about the flavor generation in apple ciderswith focus on the contribution of apple varieties, yeasts strains and cryoconcentration, as well as toget a better understanding of consumers’ perception and preference for apple ciders. The resultsfrom the project will help cider producers to meet the demands of consumers based on ethnicity andconsumer segments.Sparkling apple ciders were produced using three yeast strains to ferment base ciders on four typesof apple juice using Champenoise method. Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed a better ability togenerate high levels of ethanol, ethyl esters, higher alcohols and fatty acids, while non-Saccharomyces produced low levels of most volatile compounds. The two non-Saccharomycesyeasts were more associated with the more complex aroma descriptors as well as bitter andastringent, while S. cerevisiae presented high intensities of pleasant fruity aromas. It also suggestedthat the type of apple juices contributed to greater differences in flavor properties in the sparklingciders than variation in the yeast strains used as starter culture.A new type of apple cider with a sweet tasting and intense apple flavor was produced byfermentation of apple juice using technique of cryoconcentration. The aroma properties of theseapple ciders were remarkably affected by high level of cryoconcentration, and the high concentratedciders were characterized by increased levels of most volatile components especially in ethyl esters.In addition, sensory analysis indicated that contribution of cryoconcentration on the sensory profilesof apple ciders was highly influenced by the apple cultivars. The results from this study willcontribute to the flavor generation of diverse apple cider products.The flavor properties of a group of commercial ciders were established by sensory profiling andanalysis of volatile and non-volatile components. Sensory analysis showed that most of the UKapple ciders were characterized by the complex odors and taste notes sour, astringent and bitter,whereas ciders from the Scandinavian region had diverse sensory profiles. Partial least squaresregression (PLS) based on the sensory and chemical data was able to cluster the ciders according todifferences in production methods. Moreover, a group of ciders with marked levels of acetate esterswere characterized with cooked/fresh apple and citrus odors.The differences in acceptance between Chinese and Danish consumers for apple ciders varied inflavor properties were also investigated. It turned out that the liking scores were not onlydetermined by the differences in familiarity, but also influenced by other sensory and non-sensoryfactors such as dietary habits. By preference mapping, clearly differences of the size of clusters anddrivers of liking were found among the consumers from three countries. The results from this studycould provide information that can contribute to a better of understanding of cider sensory qualityand guide cider development by identifying sensory factors that affect consumer acceptability in across-cultural context.In summary, this PhD work provided insights in sensory characters and chemical compositions ofapple ciders from different apple varieties, yeasts and levels of cryoconcentration, as well as to get across cultural understanding of consumers’ perceptions and preferences for apple cider.