Comparison
Draught vs bottled
Why does the same cider taste different on draught and from the bottle?
In short
A bottle is a single-serving sealed environment: whatever gas and oxygen it contains at filling is what the drinker gets. A cask or keg is opened once and emptied over hours or days, so the cider in it is exposed to whatever is used to displace the liquid, and to time.
Traditional cask cider is dispensed by gravity, with air replacing what is drawn off. That admits oxygen and allows the cider to change over the life of the container. A keg dispensed under carbon dioxide or mixed gas excludes oxygen but also carbonates the cider slightly as it goes.
Temperature and line handling add further differences. None of this makes one format the true version of a cider; it means the container is part of the product, and a producer packaging in both is making two related decisions rather than one.
The two things being compared
Each side described in its own terms first, so the table below has something to hang on.
Draught cider
Dispensed from cask or keg. Opened once and served over hours or days, so oxygen exposure and dispense gas both matter.
Bottled cider
Packaged in single servings and sealed until opened. Carbonation and oxygen are fixed at filling.
Where they differ
Dimension by dimension. Where a row needs a qualification, it carries one rather than being simplified until it fits.
| Dimension | Draught cider | Bottled cider |
|---|---|---|
| Carbonation control | Depends on the dispense: gravity leaves it still, top pressure adds gas. | Fixed at filling. |
| Oxygen exposure after opening | Continuous over the life of the container under gravity dispense. | Only from the moment the drinker opens it. |
| Change over time in the container | Real, and part of the character of cask cider. | Slow, and biological only if the cider is unpasteurised and unfiltered. |
| Bottle conditioning | Not applicable, though cask cider can condition before broaching. | Possible, and gives sediment and continued development. |
| Temperature at service | Cellar temperature in traditional practice. | Whatever the drinker chooses. |
| Serving consistency | Varies across the life of the container. | Consistent bottle to bottle. |
| Duty and pricing | Several jurisdictions apply a distinct draught rate to qualifying containers. | Taxed at the standard rate for the strength band. |
When Draught cider is the relevant one
The circumstances in which this is the thing being described, rather than a reason to prefer it.
- You are describing cask or keg dispense and its effects.
- The cider changes over the life of the container, as gravity-dispensed cider does.
When Bottled cider is the relevant one
The circumstances in which this is the thing being described, rather than a reason to prefer it.
- The subject is a sealed single serving with a fixed carbonation.
- The cider is bottle-conditioned.
A misconception worth clearing up
This comparison exists partly because of the claim below, which is repeated often enough that most readers arrive holding it.
Draught is always the fresher version of a cider.
What is actually the case: It depends on the container and the dispense. A gravity-dispensed cask is exposed to air from the moment it is broached and changes accordingly, while a sealed bottle is not. Freshness is a function of handling, not of format.
Related comparisons
Distinctions that turn on the same thing, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Still vs sparkling
Whether a cider carries dissolved carbon dioxide changes how its acid, tannin and aroma are perceived, and it determines how the cider must be packaged.
Bottle-conditioned vs force-carbonated
Bottle conditioning makes the carbon dioxide inside the sealed bottle by fermenting a small amount of sugar there; force carbonation dissolves gas into the finished cider under pressure before packaging.
Scrumpy vs farmhouse cider
"Farmhouse cider" describes where and how a cider is made; "scrumpy" is a West Country vernacular term for rough, strong, still farm cider, and has been used both affectionately and dismissively.
Oxidation as fault vs oxidation as style
Controlled slow oxidation during maturation develops colour, softens tannin and adds complexity; uncontrolled oxidation strips fruit aroma, browns the cider and pushes it towards acetaldehyde and vinegar.
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.
- What is the difference between bottle-conditioned and force-carbonated cider — A bottle-conditioned cider gets its gas from a fermentation finishing inside the sealed bottle, and leaves a yeast deposit; a force-carbonated one has carbon dioxide dissolved into it under pressure before filling. The first keeps changing in the bottle and the second does not.
- What is scrumpy, and is it different from farmhouse cider
- What is the difference between still and sparkling cider
- When is oxidation in cider a fault
Where to go next
- All comparisons — The rest of the pairs, grouped by what kind of difference is at stake.
- Glossary — Either term on its own, defined without a second thing to hold it against.
- Learn about cider — The background these pages assume, written from the beginning.
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.
CAMRA cider and perry standards
Campaign for Real Ale · specialist organisation · retrieved 2026-08-24
Opened on 2026-08-24. Registered for the consumer-campaigning vocabulary — "real cider", "full juice" — which is advocacy language rather than legal definition, and is recorded as such wherever CiderHQ uses it.
Alcoholic products duty rates and the Alcohol Duty regime
HM Revenue & Customs · regulator · passage verified 2026-08-24
The UK alcohol duty system was reformed in August 2023 onto a strength-based footing, with draught relief and small producer relief alongside it. The rate table was read on 2026-08-24 and carries an effective date of 1 February 2026. CiderHQ records the band *structure* — which is stable and explains why producers make the strengths they do — and states rates only with that effective date attached, because a rate with no date on it becomes permanent and wrong.
Cider and perry production technical training material
Peter Mitchell / Cider and Perry Academy · reference work · registered as competent for this subject
Searched again on 2026-08-25 and it remains the one printed source here that a bibliographic check cannot fix, because it is not a published work with an edition. It is course material issued to participants of a training programme, so there is no catalogue record to verify, no ISBN, and no lawful public copy. Its state stays `registered` for that reason rather than through inattention.