Comparison
"Real cider" vs "craft cider"
What does "real cider" mean, and is it the same as craft cider?
In short
"Real cider" is a term defined by consumer campaigning in the United Kingdom, with published criteria that centre on juice content, the absence of pasteurisation and filtration in the finished product, and no added carbon dioxide. Whether a cider meets those criteria is a checkable question.
"Craft cider" has no such definition. No body maintains criteria for it, it carries no legal meaning, and producers of very different scale and method use it. It signals an intent — small production, whole juice, attention — without committing to anything specific.
So the terms are not two grades of the same scale. One is a definition and the other is a positioning word, and a cider can satisfy the first while never using the second, or vice versa.
The two things being compared
Each side described in its own terms first, so the table below has something to hang on.
Real cider
A campaigning term with published criteria: full juice, no pasteurisation or fine filtration of the finished product, and no added carbon dioxide.
Craft cider
An undefined market term implying small-scale, considered production. No body maintains criteria and it has no legal standing.
Where they differ
Dimension by dimension. Where a row needs a qualification, it carries one rather than being simplified until it fits.
| Dimension | Real cider | Craft cider |
|---|---|---|
| Who defines it | A named consumer organisation with published criteria. | Nobody. |
| Checkable | Yes, against the stated criteria. | No. |
| Legal standingNeither term is protected. The difference is whether criteria exist at all, not whether they are enforceable in law. | None; it is a campaigning term, not a regulated one. | None. |
| What it says about process | Specific claims about juice content, pasteurisation, filtration and carbonation. | Nothing specific. |
| What it says about scale | Nothing. A large producer meeting the criteria qualifies. | Usually implies small, but does not guarantee it. |
| Overlap | Many ciders described as craft would meet the criteria. | Many would not — pasteurised or force-carbonated craft cider is common. |
Notes under a dimension name qualify the whole row, not one column.
When Real cider is the relevant one
The circumstances in which this is the thing being described, rather than a reason to prefer it.
- You need a claim that can be tested against stated criteria.
- The question concerns pasteurisation, filtration or added carbon dioxide specifically.
When Craft 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 how a producer positions itself in the market.
- The subject is the small-producer sector as a commercial phenomenon.
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.
Craft cider is a higher grade of real cider.
What is actually the case: They measure different things. "Real cider" states process criteria; "craft" states nothing verifiable at all. A pasteurised, force-carbonated cider from a small producer is routinely marketed as craft and would fail the real cider criteria outright.
Related comparisons
Distinctions that turn on the same thing, or that this one is routinely confused with.
"Craft cider" vs "traditional cider"
"Craft" is a market positioning term about scale and intent; "traditional" is a claim about method and regional practice. Neither is defined in law, but they are claims about different things.
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.
Pasteurised vs unpasteurised
Pasteurisation uses heat to kill the organisms that would otherwise continue changing the cider in the package; leaving it out keeps the cider alive, and with it both the potential to develop and the potential to spoil.
Filtered vs unfiltered
Filtration removes suspended solids and, at fine enough grades, the organisms too; leaving it out keeps whatever is in suspension, including material that carries aroma and texture.
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 pasteurising cider change the way it tastes — Pasteurising stops fermentation and microbial change permanently, which secures a sweetened cider against refermenting. It also fixes the cider as it was on the day, so it will not develop further in bottle.
- Is unfiltered cider better than filtered — Neither is better as such. Filtration removes yeast, haze and some flavour compounds and makes a cider stable; leaving it unfiltered keeps more texture and aroma and leaves the cider alive in the bottle.
- Is craft cider the same as traditional cider
- What is scrumpy, and is it different from farmhouse cider
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.
National Association of Cider Makers
NACM · specialist organisation · retrieved 2026-08-24
The UK trade association. Useful for industry-agreed definitions and for the voluntary labelling standards its members work to. A trade body has an interest in how its product is described, so CiderHQ cites it for what the industry says about itself rather than for neutral scientific claims.