Comparison
Scrumpy vs farmhouse cider
What is scrumpy, and is it different from farmhouse cider?
In short
"Farmhouse cider" is a description of origin and method: cider made on a farm from its own or local fruit, usually still, unfiltered, fully fermented and sold from the premises or locally. It says nothing about quality either way.
"Scrumpy" is a West Country vernacular word for the same sort of cider seen from a particular angle — cloudy, strong, uncompromisingly dry or roughly sweetened, and sold cheaply. The word carries connotations that "farmhouse" does not, and those connotations have shifted between affectionate and pejorative over time.
In practice the same liquid may be called either. Neither term is defined, and neither is a guarantee of anything about the fruit, the fermentation or the condition of the cider.
The two things being compared
Each side described in its own terms first, so the table below has something to hang on.
Scrumpy
A West Country vernacular term for rough, still, cloudy farm cider, generally strong and cheaply sold. Not a defined category.
Farmhouse cider
Cider made on a farm from local fruit, typically still, unfiltered and fully fermented. A description of origin and method.
Where they differ
Dimension by dimension. Where a row needs a qualification, it carries one rather than being simplified until it fits.
| Dimension | Scrumpy | Farmhouse cider |
|---|---|---|
| What the word describes | A character and a register — rough, strong, local. | A place and a method of production. |
| Register | Vernacular, and used both fondly and dismissively. | Neutral. |
| Geography | West Country, and imported elsewhere as a borrowed word. | Used wherever farm cider is made. |
| Implied clarity | Cloudy. | Usually unfiltered, and so often cloudy, but not necessarily. |
| Implied strength | Strong, and fully fermented out. | Whatever the fruit gave. |
| Definition | None. | None, though several elements of it appear in designation specifications. |
| Commercial useNeither term is protected, so both appear on products that do not fit the description. | Adopted as a brand descriptor well beyond farm production. | Also used loosely by producers who are not farms. |
Notes under a dimension name qualify the whole row, not one column.
When Scrumpy is the relevant one
The circumstances in which this is the thing being described, rather than a reason to prefer it.
- You are recording West Country vernacular usage.
- The cider being described is rough, still and cloudy in the way the word implies.
When Farmhouse 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 where and how the cider was made.
- You want a neutral term without the connotations scrumpy carries.
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.
Scrumpy is a legally distinct type of cider, and stronger by definition.
What is actually the case: It is a vernacular word with no definition and no legal standing. Strength comes from the sugar in the juice, and a farm cider labelled scrumpy is not systematically stronger than one that is not. Anything sold under the name can be checked against its stated strength.
Related comparisons
Distinctions that turn on the same thing, or that this one is routinely confused with.
"Real cider" vs "craft cider"
"Real cider" is a defined campaigning term with stated criteria; "craft cider" has no agreed definition and no body maintaining one, so the two are not comparable claims.
"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.
Cloudy vs clear
Cloudiness can be intentional suspended yeast and colloids, or it can be a pectin, starch, protein or microbial haze that is a genuine fault. The appearance alone does not tell you which.
Draught vs bottled
The same cider behaves differently in a cask or keg and in a bottle, because the container determines carbonation, oxygen exposure, dispense and how long the cider is open before it is drunk.
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.
- Is cloudy cider a sign that something is wrong — Usually not. Cloudiness can be suspended yeast, pectin or fine fruit solids, all of which are harmless, and unfiltered cider is cloudy by design — but haze that appears in a cider that was clear is worth investigating.
- What does real cider mean, and is it the same as craft cider — Neither is a legal term. Real cider is a campaigning definition about method — fresh juice, no concentrate, no injected gas — while craft cider is a market description with no agreed boundary at all.
- Is craft cider the same as traditional cider
- Why does the same cider taste different on draught and from the bottle
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.
Somerset Rural Life Museum — cider collections
South West Heritage Trust · museum · retrieved 2026-08-24
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.