Glossary · Cider
Cider from concentrate
Definition
Cider fermented from apple juice concentrate that has been reconstituted with water, rather than from juice pressed and fermented in the same season.
- Subject
- Cider
In more detail
Concentrate lets a producer ferment year-round, buy juice on a world market and standardise composition between batches. The trade-off is aromatic: concentration by evaporation strips volatile esters, and reconstituted juice starts with a narrower aroma base than fresh pressing. Some jurisdictions require the use of concentrate to be declared; others do not.
Where this is covered properly
The glossary defines; these pages explain. Each is described in its own words.
Related terms
Terms that belong to the same part of the subject, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Cider
Concentrate
Apple juice from which most of the water has been removed, usually by vacuum evaporation, leaving a syrup of about 70 degrees Brix that is stable, transportable and reconstituted before use.
Law and labelling
Apparent juice content
The proportion of a cider that is treated as having come from apple juice, calculated for excise purposes from the product’s composition rather than measured directly at the mill.
Cider
Real cider
A campaigning definition, established by consumer organisations, for cider made from fresh-pressed juice without pasteurisation, carbonation, concentrate or extensive additions.
Where to go next
- Cider glossary — The whole vocabulary, by subject and A–Z.
- Comparisons — Terms that are only really clear when set against the thing they are not.
- Search — Finds terms by their aliases and by their spellings in other languages.
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.
Alcoholic Products Technical Guide, section 2 — alcoholic products (formerly Excise Notice 162)
HM Revenue & Customs · regulator · passage verified 2026-08-24
What may be called cider or perry for UK duty purposes. The substantive text now lives in section 2 of the Alcoholic Products Technical Guide rather than in the notice itself, and the passages below were read there. The widely repeated "35% juice" figure checks out — but note two things the figure alone hides: it is a tax threshold rather than a quality standard, and concentrate and dilution both count towards it.
European Cider and Fruit Wine Association (AICV)
AICV · specialist organisation · 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.