Glossary · Cider
Craft cider
Definition
An unregulated marketing term implying small-scale production, whole-juice fermentation and stylistic intent. It has no agreed threshold in any jurisdiction.
- Subject
- Cider
In more detail
Trade bodies in several countries have attempted definitions based on annual volume, ownership independence and minimum juice content, but none has statutory backing, and the same producer can be craft in one scheme and not in another. CiderHQ treats the term as descriptive of intent rather than as a category with boundaries.
Related terms
Terms that belong to the same part of the subject, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Cider
Real cider
A campaigning definition, established by consumer organisations, for cider made from fresh-pressed juice without pasteurisation, carbonation, concentrate or extensive additions.
Cider
Farmhouse cider
Cider made on the farm that grew the fruit, traditionally in small volumes for the farm’s own use and local sale, and by extension any cider made in that manner.
Cider
Cider from concentrate
Cider fermented from apple juice concentrate that has been reconstituted with water, rather than from juice pressed and fermented in the same season.
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.
ACA · specialist organisation · retrieved 2026-08-24
Publishes a widely used US cider style framework and runs the Certified Cider Professional programme. Cited as one framework among several rather than as a universal classification.
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.
European Cider and Fruit Wine Association (AICV)
AICV · specialist organisation · retrieved 2026-08-24