Glossary · Cider
Low-alcohol cider
Also written no and low, de-alcoholised cider. Each is a name for the same thing, which is why none of them has an entry of its own.
Definition
Cider at a strength below the threshold at which a jurisdiction treats a drink as fully alcoholic, made either by arresting fermentation early, by diluting, or by removing alcohol from a finished cider.
- Subject
- Cider
- Also written
- no and low, de-alcoholised cider
In more detail
The descriptors permitted — low alcohol, alcohol-free, de-alcoholised — are defined by labelling law and the thresholds differ between countries, so the same drink can be labelled differently on either side of a border. Removing alcohol also removes aroma and body, which is why de-alcoholised ciders are commonly back-sweetened or blended with juice.
Where this is covered properly
The glossary defines; these pages explain. Each is described in its own words.
Style
Low-alcohol cider
Cider at a reduced strength, reached either by removing alcohol from a finished cider or by arranging for less to be produced, with different consequences for flavour.
Style
Alcohol-free cider
A cider-derived drink at or near zero alcohol, distinct from apple juice in having been fermented, and facing the same problem of what replaces the ethanol.
Related terms
Terms that belong to the same part of the subject, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Law and labelling
Alcohol by volume
The proportion of a drink’s volume that is pure ethanol at 20 degrees Celsius, expressed as a percentage. It is the figure labelling law requires on drinks above 1.2 per cent.
Law and labelling
De-alcoholised
Made by removing alcohol from a fermented drink, typically by vacuum distillation, spinning cone or membrane methods, rather than by never fermenting it.
Fermentation
Arrested fermentation
Deliberately stopping a fermentation before the sugar is exhausted, in order to retain natural sweetness. Achieved by repeated racking, chilling, filtration, sulphite, or a combination.
Law and labelling
Duty band
A range of alcoholic strength within which a single rate of alcohol duty applies. The United Kingdom moved to a strength-based banded system in 2023, so a small change in ABV can change the tax substantially.
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.
Food labelling and packaging guidance
Food Standards Agency / Department for Business and Trade · regulator · retrieved 2026-08-24
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers
European Union · legislation · passage verified 2026-08-24
The instrument behind the "contains sulphites" declaration and the alcoholic-strength labelling rule. Read on 2026-08-24 in the assimilated text maintained on legislation.gov.uk, which is the version in force for Great Britain and keeps the EU numbering. Two provisions matter to cider and both are widely misquoted: the sulphite threshold is 10 mg/L rather than a percentage, and a labelled cider strength carries a tolerance of a full percentage point either way — twice what still grape wine is allowed.