Cider: is it more similar to beer or wine? More importantly, does it matter?

Which do you think it is?

Let’s make an oversimplifying statement: we all know what beer and wine are. Cider, however, is more niche. As with any niche product, it is often explained in terms of more familiar products; in this case, wine and beer. So please take a few seconds (under 60, I promise) and share your perceptions by clicking below.

More like wine or beer? Vote here!

Now that you’ve voted, why does this matter?

Expectations vs. experience

Before we talk directly about ciders, let’s use the metaphor of burgers and spaghetti. When I bite into a burger, I expect a certain experience: bread, beef, probably cheese, and various toppings. If I bite into a burger and it’s stuffed with delicious spaghetti, I’m upset, or at the very least, confused. Why? Because, of the many toppings I like and expect, pasta isn’t one of them. Due to years of exposure to burgers, Italian food, TV, ads, friends’ BBQs, recipes, and culture in general, pasta and burgers are just two separate categories of things. Simply put, they don’t go together.

If I think about it, there’s no fundamental reason a burger and pasta couldn’t work (food experts, feel free to reach out and we can engineer this!). But that’s the thing; I have to think about it, it’s not natural. To abstract this situation, I have two, maybe three, sets of foods in the world: 1, things that are burger; 2, things that are not burger; 3, things that might be burger. A surprise french fry on this burger is ok, because french fries and burgers are in the ‘burger’ category. To bring objects from the ‘might’ or ‘not’ burger sets into the burger set, requires work. This work can be a waiter describing this chef creation, a friend suggesting it, or a table nearby having a transcendent burger experience. Aiding or hindering this work is atmosphere. If I’m at a friend’s backyard BBQ and there’s pasta on my burger, I’m a bit afraid they’re trying to make space in their fridge, while if I’m at a famous restaurant, I assume they know what they’re doing.

So let's now bring this back to cider. What is it? The true answer is it’s its own category of thing. But if you’re not familiar with the process, a bartender may say “cider is like apple wine” or this server may say “cider is like apple beer.” If the cider is described as ‘like beer’ than I expect carbonation. If I’m then served a still cider (no carbonation) then I’ve been set up to expect a burger, but I’ve gotten spaghetti. If I’m promised “apple champagne” and I get something sweet, I may be upset. So the way a relatively unknown product is described set expectations that can make or ruin an experience.

Comparison set

We’re constantly comparing things, it’s on our nature. For example, “that was a great movie!” implies that some movies aren’t very good; “this meal was great value” implies that other places aren’t offering as good value. When selecting, and evaluating anything, people create a “comparison set.” Essentially these are all the other things that your subject item are measured against. Going back to burgers and spaghetti, when rating your burger, you’re thinking of the burger spots around town, not the spaghetti spots. But when you’re thinking of your dining experience, you’re comparing the service quality at the burger joint, food quality, prices, convenience of parking, wait time, and a number of other things, and when evaluating the overall experience, you can compare burger and spaghetti dining experiences.

Comparing cider to beer or wine changes the comparison set. The comparison set is relevant while you’re drinking the cider (should it be carbonated, tannic, dry, sweet, sour, etc.), but it’ll also have many other effects. Should a cider be served in a 16oz shaker glass or a 6-8 oz stem glass? Should it come in 12 oz cans, like beer, or a 6-8 oz slim can, like wine? Does a 750 ml bottle of decent cider cost $10 like a beer or $15 like a decent wine? Where does it go on your menu or store shelves? Should it be cold or room temperature? These are some of the questions derived from which comparison set cider falls into. Ideally, cider is compared against other ciders (much like beer or wine is).

What does the industry do?

So if setting the right expectations and positioning cider in the right comparison set is so important, what do cider companies do? The short answer is there’s a spectrum; some ciders are nearly indistinguishable from beer, while others look just like wine brands. There are some brands that do both; positioning their standard ciders as beer-like products, while their specialty ciders and apple wines are packaged more like wine. Nearly all cider makers talk about the positioning challenge but then discuss education, because, in reality, cider is neither beer nor wine, it’s cider. With education, consumers can come to know cider as its own thing, and when they’re comparing cider to other products, they will do so in the same way that one might decide if they want a beer, cocktail, or wine.

P.S. as of 10/14/19, with 101 votes cast; 77% of people think cider is more like beer than wine.