Cider and beer are often placed alongside each other on the drinks menu, but they are actually completely different products! Let us break it down for you:
1. Ingredients
- Beer = made from water, malted barley, yeast and hops
- Cider = made from apple juice
- While beer can contain traces of fruits, a true cider doesn’t contain any malted grains.
2. Production Process
- Beer = produced by brewing malted barley, and then fermenting with hops and yeast
- Cider = produced by fermenting apple juice
3. Categories
- Beer = can be categorised into lagers (brewed at a low temperature with longer fermentation time; generally more crisp and refreshing) and ales (brewed at a higher temperature with shorter fermentation time; flavours are generally richer and more complex)
- Cider = can be categorised as dry or sweet
4. Appearance
- Beer = can come in pale, amber/dark and very dark colours
- Cider = usually light yellow, golden or brown; can be completely clear or cloudy with sediments
