APPLE CIDER isn’t the same drink in the US and the UK, is it? It doesn’t contain alcohol in the US, right?

Yes, that's true. In England, Cider refers exclusively to an alcoholic drink, traditionally made by fermenting apple juice. It's a popular term, so there's pear cider, blackcurrent cider, and so forth. In America, after prohibition made it illegal to sell alcohol, cider makers pivoted to just apple juice. I guess it's got some processing to make it different from apple juice, but I don't know. After prohibition was repealed, they started making alcoholic drinks again, now called "hard cider". I don't know for sure, but I think Canada followed the Americans, but the rest of the anglosphere still follow the Brits.

Yeah the US is a bit weird in that their word "cider" actually just means cloudy non-alcoholic apple juice while in Britain (and most other countries in the world) it's alcoholic (brewed like beer), usually quite strong, and those pints can be clear or cloudy, fizzy or flat.

If it's clear and yella', you got juice there, fella'. If it's tangy and brown, you're in cider town. Of course in Canada, the whole thing's flip-flopped!

Both the UK and the US have alcoholic and non-alcoholic cider. The difference is just what terms are used for each. In the US, "cider" most frequently refers to the non-alcoholic version. In the UK, it always refers to the alcoholic version. The US generally stigmatizes alcohol consumption a bit more than the UK does. This was most prominent with the Temperance movement and the resulting nationwide alcohol prohibition that lasted throughout the 1920s. There are still many places throughout the US where alcohol sale is banned, although usually only within small jurisdictions. There are also numerous laws restricting consumption, and as is well known, the legal drinking age is 21, rather than 18 as is common elsewhere. One cultural consequence of all this is that often when some drink exists that is relatively common in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic forms, people will generally assume that you mean the non-alcoholic version of the drink unless context or explicit specification indicates otherwise. Most commonly, the word "hard" is used to specify an alcoholic variant. As such, in the US, if you wanted to refer to alcoholic cider you'd say "hard cider". This can also be seen with some other drinks, such as "hard lemonade". Note though that the opposite of this, referring to non-alcoholic drinks as "soft", has almost completely fallen out of use except in certain set phrases such as "soft drinks" as a product category on restaurant menus. An additional final fact, if you are in the UK and want to refer to non-alcoholic cider, I believe they call it "cloudy apple juice".

There is both alcoholic and non alcoholic apple cider. We have lots of apples over here so it is no surprise we have multiple drinks made of it. Typically the one with alcohol will be called hard cider, but with context it can just be called cider as well.

Cider in uk is alcoholic, in the US it can be either but you'll have to go to s liquor store Ie apple cider donut is us non alcoholic

In the US, apple juice is clear and filtered, apple cider is cloudy and dark-colored, and hard cider is alcoholic.

Hard cider - alcoholic Apple cider - non-alcoholic Cider - could be either; context should be clear

Where I live (NZ), all "cider" is assumed to be alcoholic. There is "non alcoholic cider" but it's specified that it's "zero alcohol", "0%" or "alcohol free". The term "hard cider" isn't really used here. There is also "cider vinegar" which is a different thing found in the baking section, and is always non alcoholic

Cider in the US can refer to either alcoholic or non-alcoholic (confusing I know!) so unfortunately you have to rely on context. Ordering a cider in a bar will be alcoholic 99% of the time. Non-alcoholic cider is really only common in the fall if you go somewhere like an apple orchard, but you can find it in the grocery store too

It's the difference between hard cider and sweet cider in the US

The US has both alcoholic and non-alcoholic ciders.

In the US, "cider" without any modifiers is non-alcoholic. It refers to apple juice that hasn't been thoroughly filtered so it is cloudier and has a richer flavor. While it technically is a type of juice, it's never referred to as such and people will be confused if they ask for apple juice and recieve cider. The alcoholic version is referred to as "hard cider." The term "hard" is used to indicate alcoholic in a few different situtations. Since the non-alcoholic version is much more popular than the alcoholic verion, the "hard" modifier is used for clarity in almost all situations discussing the alcoholic version (the only exception is when context makes it abundantly clear that it's alcoholic, often even it being served at a bar is not clear enough). Hard cider is growing in popularity here, but it was basically non-existent for a long time so the local dialects adapted to "cider" meaning "non-alcoholic."

Nope. But hard cider does.

I'm pretty sure it's mostly just called cider in the UK, though you can have fruit ciders. But yeah, they're all alcoholic. Was *really* confused when I discovered cider flavoured sweets in Japan and my american friends were similarly puzzled in the uk after ordering what they thought was apple juice in a bar

In the uk we call it "cloudy apple juice"

There are also two types of nonalcoholic cider in the US: the unfiltered kind and the sparkling kind.

Typically apple cider in the U.S. is a non-alcoholic juice made from pressing and not (significantly) filtering apples. It is brown and quite sweet. This is contrasted with apple juice, which is highly filtered and is usually a pale yellow. We also have alcoholic ciders, which is an alcoholic drink made from fermenting apple juice (or pear), but this is a fairly niche product. In the U.S. this is often referred to “hard cider.”

We have both varieties.

In the US, apple cider thats alcoholic is commonly called hard cider

It's not alcoholic when I buy it, but after I let it sit on top of the fridge for three days it sure is

Generally at grocery stores “cider” is non-alcoholic spiced apple juice and “hard cider” is an alcoholic beverage made from apples, and the most popular styles thereof (Angry Orchard and Redd’s) are around 5% abv, sweetened, and carbonated.

Midwest US: Cider without context is always just apple cider. Apple cider and cider are equally common and accepted ways to say this. I don’t know if additional flavors are commonly added, but the way I’d expect to see that is (insert extra flavor here) apple cider, I.e blackberry apple cider. In the context of alcohol, whether it be a conversation about alcoholic drinks or places that serve them, apple cider and non-alcoholic cider both specify not having alcohol. Hard cider and cider are interchangeable in these contexts, though adding the hard part is generally unnecessary. More elaboration: In my area and how I know it everywhere I have been, ciders, separate from inside or in contexts about alcohol in general, are *always* apple cider unless specified. I’m not sure if other ciders even exist as a similar drink, but if they did they would always be specified as distinct flavors from apple cider. I imagine they do. Saying apple cider or cider by itself is perfectly fine either way. I might see a “blackberry apple cider” or something somewhere. In those places (bars, pubs, clubs, liquor stores) you wouldn’t need to specify it was alcoholic, you’d need to specify it being non-alcoholic (they probably won’t have any non-alcoholic apple cider outside of *very* specific bars that may exist inside of a place that makes or is near an apple orchard, I do not know of any). Alcoholic cider is referred to as “hard cider” most often outside of places that serve alcohol, or *maybe* alcoholic cider (far less common).

Apple Cider is a non-alcoholic drink in the US. We call the alcoholic version "hard cider"

We have alcoholic cider in the US, but you have to specify if that's what you want. "Apple Cider" is a type of apple juice that is unfermented. "Hard Cider" has been fermented. Apple Cider comes in the same style of containers as milk and juice, Hard Cider comes in containers similar to beer. You can not mix up the two on accident, the presentation (and name) are very different. The exception to this is that sometimes a bar (pub) will advertise "ciders", but in that instance the distinction is obvious based on the fact that it is offered by the bar or brewery. (A brewery typically brews most of their own beers and ciders while a bar usually purchases or contracts to serve someone else's alcohol. A 'distillery' makes things like whiskey that are higher in alcohol content).

apple cider = non-alcoholic hard cider = alcoholic If someone just says "cider", it's context-based on what they are referring to.

In the UK cider is exclusively an alcoholic beverage In the US, it may or may not be alcoholic. If you just say "cider" people will probably assume the non-alcoholic kind. Usually we would use the term "hard cider" to specify an alcoholic cider. Otherwise, in the US, "apple cider" will generally refer to a tangy, brown apple juice. It's not the same as just juice. I am not familiar enough with the processing differences, but apple cider is brown and sour. As opposed to apple juice which is sweet and yellow.

Americans famously hate just using actual names of things and instead love making up their own names for existing items. It's common for societies with high amount of narcissism.