For the first time in the history of the Beer Purchasers’ Index, cider ranked ahead of imports and recent market data suggests the result may be part of a broader improvement in cider’s U.S. position.
Cider finished August in an unfamiliar place: at the top.
The cider segment recorded a 44 in the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s August 2026 Beer Purchasers’ Index, the highest reading of any category measured in the monthly distributor survey.
It was also a first. Since the index began tracking distributor purchasing, cider had never before posted a higher monthly reading than imports.
Cider’s 44 was five points higher than August 2025, while imports registered 40. The overall index came in at 40 as well, a 13-point improvement over August 2025, even as the reading signaled continued contraction industry-wide.
A Beer Purchasers’ Index reading above 50 signals expanding distributor purchasing compared with the same period a year earlier. A reading below 50 signals contraction. So cider’s August result doesn’t mean distributor orders are booming.
What it does show is that cider is holding up better than every other segment in the survey during a difficult period for beverage alcohol.
And August isn’t the only data point suggesting something is changing.
From 33 to 50 in a Year
Cider’s performance in the distributor index has been improving.
In June, the category reached a BPI of 50 for the first time since 2018. That was a 17-point jump from June 2025 and six points higher than May.
By August, cider had slipped back below the expansion line to 44, including a four-point decline from July.
But it still led the field.
Flavored malt beverages and seltzers registered 42 in August. Below-premium beer and premium lights came in at 40, alongside imports. Premium regular beer registered 31, while craft beer fell to just 16.
NBWA characterized the broader beer market as being in a “cautionary” position as distributors adjusted inventories at the end of the summer selling season.
Against that backdrop, cider’s relative strength becomes more significant than the 44 alone.
Retail Data Was Already Pointing Up
There is another reason not to dismiss the August result as a one-month anomaly.
Cider entered 2026 after returning to modest growth in U.S. retail channels.
Circana data reported by Beverage Industry showed U.S. hard cider sales reaching approximately $502 million across measured multi-outlet retail channels during the 52 weeks ending Dec. 28, 2025.
Dollar sales increased about 2% for the year.
NielsenIQ separately measured cider dollar growth at 1.6% in 2025.
Volume also moved in the right direction. Industry data presented at CiderCon 2026 put cider volume growth at approximately 1.7% year over year.
Those aren’t enormous numbers.
But they stand out because cider’s gains came while much of beverage alcohol was confronting declining consumption, changing consumer behavior and increased competition for shelf space and drinking occasions.
The growth wasn’t evenly distributed across cider, either.
Traditional, unflavored dry cider was one of the category’s strongest performers, with volume increasing approximately 12.4%, according to market data presented at CiderCon.
The result suggests some of cider’s strongest growth is occurring within products positioned around traditional, unflavored expressions of the category.
Distribution Is Expanding in Some Markets
There are signs on the producer side as well.
Massachusetts-based High Limb Cider expanded into Connecticut this summer through a new partnership with G&G Beverage Distributors.
The company entered the state with approximately 150 retail accounts, a figure that grew to more than 170 locations within weeks of the initial announcement, after building distribution to more than 1,000 locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The traffic has been moving in both directions.
Around the same time, Middlefield, Connecticut-based Lyman Orchards expanded its 1741 Hard Cider line into Massachusetts through a new partnership with Quality Beverage, a division of Martignetti Companies, the first time the cider had been widely available outside Connecticut.
Two New England cideries crossing the same state line in opposite directions isn’t proof of a regional boom.
But it illustrates what distribution growth can look like on the ground: cider reaching new wholesalers, new retailers and ultimately new consumers.
Direct-to-consumer data presents a similarly mixed but encouraging picture.
Vinoshipper’s 2026 Direct Sales Cider Report, which draws on transactional data from more than 400 cider producers across 47 states as well as an industry survey, found that half of surveyed cider producers reported their sales were up.
Taken together, these indicators describe a category that isn’t exploding in growth, but doesn’t appear to be standing still either.
Why Cider’s August Ranking Matters
The Beer Purchasers’ Index is not a consumer sales report.
It measures purchasing activity among distributors, making it a forward-looking indicator of expected demand in the marketplace.
That makes August’s result particularly interesting.
Cider’s 44 still indicates contraction. But its reading was higher than craft beer, premium beer, flavored malt beverages and seltzers—and, for the first time in the history of the survey, imports.
The question is why.
It could reflect seasonal positioning ahead of fall, when cider traditionally receives increased consumer and retailer attention.
It could reflect distributors responding to the modest retail growth already visible in the category.
Or it could indicate something more durable: cider beginning to carve out a stronger position while larger beverage-alcohol categories struggle with changing consumer habits.
The available data doesn’t yet tell us which explanation is correct.
Fall Will Be the Test
Cider now enters the part of the calendar most closely associated with apples, harvest and cider drinking.
That makes the next several months particularly important.
If distributor purchasing strengthens while retail sales continue growing, August could eventually look like another marker in a broader cider recovery.
If the index falls after seasonal inventories move through the system, the August ranking may prove to have been more about relative resilience than category growth.
Either outcome is worth watching.
For now, the most defensible conclusion is also perhaps the most interesting one: in a beverage market where many established categories are struggling to generate growth, cider is showing signs of moving in the opposite direction.
It isn’t a boom.
But increasingly, it looks like momentum.
What This Means If You’re Just Cider-Curious
None of the data above tells us exactly why cider is outperforming other segments in the distributor index. The BPI measures purchasing activity, not the motivations behind it.
But for consumers, distribution matters for a very practical reason: it helps determine which ciders make it onto store shelves, into coolers and onto restaurant and bar menus.
If you’re interested in cider but don’t see many choices, there are a few simple ways to find out what’s actually available.
At a bar or restaurant, ask what cider they carry even if you don’t see one among the draft options. Cider is often sold in bottles or cans without getting its own tap handle.
At a liquor store or grocery store, check around the craft beer section as well as any dedicated cider display. Placement varies considerably from retailer to retailer. If you’re looking for a particular cidery, asking whether the store carries it, or can get it, can tell you whether the producer is distributed in your market.
At a brewery or taproom, ask whether there’s a cider option. Some beer-focused venues carry cider for customers looking for an alternative, even when it isn’t prominently advertised.
And if your experience with cider comes from one bottle, can or style you tried years ago, today’s category offers considerably more territory to explore. Traditional dry cider, orchard-based cider, fruit-forward releases, single-variety ciders, hopped cider, barrel-aged cider and other approaches can offer very different drinking experiences.
None of that means consumer requests explain August’s BPI numbers. The available data doesn’t establish that connection.
It does mean that if these distribution trends continue, cider-curious drinkers may have more opportunities to discover what the category has become—and to find a cider that suits them.
Why This Matters to Ciderville
Cider doesn’t need to overtake beer to have a successful future. It needs distributors willing to carry it, retailers willing to give it space and consumers willing to come back for another glass.
August’s Beer Purchasers’ Index offers an encouraging signal on the first of those three.
More importantly, it joins a growing collection of evidence, from positive 2025 dollar and volume sales to strong growth in traditional dry cider and new distribution activity, that suggests cider’s position in the U.S. beverage market may be improving.
The next question for Ciderville isn’t whether one August number is good news.
It’s whether cider can turn that momentum into sustained growth.
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