Penn State’s latest analysis compares drinking frequency among generations of existing cider consumers.
Younger adults who already drink cider reported reaching for it more often than older participants in newly published Penn State Extension research.
The October 26 analysis found that 57% of the combined Gen Z and Millennial group drank hard cider at least weekly, compared with 44% of Gen X and 23% of Baby Boomers.
The findings offer a closer look at cider’s existing audience. They do not establish how popular cider is among all adults, or whether its audience is growing.
How Often Cider Reaches the Glass
Weekly drinking showed up in every generation, but the share varied widely.
| Survey group | Participants | Drank cider at least weekly |
|---|---|---|
| Gen Z and Millennials combined | 314 | 57% |
| Gen X | 319 | 44% |
| Baby Boomers | 229 | 23% |
The more-frequent drinking category showed a similar pattern: 32% of Gen Z and Millennial respondents drank cider “daily to a few times a week,” compared with 24% of Gen X and 7% of Baby Boomers. Overall, 77% of Baby Boomers drank cider less than weekly.
These percentages describe respondents within each group, not each generation’s share of the cider market.
Frequency also is not spending. An occasional drinker might buy a special bottle or bring friends to an orchard; these frequency figures do not tell us how much that customer spends.
Who Was Included
Penn State surveyed 862 Mid-Atlantic adults in fall 2025 and published this generational breakdown on October 26, 2026, as the second installment in its research series.
The October 19 survey overview explains that participants were aged 21 to 79 and had purchased and consumed hard apple cider during the preceding three months. The online survey ran from October 21 through November 4, 2025.
Pennsylvanians made up nearly half of respondents, 48.6%. The overview explicitly states that researchers deliberately oversampled Pennsylvania to better understand cider drinkers in the state.
It also explains that only 51 respondents were Gen Z, so researchers combined them with Millennials. The results cannot be presented as a separate finding about Gen Z.
Penn State says a further installment will explore additional ways of grouping the responses.
Questions for the Tasting Room
For cider businesses, the practical next step is to ask what brings their own customers back.
Is it a familiar cider they can find nearby? Or an opportunity to explore unfamiliar apples and connect with the orchard?
A generational comparison can help frame those questions, but it cannot answer them for every business. Local customer conversations can add the detail needed to make decisions about selections, events, and service.
Why This Matters to Ciderville
Understanding cider’s audience begins with recognizing the people already enjoying it, including those who drink it occasionally.
This research gives makers and sellers a reason to look more closely at their customers without reducing them to a birth year. For drinkers, it is a reminder that there is no single profile of someone who belongs at the cider table.
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