Schnider

A two-ingredient beer cocktail of peach schnapps and cider beer in a pint glass. Four ounces of peach schnapps, topped with cider, drunk straight from the glass. Drinks fruity-sweet on apple-cider hops; a long sweet pour that goes down fast.

Schnider

4.50 from 18 votes

Calories: 333kcal

Prep Time: 3

Total Time: 5

Ingredients

▢ 4 oz Peach Schnapps
▢ 1 Pint(s) Cider Beer

Instructions

▢
Pour schnapps in a pint glass. top up with cider. and serve.

Estimated Nutrition:

Calories: 333kcal (17%)Carbohydrates: 30g (10%)Sugar: 29g (32%)

Where it came from

The Schnider is a folk-bar pub cocktail from the British and Irish drinking cultures, named for the schnapps base. The build pairs four ounces of peach schnapps with a full pint of cider beer; the schnider is poured first, the cider on top. The recipe is informal; it lives in pub lists and student-bar menus more than cocktail-bar menus.

It sits in the schnapps-and-cider family with the Snakebite, the Snakebite Black and the Lambini. All four lean on a fruit-flavour modifier plus a cider or a beer for a long sweet pour. The Schnider separates itself with the peach schnapps lead, which gives a brighter front than the cassis-based Snakebite Black.

Best ordered at a back-bar pub or a student-bar happy hour, not at a craft cocktail bar. The drink is a quick sweet long-pour and a value-pour; the peach schnapps and the cider are both inexpensive bottle picks.

What it tastes like

Sweet peach up front, soft cider apple through the middle, dry cider hops on the finish. The combination is sweeter than a straight cider; the schnapps adds sugar and peach character that the cider alone does not bring. Reads as a long fruity beer-cider hybrid, not a stiff cocktail.

Around 7 percent ABV in the pint glass once mixed. Four ounces of peach schnapps at 20 percent ABV plus a pint of cider beer at 5 percent ABV gives a moderate-strength long pour. Slightly stronger than a straight pint of cider but easier to drink than a beer-and-spirit boilermaker.

The technique

Pour four ounces of peach schnapps into a chilled pint glass. Top with cold cider beer, slowly so the cider does not foam over. Stir gently once with a bar spoon. Drink straight from the pint glass.

The chilled glass is the technique. A warm pint glass kills the cider carbonation and the schnapps tastes thicker; a chilled glass holds the bubbles and keeps the peach note bright. Pour the cider slowly down the side of the glass to keep the head modest.

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Ingredient Spotlight

The bottles that make or break this drink.

The peach schnapps

Use: Archers, DeKuyper Peachtree, or any 20 percent ABV peach liqueur.
Skip: Peach brandy or peach wine. Wrong concentration.
Why: Peach schnapps is the load-bearing flavour and the lower-half colour. The 20 percent ABV liqueur format gives the right sweetness-to-alcohol ratio for the cider top; brandies push the alcohol too high and the drink reads boozy.

The cider beer

Use: Strongbow, Magners, Bulmers, or any 4 to 6 percent ABV apple cider.
Skip: Pear cider or fruit-cider blends. Different sweetness curves.
Why: Apple cider is the volume and the dry-hop finish. The crisp apple character bridges the peach schnapps and the carbonation; pear cider doubles the fruit profile and the drink reads cloying.

Three Variations

Three real ways bartenders riff on this drink. Same idea, three different jackets.

The standard build

Schnider, in a pint glass: Four ounces peach schnapps in a chilled pint glass, topped with cold cider beer. Drink direct.

The light build

Half Schnider: Halve the peach schnapps to two ounces; same pint of cider. Drier, less sweet, less alcohol.

The dark build

Snakebite Schnider: Add a quarter pint of black cassis to the bottom of the glass before the schnapps and cider. Pulls the drink toward a Snakebite Black variant.

What if I don't have…

Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.

No peach schnapps?

Apricot brandy or apple schnapps. Different stone-fruit or fruit profile, holds the sweet liqueur slot.

No cider beer?

An English bitter or a wheat beer. Different hop profile, loses the apple character but holds the long pour.

No pint glass?

A 16-ounce highball or any tall glass works. The volume is the constraint, not the glassware.

No chilled glass?

Pop the glass in the freezer for two minutes before pouring. A frozen glass works as a substitute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.

What is in a Schnider?

Four ounces of peach schnapps and a pint of cider beer in a chilled pint glass. Two ingredients, served straight from the pint glass, drunk direct.

Why is it called a Schnider?

Named for the schnapps base. The Schnider is folk-bar pub slang from the British and Irish drinking cultures, dating to the late 1990s and early 2000s when peach schnapps became a cheap-bottle pub-shelf staple.

How strong is a Schnider?

Around 7 percent ABV in the pint glass once mixed. Roughly equal to one and a half standard drinks per pint. Stronger than a straight cider but easier to drink than a boilermaker.

What does it taste like?

Sweet peach up front, soft cider apple through the middle, dry cider hops on the finish. Reads as a long sweet beer-cider hybrid.

Can I use a different schnapps?

Yes. Apricot brandy or apple schnapps work as substitutes; both shift the fruit profile while keeping the schnapps-and-cider structure. Peach is the standard.

What kind of cider works best?

An apple cider at 4 to 6 percent ABV (Strongbow, Magners, Bulmers) is the standard. Pear cider doubles the fruit profile and the drink reads cloying. Avoid super-sweet ciders or fruit-cider blends.

Is the Schnider related to the Snakebite?

Yes, both are cider-based pub long-pours from the British drinking culture. The Snakebite uses lager and cider in equal parts; the Snakebite Black adds black cassis. The Schnider replaces the lager with peach schnapps.

Can I make a Schnider with non-alcoholic cider?

Yes. The peach schnapps still carries the alcohol load. The drink reads slightly sweeter without the dry-hop finish from the cider; the structure is the same.

From the Drink Lab catalogue

Drink Lab has been collecting cocktail recipes since 2013. Some we wrote ourselves, plenty came in from readers, and the rest got passed across a bar somewhere along the way.

Last updated May 8, 2026 · 1 min read