Cider is beginning to make a reemergence again in America. What was once the most popular drink of choice in America is rapidly making its return. What is known as cider in America, is not what cider is to other countries. In America, cider is essentially unfiltered juice, whereas the term “hard cider” refers to alcoholic cider. Cider is not just the sweet juice you drink in the fall, there’s much more to its history.
Cider has been around for centuries with records in several countries like the United Kingdom, Germany and France making mention of it. Therefore, it is easy to deduct that when the settlers came over to the New World, they were already accustomed to the beverage. So, when arriving they already knew how to create the beverage and had brought apple seeds with them on their journey.
During the days of colonial America, apples were a valuable crop. It is an heterozygote which means its fruit differs from plant to plant. In the days of early America not all the apples that were harvested were good to eat. Thus, they had to make use of the extra ones lying around. Therefore, cider was the best alternative to throwing them away. Pretty soon, apple trees were popping up all over New England. Another impact on the cultivation of apples in America was the works of one such individual known as John Chapman, more commonly known as Johnny Appleseed. Chapman was a land speculator who spread apple trees from states such as Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois, and Ohio; following the Ohio River as he did so.
Another important thing to note is back in the 1700’s water wasn’t as potable as it is now, and therefore alcoholic drinks were more suitable. By the late 1700’s Americans were drinking 35 gallons of it per year! Colonists of all ages would drink the beverage, even for breakfast. During the American Revolution, soldiers would drink a daily mug of cider with their meals.
As the years went on and America found success with beer and other alcoholic beverages, cider began to dim. The Prohibition era is what killed cider’s prominence. But that is beginning to change with an abundance of craft cideries popping up.