A few weeks ago we were really fascinated by an article in Slate about hard cider, the "true" drink of early Americans. See, in those days, water wasn't safe to drink, and wine and beer weren't very common here yet. So, you know Johnny Appleseed? Those weren't eating apples he was planting.
It was an intriguing enough piece to make us very interested in this drink. The only hard cider we'd ever had had been one of those commercial types — too sweet, like fizzy, fermented apple cider.
But real hard cider, the Slate article said, shouldn't taste like apple juice any more than wine tastes like grape juice. Good hard ciders tend to be dry and complex. While they're easily available in England, this sort of hard cider is much harder to find here. Perhaps it's about the enjoy a renaissance, though — we certainly hope so!
The cider pictured above is a French cider that we enjoyed a lot; it was still a little sweet for us, but it was refreshing and food-friendly, with a sour note too. We've also tried an English cider called Aspall, which was excellent.
Do you drink hard cider? What are your favorite sorts?
Related: Rebirth of (Hard) Cider and Figs with Candied Bacon
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There's an interesting video on the Botany of Desire site -- Bringing Back Hard Cider.
lol, Here in PA we have lots of hard cider. Most of it home made. It tastes wonderful, not like apple juice at all...although a DD may be needed at the end of the night. :)
Not a fan. My stomach doesn't deal well with sugary malt beverages for some reason.
I only found out the other week that in america 'cider' isn't actually alcoholic! I found it so funny. We have so many ciders in England, they're getting to be even more popular now. I like some, like kopparberg (which is a Swedish one you can get in Ikea or in most pubs and supermarkets here). I don't like most commercial ones like strongbow though. I love using cider in cooking, like with pork or in apple cakes. I don't think american cider (not hard) would give it the same wonderful taste really.
Here in England, hard cider has seen a big comeback in the last couple of years, as well as perry (made with pears). However, ones that taste purely of apple are gaining popularity - try Koppaberg (probably available at Ikea...) for a really refreshng drink! Aspalls is great stuff though...
I love this stuff SO much!
most of the stuff we find around here on tap is woodchuck, which is awfully sweet though...
Love hard cider. Fairway and some beer distributors have a larger assortment brands, including English and French ones, and I always like to try new ones. It was interesting to see how in Ireland it's actually something that everyone drinks, even reguarly, and in pubs too- as opposed to here where it seems to have a "sweet/girly" stigma.
the botany of desire talks about johnny appleseed and the history of hard cider in america. interesting to know there's a video about it, too. i love hard cider - the more dry, complex kind - whole foods sells some that are almost like champagne. i also like magners and strongbow. i'm really excited about more places beginning to serve hard cider other than just sugary sweet woodchuck. a place just opened here in dc that supposedly has 40 ciders available. a cider-lover's paradise!
Cider is actually my go-to alcoholic beverage. Lighter than beer, more drinkable. And while Strongbow is pretty ubiquitous, a lot of ciders will be more locally brewed than a lot of beers, like mdevans said.
oh, also - i read about this virginia cidery in a local food magazine. def want to check it out the next time i'm in central va - http://www.albemarleciderworks.com/
I love the homemade hard cider at Fitger's Brewhouse in Duluth, MN. Amazing! The have homemade beers too.
I'm definitely a cider girl.
I've made lots of cider the last few years, and love the stuff. I recently moved to the same town as the cider maker who was featured in Botany of Desire, Farnum Hill. Their ciders are absolutely fantastic if you can find them!
The Normandy kir (Kir Normand), made with French cider and Calvados (apple brandy), is unbelievably delicious. Nice thought for the holidays ... sparkly and flavorful ... hard to stop at one ...
I am a homebrewer and I almost always have a batch of Apfelwein fermenting alongside my beers. A delicious 5 gallon batch can be made for about $23 worth of ingredients and 10 minutes of prep time (followed by 3-6 months of fermenting/conditioning time)!
The Apfelwein kegs are always the first ones empty at parties, everyone loves it!
i live in chicago and just brewed some hard cider at home for the first time. it is now aging in bottles. we made three gallons for about $15 using unpasteurized fresh cider from goley's orchard in indiana, crabapples from our yard, and maple syrup we made last year. i hope it will be delicious. i have been trying and sampling hard ciders from different breweries recently to get a feel of what a good cider tastes like. they are all across the board - some more like wine, some more like a lightly carbonated beer. some are sweet and some are very dry.
The variety of ciders available where I'm from is limited... I'm not a big fan of strongbow, but I love magners! It just rarely makes its way over so I have to settle for the less fun gamers or big rock's apple cider...
misslibrarian, I love Fitger's too! And I love hard cider. But I've never had Fitger's hard cider. Apparently a trip up to Duluth is required soon.
Thanks for the tip.
(Do you know if I can get growlers of their hard cider?)
In college I left a bottle of farm cider in the door of the fridge for too long. Maybe it was because he had just taken a class where his final was brewing beer, but a friend decided to give it a try. Not great stuff, but it was fizzy and apple-y! Ewww right?
Some friends checked out this place: aeppeltreow.com
outside of Milwaukee this past weekend. I don't know what the verdict was, but I'm looking forward to finding out. Personally, I'm a fan of Applejack - the beverage, not the cereal: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applejack_(beverage)
I love Strongbow and Magner's, but I recently had one from California that was very good (though tastes quite a bit like white wine) called ACE. It was crisp, considerably dry (especially for a cider), and had a super clean finish.
I LOVE CIDER! It's nice to keep some in-stock in the beer fridge to mix things up a bit. My favourite is from a local producer, Waupoos Cider. Fantastic! I also tend to have a few bottles of Stowford Press around.
I have heard that Quebec has some wonderful ciders and would love to hear some recommendations!
@MaryWinn -- I love applejack. i recently found a drink from Martha Stewart that mixes equal parts fresh apple cider and apple jack (about 4oz each) with a dash of bitters (I use sour orange) and a splash of dry vermouth. best fall drink ever. hands down. i don't always use quite such a high ratio of applejack to cider though.
i love cider in any way shape or form.
@kittystockings: Sorry it is only in French, but there is a good list of Quebec cideries here: http://www.tourisme-monteregie.qc.ca/site/index.php?s=cidres. I don't know if any are available outside of Quebec though...I've never seen them in the US myself. The ciders and apple spirits from Michel Jodoin are good. The cider Mystique by Verger du Minot is popular and can be found on tap in Montreal, but I find it a bit sweet for my tastes.
Love hard cider! We used to make it in college--we'd go get unpasteurized cider in nearby VT and add champagne yeast. So yummy. Vermont has a couple of nice local hard cider brews too (NOT Woodchuck). I think maybe Flag Hill Farm? And Farnum Hill in NH has nice hard cider options too.
So much of the hard cider you find in stores is so sicky sweet that I got away from it for a while, but there is a new one now from good ol' Minnesota called Crispin. It actually taistes like it's really made from fresh apples vs. that apple syrup taste you get with others. It comes in some nice dry varieties too! Not sure what states it's available in yet but if you have the chance to try it, I recommend it.
I love hard cider, and drink it all the time.
My favorite that you can get in most bars/stores is Original Sin. Although the Woodchuck Granny Smith and Pear are also good. Harpoon is also very good if you can find it.
Magners is just the worst! And sadly, they seem to have the biggest market share in NYC...especially in all the Irish pubs.
On a trip to New Hampshire I found a locally made cider that was amazing. It would be nice to find more locally/craft ciders in NYC!!
I've been enjoying Newton's Folly -- a hard draft cider from Trader joes. They have a traditional or granny smith apple (delicious! link drinking a jolly rancher soda) and it's in a 12oz portion, so they're good with or after a meal. Or both.
I love it! Harpoon, a local brewery up here in Boston, makes a nice, light one!
I tried a pear hard cider, with Vietnamese food at the Slanted Door in San Francisco, it was an amazing combination. I don't drink cider often but it made me very curious to try other cider/food combinations.
I'm a huge, lifelong fan of hard cider. My parents made it at home when I was growing up, but recently I was pleasantly surprised to find a nearby cider maker, Wandering Aengus Ciderworks. They make French-style cider, which I particularly like as it tends to be quite dry. They sell at some of the farmers' markets in Portland, and also at my local food co-op. It looks like they sell online to some states also.
A dry hard cider is quite nice with many of fall-ish sorts of suppers. White bean stew, macaroni and cheese, vegetable lasagne, vegetable pot pie, potato soup, pasta e fagioli, and so on.
Harpoon Brewery out of Boston has a very dry, crisp cider that's unlike many other brands I've had. It's much more like a wine, and only barely sweet.
Hard cider is really trending up -- especially iced cider which is a dessert wine choice that is growing in popularity.
http://danamccauley.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/topline-trends-tuesday-cider-presses-forward/
Scrumpy's organic cider from Michigan is delicious.
I just tried a super refreshing Basque cider called Isastegi that was more pleasantly sour like a Granny Smith and had a lot less sugar behind it. It was very easy drinking and would be perfect during really hot weather.
We took our honeymoon across the north of Spain, from Galicia to the Basque country, and the cider (sidra) there cannot be beat. Each region had a different taste, and a different way of pouring. My favorite was in Cantabria, where the waiters stood up on barrels to pour the drink from a sufficient height to introduce air bubbles (they are not fizzy by nature). Messy, but delicious, especiallly when paired with chorizo cooked in cider.
I am a life-long lover of cider, but find the good stuff hard to find.
The only true hard ciders in Canada that I know of -- i.e., ones made with actual cider apples and thus complex and dry -- are the ones from Merridale, which are sadly, only available in B.C.
Very frustrating that the OLCB stopped selling Scrumpy Jack in their stores, which I preferred to Strongbow. (can still get it on tap in some pubs though).
http://www.merridalecider.com/ciderhouse/products
I am afraid that most if not all the famed cider from Quebec is made from Macintosh apples, and thus, very sweet. I went from artisanal cider house to cider house in Quebec, and none of them even knew about cider apple varieties.
Here is Switzerland, I know that Appenzell produced a great cider, but I cannot find it in Geneva stores. Similarly unavailable on the local market are the truly great artisanal ciders from the Basque areas of Spain and France, from Normandy and from the U.K. So close, and yet so far...!
There is one nice cider available in Carrefour (supermarket), but I guess we will have to do a cider tour.
That Clos Normand in the picture is my very favorite.
I fell in love with the stuff while traveling around the Cotswolds' in England for a few weeks. I haven't yet found a cider produced in the US which compares to the dry & crispness of English Cider.
You can normally find Strongbow in a liquor store. It's an English cider; not a great one, but will show you the difference between say Woodchuck & English Ciders
“Most ciders in North America are made from eating apples,” explains Docherty. “In our opinion, that is similar to trying to make red wine from Concord grapes. The cider apples we use have been used in cider production for hundreds of years in Northern France and Southwest England. They possess the needed bouquet, tannins and acids to give cider body without adding anything.”
Good article about developments on the cider front in Canada:
http://www.tidingsmag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22:hard-cider&catid=25:drinks&Itemid=40
Great source of cider info in North America -- the cidery map is a great resource:
http://oldtimecider.com/
Well, we are making six ciders here at Poverty Lane Orchards, bottled as Farnum Hill Ciders. There are lots of US growers working with traditional varieties, and making interesting, terroir-driven ciders.
If you'd like to try out Farnum Hill, you may purchase online through Astor Wines in NYC - http://www.astorwines.com/ or look for us in MA, VT, NH and NY.
Please help us launch a cider revolution -- we envision a day in the future when a good host can offer wine, local brews, and a distinctive regional cider. Let me know if you'd like to host a Farnum Hill sampling in your home for friends and family. We're trying to build a network of cider ambassadors who appreciate food and drink.
Best,
Corrie (cmartin@farnumhillciders.com or @cidergalnh on Twitter)
We actually went to pick up some local cider. I am not "allowed" to sell it to people, but the Amish do not care. I think it is sad that people can not buy or enjoy a good cup of natural fresh cider. And of course it tastes better once it has "jacked" up a bit.
I love hard cider. I drank a lot this summer and while at first I thought it was the wrong season for cider (cider reminding me of fall) it was so refreshing to drink in the summer. And now that it's cold I can enjoy it even more!
gretchenalexis, thanks for the tip! I'm in RVA and drive around for work a lot. I basically drove by yesterday, I'm so sad I didn't know! Maybe next time I go by I'll pick up some to share with my uncles for Christmas- they'll be so impressed.
I like Scrumpy's cider from Michigan. It's wonderful in front of a bonfire on a cold night... I lived in Paris for a while and in Breton creperies they serve a delicious, light, not too sweet cider. I'm wondering if that Clos Normand in the picture is anything like that?
Love the article!!! And... thanks to whomever is responsible for the http://www.Oldtimecider.com link above. I appreciate the link.
After years of folks being subjected to overly sweet hard ciders from concentrate, real traditional ciders are on their way back into the hearts of North Americans. Its been a long time too. Love all the great cider feedback in the comments.
Avoid the concentrate made ciders and look for the real deal. And... Just because it is made from fresh pressed apples doesn't mean it is good. There are good and bad out there just like wine. If you get a bad one move on and find the ones you like just as you would with wines.
For those in British Columbia, Vancouver Island actually has another wonderful cider maker besides Merridale by the name of Sea Cider. Really excellent cider and great folks. http://www.seacider.ca
I'm a big fan of cider too!
My father lives in Normandy, France - one of the few non-wine producing regions of the country. But what they do have a lot of is apples. And the apples lend themselves very well to both the cider, and calvados that someone mentioned earlier.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned one of my favorite way to drink cider... as a Snake Bite. Half cider, half Guinness. I think originally the drink used champagne, but has since morphed into using cider. I'm not a big fan of the overly sweet ciders either, so this is a nice way to cut down on the sweet ones commonly found here in the US.
GretaGrace: I thought a snakebite was so classy, then I tried to order it in England and was summarily shut down. Apparently it's like ordering everclear with a Colt 45 chaser.
Trikitixa - I can't stop laughing at that visual! I've been to England several times and admittedly have never ordered it there; only here in the States. And I'm sure I'll continue to do so, even if I'm secretly being ridiculed!
In my mind... Cider. Guinness. Two great tastes that taste great together! Sorry.. couldn't resist.
@ lotusmoss -- are you think of Flag Hill Winery, which is in NH?
Anyhoo... I have both drunk and brewed hard cider. Wonderful stuff! I'm so glad it's gaining in popularity. Cider can be nearly as varied as wine in taste.
@gretchenalexis
I'm traveling to the DC area over thanksgiving. Do you happen to know the name of that place with the 40 ciders?
I never have liked the taste of beer but the bars we always go to have a cider on tap and I love cider! You can drink like the beer drinkers but its much more pleasing to my palate. Ive had Woodchuck of course, also Strongbow and Bulmer's. Bulmer's has been my favorite.
@kbmeister -
hope i'm not too late! the place i was referring to is called churchkey/birch & barley and it's in the logan circle area of dc (14th & rhode island). i went last week and while the rumor i heard about 40 ciders is not true (at least not at this point in time), they've got one cider on draft and maybe like 10 others in bottles? definitely worth a shot if you like cider (and beer...they've got lots and *lots* of beer).
My English roots bristle at the expression "hard" cider. I don't really understand the difference between American "cider" and apple juice.
I'm very pleased to see more local cider farms popping up. Beside the Merridale on Vancouver Island, referenced above, there's another bunch on the island called Sea Cider. Their "Kings and Spies" is nice and dry. (Although not as dry as proper West Country cider.)
In Ontario, the Wapoos Cidery has been working for many years down on Quinte's Isle.
And I've started making my own, which is an incredibly simple process. Real West Country style, flat, dry cider. The "hard" part is self-evident when you drink it.