The History of Cider in America

The rise of cider in recent years is part of the boom in craft beer and spirits. For more takes on artisanal beverages, check out eATLAS’ Kankakee County Craft Beverage Trail and Distilleries in Muskegon adventures. Or you can visit some of the Windy City’s most famous watering holes on our Sip History: Chicago Cocktail Adventure – Part 1 and Part 2.

By Dave Lifton (@daveeatschicago)

Thanks to apple pie and the legend of Johnny Appleseed, apples are considered to be the all-American fruit. But their origins can be traced back to what is now Kazakhstan in Central Asia, where it’s believed that crabapples were discovered during the Paleolithic Era. The country’s former capital, Alma Ata, is Kazakh for “full of apples.”

In time, apples spread westward into Europe—notably Greece and Rome—and Egypt. Upon invading Britain in 55 BC, Julius Caesar discovered that Celtic Britons were drinking a cider made by fermenting crabapples. French varieties of apples made their way into Britain during the Norman Conquest of 1066, and it became second only to ale in terms of popularity.

To make cider, the fruit must be ground into small pieces (pomace), which are then pressed to draw out as much of the liquid as possible before a natural fermentation process begins. Originally, this was done by hand. During the Middle Ages, apples were placed in a circular trough, around which a horse dragged a large millstone that crushed the apples.

Later, a press was invented where the pomace is set on a semi-porous fabric—like a cheesecloth or a coffee filter—inside a basket and pulverized with a weight controlled by a hand-turned screw or crank. This method remains common for home cider-making and artisanal cideries.

In the 16^th century, French Jesuits planted the first apple seeds in North America, and Rev. William Blaxton, the first European settler of what became Boston, is credited with planting the first apple orchard in the colonies at what is now Beacon Hill.  Less than two decades later, Maryland Colony became awash with orchards thanks to Lord Baltimore’s suggestion to early settlers, and much of the rest of the mid-Atlantic region followed suit.

For the first 100 years or so after the Revolutionary War, apple orchards were common on American properties. In the days before clean water regulations, hard cider was considered safer to drink because the fermentation process killed germs, and it could be drunk unfermented (“sweet”) by children. On top of that, apple cider could be used to make vinegar, which helped preserve vegetables during the winter.

But in the late 19^th century, the Second Industrial Revolution had an adverse, detrimental effect on cider. First, it redistributed the population in the U.S., with many leaving their farms for city life, causing the number of orchards to decrease. Also, cider didn’t travel well prior to the advent of purification techniques like pasteurization and filtration.

Lastly, the large number of immigrants from Germany and Ireland brought their brewing traditions. Coupled with Midwestern soil that was better suited for grain production, beer supplanted cider as the preferred alcoholic beverage of Americans. From 1899 to 1919, cider production in the U.S. dropped from 55 million gallons to 13 million, with most of its consumption occurring in rural America.

Even as cider’s popularity declined, up through Prohibition the bulk of the apples grown in America were used more for cider than for eating. It was only while alcohol was banned that the consumption of apples was promoted in order to keep sales high. Hard cider was allowed to be produced, but only if it was turned into vinegar.

Unlike other alcoholic beverages, hard cider didn’t immediately rebound following the repeal of Prohibition. It wasn’t until the 21^st century that cider experienced a renaissance, caused by the growing desire to move away from mass-produced foods and beverages in favor of local, artisanal products. As craft beer exploded in the U.S., cider received a tremendous boost because its appeal was already decidedly regional and seasonal.

In addition to being an equally crisp, gluten-free alternative to beer, the growth was aided by the fact that cider lends itself to experimentation, not just with different varieties of apples and spices that complement them, but with other fruits. Seattle Cider Co., for example, experiments with basil and mint, pumpkin spice, and hot peppers; while California cidery ACE sells ciders blended with guava, pineapple, mango, and pear. Cider will likely never regain the status it had in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, but it occupies a prominent, and lucrative, role in the American beverage industry. In 2019, hard cider accounted for $517.8 million in retail sales. Two years later, it had grown to $553.6 million, and 3.5% annual growth is anticipated through 2027.