Cider making is not new with first recorded mentions going back to Roman times. Cider production already took place then in several locations, including French Brittany and Normandy, Celtic Britons and parts of northern Spain. Over centuries, cider became such a well-known commodity that at one point it was used to pay tithes and rents in parts of the UK. There is a plethora of information available on the internet regarding the history of cider making including, for a start, the informative Washington State University website .
The types of ciders available on the market can typically be broken down into two main groups: modern and traditional ciders. The first group consists of ciders produced using principally culinary apples such as Cortland, Gala, Granny Smith and McIntosh. The second group consists of ciders produced mostly from bittersweet and bittersharp apples such as Russet, Crabapple and Kingston Black often referred to as heritage apples.
In addition, within each group, there are different production methods used to make a cider. For instance, many English ciders typically contain a drier, higher alcohol content version, using open fermentation vats and bittersharp apples. The French have developed a sweet, low alcohol cider taking advantage of the sweeter apples and the keeving process.
Over the years, cider styles have evolved based on different combination of apples and production methods influenced by many variables such as the choice of yeast used, type of vessels used, local taste preference, and environmental settings. Ciders produced under different conditions and apple varieties differ sharply in alcohol content, taste, sweetness levels, flavours, and colours. Modern ciders tend to closely resemble sparkling wines in appearance while more traditional ciders tend to be darker and cloudier and taste more strongly of apples.
