Yet another reason for cider’s decline was the rise of the Temperance Movement, which
opposed the social evils of consuming alcohol in any form. Although many considered cider a
healthful, lower-alcohol alternative to whiskey, rum, or other strong spirits, it was condemned
along with other types of liquor. Some farmers who sympathized with Temperance even
chopped down their own orchards. This movement culminated in the period known as
Prohibition from 1919 to 1933, during which time the manufacture or sale of almost all alcohol
was made illegal. Throughout Prohibition, and in the following five decades after its repeal,
cider was kept alive mainly by isolated rural farmers, who continued to make it quietly for their
own consumption.
With improved refrigeration, many apple growers after Prohibition began to sell their fresh-
pressed juice as “sweet cider” to consumers, and America is still the only region of the world
where the term “cider” can refer to unfermented juice as well as to an alcoholic beverage.
The Rebirth of American Cider
The gradual restoration of an American cider culture can be traced back to the late 1970s, when
federal laws were changed to allow home brewing of beer or the making of wine, cider, and
mead for household consumption. In the 1980s, some home brewers began small-scale
commercial production of diverse styles of beer and ale. This craft beer movement has
continued to the present day, and has resulted in a huge increase in the number of local and
regional breweries throughout North America.
The 1980s also saw the first cider producers opening up, mainly in the Northeast and Pacific
Northwest states. In the beginning, most commercial cider was sold in small bottles, like beer,
or sometimes in kegs for serving on tap. These mainstream brands were often low in alcohol,
pasteurized, carbonated, sweetened, and stabilized to allow for regional or national
distribution. The fruit they used were surplus eating apples, which were (and are) plentiful
throughout North America. Often, these producers fermented their cider from apple juice
concentrate.
At the other end of the spectrum were the small orchardists who grew or sourced most of their
own fruit and who started to explore which apples are best for making quality cider. In some
cases, this led them to graft classic European cider apples onto rootstocks or their existing
trees. Most of these apples are high in tannins, which give body or structure to a fermented
cider. Among the most famous and widely grown European varieties today in the US are
Dabinett, Kingston Black, and Yarlington Mill.