Vermont Breweries History: Green Mountain Cidery
Though some people may think that cider is a new beverage in this country,
in reality it’s as old as the country itself. Early English settlers brought apple
seeds with them to the new world. Apples, as we know them, were not indigenous to
North America. There were some crabapple trees, but the highly astringent fruit
would have been edible only after considerable cooking, and there is no evidence
that native Americans used them to make cider. With the seeds brought from England,
apple orchards were flourishing in both Virginia and the Massachusetts Bay Colony
by 1629. The main reason for planting apples was to make alcoholic cider and
distilled products such as apple brandy. During the colonial period, hard cider
was the most popular beverage in America. The reasons were many: it was cheaper
to make than beer and could easily be made at every farmhouse, supplies were
readily available, and hard cider’s alcohol content prevented the bacterial
infections that were common in nonalcoholic beverages. More importantly, people
liked it! It was a beverage which was consumed daily and at anytime during the
day or night.
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