AITA Cider Project Part I: Hard Cider in America
Since we first tried it last fall, 0ne of our favorite seasonal mixers with Art in the Age SNAP is apple cider! The sweet cider is the perfect compliment to SNAP’s warm spices, and is delicious served both hot and cold.
This year we’ve decided to kick up our SNAP + apple combo to the next level, with a batch of our own homemade hard cider!
We picked a few bushels of apples at Linvilla Orchards, just a short drive from Center City Philadelphia, and can’t wait to press them with help from our friends at Bartram’s Garden! John Bartram was not only America’s foremost 18th century botanist, but he was also a talented stone carver. His apple press, which dates to 1731, is carved into the bedrock next to the river, that a visitor in 1787 termed “singular.”
The press consists of a carved circular groove, about 25 feet in circumference where the apples were placed. In the center of the massive rock is a hole for a post or mast. A large stone wheel (or two wheels) would attach to the post and ride in the circular track crushing the apples. Either horse or manpower would turn the wheel. There is an escape hole in the bottom of the track that enables the juice to drain into a basin carved into the stone. Although the original press is no longer functioning, Bartram’s Garden now owns a modern press, which they often use to educational lectures and workshops.
We thought before we began the process of pressing our cider, it would be appropriate to give a brief history of cider consumption in America.
History of Cider in America
Early English settlers introduced cider to America by bringing with them seeds for cultivating cider apples. During the colonial period, grains did not thrive well and were costly to import. On the other hand, apple orchards were plentiful, making apples cheap and easily obtainable. Making hard cider was a way to preserve the apple crop, and was even used as currency. As a result, hard cider quickly became one of America’s most popular beverages.
The Founding Fathers were even known to enjoy a glass or two of hard cider. Even John Adams began each day with a draft of hard cider!
Consumption of cider increased steadily during the eighteenth century, due in part to the efforts of the legendary Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), who planted many apple trees throughout the Midwest.
However, a series of events led to cider’s fall in popularity. The introduction of German beer with its faster fermentation process quickly made beer popular. German immigrants were able to set up large breweries for producing great quantities of beer, while the production of apple cider was still limited to small farms. The religiously based Temperance movement then caused many church-going farmers to give up cider. Some even went as far as to chop down their apple trees. When Prohibition became law, the market for apple cider was pretty much destroyed.
Today the tide has turned, with traditional cider making experiencing a major resurgence, both commercial and home-brewed.
Stay tuned for the next exciting steps in our homemade cider experiment!