A BRIEF HISTORY OF CIDER: FROM ANCIENT ORCHARDS TO THE MODERN PINT

Cider feels like a particularly British drink.

An orchard. A pub garden. A pint catching the last bit of afternoon summer sun. Lovely stuff.

But the story of cider goes back considerably further than the beer garden.

So, who actually invented cider?

There isn’t really a single inventor.

Wild apples originated in Central Asia, with ancestors of the modern domestic apple gradually travelling west along ancient trade routes. Fermented apple drinks appeared in different cultures thousands of years ago, probably helped by one very useful discovery: leave sugary apple juice alone with yeast and, sooner or later, something interesting happens.

There’s evidence suggesting that people in Britain were making primitive forms of cider from crab apples before the Romans arrived.

When the Romans did turn up in AD 43, they brought improved apple varieties and more sophisticated orchard-growing techniques with them.

But one of the biggest moments in British cider came much later.

The Normans changed British cider

Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, new varieties of cider apple arrived from continental Europe, alongside better orcharding and pressing techniques.

Over the following centuries, cider became increasingly embedded in rural British life, particularly across the West Country.

By the 13th and 14th centuries, cider making was being recorded across England.

It wasn’t simply a drink, either. Cider became part of the agricultural economy. Farm workers were sometimes partly paid in cider, with particularly thirsty labourers reportedly receiving several pints as part of a day's wages.

We probably wouldn't recommend bringing that particular employee benefit back... or at least not with those old ciders! 

Britain gets serious about cider

By the 17th century, cider had become sufficiently respected that it could compete with imported European wines at the dinner table.

There was experimentation too. In 1632, English scientist Christopher Merret documented the addition of sugar to finished wines to create a second fermentation in strengthened bottles. The same understanding of fermentation and bottle conditioning would become important in the development of sparkling drinks.

Then came perhaps the surest sign that cider had become important to British life: the Government decided to tax it.

The 1763 Cider Tax was deeply unpopular, particularly in cider-producing parts of England, and contributed to widespread protest.

By the late 19th century, cider was moving from something predominantly made on farms towards a recognisable commercial industry.

And that brings us closer to the cider we know today.

The modern cider world

Modern cider is enormously varied.

It can be still or sparkling. Dry or sweet. Traditional or contemporary. Made from specific bittersweet cider apples, culinary apples or blends of different varieties. It can be carefully aged and contemplated or simply pulled cold from the fridge when your mates come round.

That's part of what makes cider interesting.

It has centuries of history without needing to be trapped by them.

At Red Fin, we like that idea.

We make modern British cider using 100% fresh pressed apples from Somerset. Of course we care about what goes into the bottle, but we're more interested in what happens once you open it.

Because after a few thousand years of cider making, we've learned one particularly important lesson:

Cider is there to be enjoyed.

Best served chilled out.