Photo courtesy of Little Pomona Cider & Perry
Welcome to Drinkipedia! Each month I answer a real question that people search for on Google. As this email was sent during apple harvest in the northern hemisphere this month’s question is: When Was Cider First Made?
No-one knows the answer but whoever the first cider makers were warrant plaudits for determination because unlike soft fruits such as grapes which, due to the delicacy of their skin and flesh, would naturally turn into alcoholic mush with no assistance, apples are tough and need to be chopped up and pounded or pressed with a heavy weight to release the juice.
A timeline is impossible without archaeological evidence so hypotheses must be made. Humans have purposely created alcoholic drinks since at least the Neolithic era (circa 10,000 BCE), as a way of preserving food and to sup for recreation so if apples were available and someone had the wherewithal to access the juice, the assumption is that rudimentary cider was the next step.
Ancient Greeks and Romans
Awareness would have happened in stages, starting with eating and enjoying an apple, then working out how to liberate the juice and store it in a container for drinking. After a few days invisible wild yeasts would ferment some of the sugars leading to a lowish alcohol liquid that provided a gentle buzz. Ancient Greeks and Romans had pressing machinery for olives and fruit and also had Malus pumila – domesticated apples. It is likely they drank cider but being more demanding and labour intensive to make than wine it was not the first choice. In locations where apples grew but grapes did not the effort needed to make cider was worth it.
Celtish Heritage
Today’s longest established cider regions of Asturias, Basque Country, Normandy, Brittany, and parts of Britain have something in common - Celtish heritage. Celts, a collection of nomadic tribes who considered apples to be sacred, most likely spread cider making through migration and trade as they roamed through Europe in the first millennium BCE. When the Roman Empire expanded Celts were subjugated and their lands taken but cider making continued and was assisted by the technology and agricultural know-how of the invaders.
Today, those formerly Celtish lands are still the epicentre of cider making and cider culture so a big wassail to that!
The Philosophy of Cider
You can read more about cider and apple history and culture in my book The Philosophy of Cider. Available from book retailers and signed copies here.
Cheers
Jane
Books & Courses
At the School of Booze I encourage lifelong learning but you can do your homework at the pub! Textbooks (written by me) include titles about beer, cider, gin, cocktails, and a drinks miscellany. Signed Copies Here And if you are in the market for some inexpensive downloadable Beer, Cider, or Wine Knowledge courses click here.
I also write fiction and my series of novels is called Sole Brethren. I write under a pen-name, B.A. Summer. The novels are not about alcoholic drinks but they do appear frequently. One of the characters is the scion of a Champagne house, and it also contains the perfect pub. Here are some reviews.
