If you’ve heard of Johnny Appleseed, it’s likely that your earliest recollection of that hero of American folklore was in a Disney movie. He wore a saucepan on his head, and around his shoulders he had a bag full of seeds that he’d broadcast about as he walked the American countryside, starting apple trees growing wherever he went.
According to Michael Pollan in Botany of Desire, John Chapman, the actual historical figure who came to be known as Johnny Appleseed, planted seeds for apples that were actually not to be eaten. Rather, the seeds planted by Appleseed/Chapman were intended to grow into trees that would bear fruit for juice that would be fermented to become hard cider.
“Up until Prohibition, an apple grown in America was far less likely to be eaten than to wind up in a barrel of cider,” writes Pollan. “In rural areas cider took the place of not only wine and beer but of coffee and tea, juice, and even water.”
There is currently a cider boom in this country. Greg Hall, whose father John Hall made a fortune founding and then selling Goose Island Beer to Anheuser-Busch, started Virtue Ciders…and now Greg is selling that company to Goose Island. Apparently, this family’s business decisions are as golden as the beverages they produce.
But even with Hall’s ciders, I’ve been kind of lukewarm. I liked them okay, but they didn’t usually taste like something I’d be willing to have with dinner. Usually, they were just a little too sweet or tart or blah.
Then I tried Angry Orchard Stone Dry Hard Cider.
Easily mistaken for a dry white wine or perhaps even a light and slightly sour Belgian beer, this Angry Orchard selection has an undercurrent of fruitiness that’s pleasing with many foods. This is a cider to get comfortable with, either before, during or after dinner.
Though perhaps not as complex as a good mid-level wine or beer, Stone Dry Hard Cider is one of the more complex ciders I’ve tasted. At around 9 bucks a six-pack at Famous Liquors, it’s a welcome alternative to either wine or beer, and after a few sips, you understand what a noble task Appleseed/Chapman actually undertook. And although hard ciders like these make up 15% of “beer” sales in England, they account for only around 1% of such sales in the U.S. I’m guessing that with ciders this good, that will change.
The Angry Orchard Hard Cider is a fine drink for autumn, treading the line between beer and wine, which makes it a good match for the Thanksgiving table. It’s versatile enough to work with a lot of foods, and it’s a conversation starter because, you know, in this country, we just don’t drink a lot of this stuff anymore.
