Cider
Cider is an ancient beverage. No-one knows when or where it was first made, because the native distribution of its principal component, the apple, is so widespread, from the Near East to Northwestern Europe. In the cider market, ciders can be broken down into two main styles, standard and specialty. The first group consists of modern ciders and heritage ciders. Modern ciders are produced from culinary apples such as Gala. Heritage ciders are produced from heritage, cider specific, crab or wild apples, like Golden Russet. Historically, cider was made from the only resources available to make it, so style wasn't a large factor when considering the production process. Apples were historically confined to the cooler climates of Western Europe and Britain where civilization was slow to develop record keeping. Cider was first made from crab apples, ancestors of the bittersweet and bittersharp apples used by today's English cider makers.
Cider apple
In the UK there are two broad styles of cider, determined by the types of apple available. The style associated with the east of England (East Anglia, Kent, Sussex) used surplus dessert and cooking apples and was therefore characterised by an acidic, light-bodied cider. The other style, using specific cider apple cultivars with higher tannin levels, is usually associated with the West Country, particularly Somerset, and Three Counties. Within these broad types there are also a number of more specific regional styles. The ciders of Devon were often made largely from sweets, the cultivars low in acid and tannins that typified the county's orchards. Devon cidermakers also specialised in "keeved", or "matched" cider, where fermentation was slowed to produce a naturally sweet finish, though such ciders were usually intended for the London market and a fully fermented, dry "rough" cider was preferred for home consumption. Somerset ciders, by contrast, have tended to be stronger and more tannic. Bittersweet cultivars, locally known as "Jersey" apples, were typical of Somerset, although the county's most famous apple, Kingston Black, was a mild bittersharp. The West Midland county of Gloucestershire traditionally favoured bittersharp apples, giving strong ciders with a higher bite of acidity and tannins: neighbouring Worcestershire and Herefordshire also favoured acidic cider apples, but their growers also made plantings of dual purpose apples to take advantage of markets in nearby industrial centres.