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 Act
The Cider Act, or CIDER Act, is a law co-sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Earl Blumenauer along with lawmakers from other cider-producing U.S. states that reduces taxes on ciders. Previously, ciders with too high of an alcohol percentage or with a certain amount of carbonation were taxed up to fifteen times higher than normal. In addition, the legislation "boosts federal funding to speed up label and formula approval, making it faster and easier for producers to get new varieties on store shelves and on tap" at local establishments.