Craft Hard Cider Is On A Roll. How Ya Like Them Apples?

Craft Hard Cider Is On A Roll. Enlarge this image toggle caption Adhiti Bandlamudi/NPR Adhiti Bandlamudi/NPR Angry Orchard, Strongbow, Woodchuck — these are some of the biggest national cider brands. "All the cider that we serve here will be 100 percent apple juice," says Larry Caldwell, who works as a bartender at Anxo's Basque-inspired restaurant. Enlarge this image toggle caption Adhiti Bandlamudi/NPR Adhiti Bandlamudi/NPR Hard cider's history in the U.S. goes all the way back to the Founding Fathers. During the American Revolution, many landowners had apple orchards and made homemade fermented cider using the cider apples that grew in their backyard, says Michelle McGrath, executive director of the U.S. Cider Makers Association.