# In which I pit hard cider. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 3, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102 "2003-11-03T05:02:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/1 "2003-11-03T05:02:50Z")
I like to drink alcoholic beverages. I’m good at it, and I’ve devoted some time and effort to it over the years. When I find a new one, I try it out, and up to now it’s been working fairly well for me. From akvavit to vodka, a couple of hundred kinds of beer, tej, mead, wine, fine cognac and homemade white lightning, I’ve enjoyed them all. Hand me a glass of fermented mare’s milk and watch me smile. Today I was wandering around my local liquor store and I realized that there was a vast gap in my education: I had never made friends with hard cider. A few bucks later I have a couple of litres of it in hand and I’m looking forward to a new taste experience. Fast forward to later this evening. I have had two pints of cider. I’m feeling a slight touch of a buzz, but more than that I’m feeling my sinuses close up like Fred Phelps’ sphinctre during a pride march. I check a mirror, and not only could my face ward planes off of buildings, I have a chest that is glowing red and could serve as a griddle if you wanted to fry up some bacon, eggs and pancakes. I’ve consumed many apples over the course of my life, and more than a few bottles of Thunderbird when it was made of apples, and some damned fine Calvados, all without having to decide if I needed to go to a hospital. Red wine will cause me to turn red, but not to the extent that this did. I’m feeling better now, but if I’d been around someone else who was exhibiting those symptoms to that degree I’d have had them at the ER getting checked out. Hard cider, I pit thee. I pit thee long and hard. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/2 "2003-11-03T05:28:43Z")
You’re allegic to hard cider. Whereas it’s my favorite alcoholic beverage, though there aren’t many I like, so that’s not saying much. It’s FAR superior to any beer I’ve ever tasted. Sorry to hear about that allergy. I’d be careful around apples generally until I had a handle on what made you close up like that. ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/3 "2003-11-03T06:10:49Z")
Yessiree, nothing better than starting the day with a satisfying Dickens Cider. ---
**Author:** ![insomnia4AM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@insomnia4AM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insomnia4AM)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/4 "2003-11-03T06:26:47Z")
I have the same reaction to the hard cider. I thought I was the only one! I too had the redness, and the blockage you described. I also had a very itchy rash on my arms. Was this a flavored cider, like raspberry, or was it regular apple? ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/5 "2003-11-03T06:30:06Z")
That’s a damned shame. Hard cider (Hornsby’s preferably, though I’m not fussy) is nector o’ the gods, I tells ya. ---
**Author:** ![Palewriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@Palewriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palewriter)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/6 "2003-11-03T06:47:02Z")
“I’m feeling my sinuses close up like Fred Phelps’ sphinctre during a pride march” Funny. As for the cider, perhaps you should avoid it. There’s all kinds of other booze out there. - PW ---
**Author:** ![jujuju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@jujuju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jujuju)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/7 "2003-11-03T06:48:25Z")
i must say that cider, for me (who is obviously not allergic to it), is much superior to beer. it tastes better. not too sweet like those new malt beverages, and not too strong, like hard liquor. the only downside- i must actually go to a grocery store or liquor store to buy it as it is not available in many convience stores. and also rare to find in a bar or restaurant. so now i have a great favorite, and get disappointed on a regular basis cause it’s not served in many places ☹ ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/8 "2003-11-03T06:51:39Z")
> [@](#): > > There’s all kinds of other booze out there. **Palewriter** , if you would just re-enable your email address, I’d humbly and discreetly suggest you read the OP. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/9 "2003-11-03T08:26:25Z")
I’m a cider fan, too, in all except the dry types. I’ve had it feel like the top of my head was floating away, and I’ve had it feel as if the world is a pleasanter place than it is. I agree – sounds like some kind of allergy. Might be preservatives of some kind used in it, not just apples at fault. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/10 "2003-11-03T14:33:54Z")
WHat brand was this? Most “ciders” are malt liquor, not truly a fermented fruit drink. Sam ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/11 "2003-11-03T15:51:24Z")
Hornsby’s was the first beer-like drink I could stomach. I still don’t drink beer (mostly–although I’ll get a Guinness every now and then), but I still enjoy a Hornsby’s (especially the new “dark” kind) or a Woodchuck. I hope never to have a reaction like **2trew** had. Can’t say I’d resort to regular beer if I did, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/12 "2003-11-03T16:13:18Z")
“Hard” cider??? We just have cider. What’s “soft” cider? Apple juice? Anyway cider can be a very refreshing drink for the summer but never really got a taste for it. Drank lots when I was younger as it’s the drink of choice for under age drinkers. Always gives me terrible heartburn and headaches if I drink more that two litres of the stuff. The most popular cider over here is Bulmers([http://www.bulmers.ie/defaultage.asp](http://www.bulmers.ie/defaultage.asp)) which is sold as “Magners” outside Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/13 "2003-11-03T16:39:30Z")
That’s a shame guy. I love cider. Bulmers is good and so is Woodpecker. Woodchuck Amber is quite tasty. I don’t care for Hornsby’s at all though. I had one in London called TNT that was horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/14 "2003-11-03T16:44:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yojimbo \* > We just have cider. What’s “soft” cider? Apple juice? Regular cider here is unfermented, sometimes but not always pasteurized fresh-made apple juice that is unfiltered, so it’s cloudy. Usually packaged in the same sorts of plastic jugs that milk comes in, and sold most often by individual orchards. Fermented or “hard” cider is relatively new here (for some reason it didn’t catch on/continue among original immigrants to the US) and so it’s called “hard” cider here to distinguish it from what we know as apple cider. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/15 "2003-11-03T16:55:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yojimbo \* > The most popular cider over here is Bulmers which is sold as “Magners” outside Ireland. Not quite everywhere outside Ireland 😉 – H.P. Bulmers was founded in Hereford in 1887 and they sold the Irish rights to William Magner in 1935, which is when he set up Bulmers Ireland. Bulmers UK produce Woodpecker and Woodchuck as well as their main UK brands Strongbow and Blackthorn. ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/16 "2003-11-03T17:44:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > \*\*_snip_ > Bulmers UK produce Woodpecker and Woodchuck as well as their main UK brands Strongbow and Blackthorn. \*\* There’s also a [Woodchuck Cider](http://www.woodchuck.com/) that’s made in Vermont. First hard cider I ever had, and I think the best. Tasty stuff. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/17 "2003-11-03T17:50:34Z")
Yes, Bulmers own that company (there’s no Woodchuck over here). ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/18 "2003-11-03T17:53:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lightingtool \* > \*\*There’s also a [Woodchuck Cider](http://www.woodchuck.com/) that’s made in Vermont. First hard cider I ever had, and I think the best. Tasty stuff. \*\* I’ll second that. I’m not always in the mood for a beer and Woodchuck Cider is the perfect switch - not too sweet, nice crisp taste. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/19 "2003-11-03T17:55:23Z")
Cider’s the only stuff I’ll really drink. I have a passionate relationship with it. Mmmmm… cider. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102/20 "2003-11-03T17:58:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ferret Herder \* Fermented or “hard” cider is relatively new here (for some reason it didn’t catch on/continue among original immigrants to the US) and so it’s called “hard” cider here to distinguish it from what we know as apple cider. \*\* Hard cider was actually a fairly widespread drink in Colonial days. It largely dropped out of favor (it never disappeared entirely), due probably to the availability of other (better) sources of alcohol. Put about 10 gallons of cider into an appropriately sized barrel, pour in five pounds of honey, seal it up and let it sit for six months to a year. What comes out will definitely get you snockered. (Back when, we used to put up some hard cider in September, and come maple sugaring season in March, we’d tap into it. It made the long nights in the sugar house pass quite nicely…) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-hard-cider/211102.md?page=2)