A cider house is an establishment, often little more than a room in a farmhouse or cottage, that sells alcoholic cider

Cider

Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...

 for consumption on the premises. Historically, some cider houses also sold cider "to go", for consumption off the premises.

History

Cider houses were once common. Because of changes in the taxation of cider in the early 1970s, and social changes, most cider houses now exist in name only. A few still exist in, for example, the West Country

West Country

The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...

 of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Cider houses also exist in other countries. For example, the Basque Country

Basque Country (historical territory)

The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....

 has cider houses, which are called sagardotegi

Sagardotegi

A sagardotegi is a type of cider house found in the Basque Country. Modern sagardotegis can broadly be described as a cross between a steakhouse and a cider house....

.

The cider

The cider sold is usually fermented on the premises from apple

Apple

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

s grown in a local cider orchard

Orchard

An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...

.

External links

• List of the remaining cider houses in the UK. Retrieved 1/9/2007.
• Description of Ye Olde Cider Bar in Newton Abbot. Retrieved 1/9/2007.