Hoke mistakenly posted this to another topic, so I'm adding it back here:
Post Posted Tue Oct 27, 2015 8:28 pm by Hoke
Re Angry Orchard. What Victor said earlier. AO/Boston Beer may be the thing that comes between the fiercely dedicated and authentic artisanal cider and the corporation sugared, acidified, diluted, manipulated plonk. AO could bring more attention to the category, pushing some volume, but still retaining some of the traditional processes and limitations that brought cider back out of the shadows.
There's a society, mostly located in England, but also known and observed in the US among the devoted, that proposes very strict designations of what you can call cider, and what the different cider names mean (or should mean).
But as always the cider out there is divided into traditional, artisanal, and bulk money generator. And like wine, or beer, you have to figure it out mostly for yourself.
One of the best books on cider is, curiously enough, by an award winning fiction writer and capable armchair historian: Annie Proulx. Been out for a while, and it's a good read.