How does your knowledge stand on (hard) cider?

In trying to find an alternative to wine or beer, I have recently gotten into Virginia hard cider.  It turns out that hard cider is a very popular drink and with over 7,000 varieties of apples, there are allot of possibilities.  Cider also has a deep rooted history during early settler’s time in North America and in England.  According to an article written by Johnathan Katz and published April 18, 2013 by Food Republic; between the 1600s and 1800s British estate owners paid part of their workers' wages in cider. In fact, this led to the Truck Amendment Act in 1887.  This act made it illegal to compensate workers in this manner.

For a list of 12 things that you may not know about hard cider check out Johnathan Katz’s full article published on foodrepulbic.com. Article posted here: http://www.foodrepublic.com/2013/04/18/12-things-you-didnt-know-about-hard-cider.

Here are some things I didn’t know:

• Cider has a deep rooted history in early America and was used as a way to satisfy worker wages.
• Cider can be aged.
• Cider is served close to room temperature.
  
• In France, Calvados is an apple brandy distilled from cider matured in oak casks for at least two years.