WHILE APPLE PIE may be an enduring symbol of homespun American values, the apple isn't indigenous to the Americas, and it was definitely used for cider well before it was used for pies. And when I say cider, I mean cider: fermented apple juice.

Before the United States were united – or were even states – cider was the drink of the colonists. By the mid-18th century annual per capita cider consumption in Massachusetts topped 35 gallons (that's 280 pints to you and me), and cider was the most popular beverage in the colonies. However, as grain became plentiful and progressive industrialization made mass beer brewing and distillation more cost-effective, the popularity of cider declined, and apple growers found they could make more money growing apples for eating (cider apples aren't good eatin' apples).

Only in the United States does "cider" generally mean nonalcoholic cider, while cider with alcohol is called "hard cider." In Australia, cider is (hard) cider and "cyder" is nonalcoholic. Cider and cyder are used interchangeably in England, which produces the most cider in the world. However, the kind of cider these countries make would likely taste odd to American palates now primed for fuller and sweeter flavors. Perhaps the hardest part of drinking cider is actually finding it. While its presence is growing in the Bay Area, cider is most commonly found in British- and Irish-themed pubs, which offer such mass-marketed ciders as Dry Blackthorne or Magners Original. These tend to be flat and taste little of apples. Most drinkers in the States prefer more effervescent ciders with bold flavors, and local producers such as Ace Cider in Sebastopol are giving them the experience they want when they drink cider.

Using locally sourced apples, Ace owner Jeffrey House (a Brit by birth who got his start importing European ciders as well as several English and Belgian beers) has created some very tasty cider more attuned to American palates. Ace is the first commercially produced and distributed cider in California, and the company has grown exponentially since it began selling kegs in 1994; it's now available at well over 100 taps in the Bay Area and in bottles throughout the country. At Sebastopol's Ace-in-the-Hole Pub (3100 Gravenstein Hwy. North, a.k.a. Highway 116, 707-829-1ACE), the first such cider pub in the country, visitors can sample flights of four ciders: apple, pear, berry, and apple honey. Each is made with 100 percent fresh juice, with the exception of the apple honey, which uses 5 percent Sonoma honey to lend a pronounced honey scent and lingering sweet finish. As is the tradition, Ace's pear cider ("perry," as it's known in England) is also made with apples, with pear juice added for flavoring. It's become the company's best-selling cider and apparently the first perry made in the United States. For those who wish beer were a bit sweeter or wish cider were less so, it's common to combine one of the ciders with a lager (such as the Stella Artois on tap at Ace-in-the-Hole) to make what's known as a snakebite or with a stout for the classic black velvet.

Down the road at Andy's Market (1691 Gravenstein Hwy., 707-823-8661), you can find bottles of Murray's Brut Cyder. As the addition of the word "brut" suggests, this creation is made using the méthode champenoise – essentially it's sparkling cider made in the same way as champagne. What this means is that it's fermented in the thick glass of a champagne bottle made to withstand the pressure produced by the fermentation. It also means serious bubbles. Murray's pours like an intensely effervescent sparkling wine, and the taste is like taking a swig of apple juice with a mouthful of nicely macerated SweeTARTS. Crisp and dry (brut is one of the driest classifications of sparkling wine) Murray's is made with organic apple juice. The problem is that it's available at only a small number of area stores; Rainbow Grocery (1745 Folsom, 415-863-0620) is the one place that stocks it in San Francisco. If you're outside the city, check Murray's Web site (www.cyder.com) and click on the "Where Can I Buy It" link.