Quebec cider

Lore & Background

The first apple tree in Quebec was planted around 1617 by Louis Hébert, an apothecary from Paris and New France's first settler, on the site where Quebec City was founded in 1608. Many early French settlers were Normans who brought apple cider craft with them. The Sulpicians, who settled on the Island of Montreal in 1657, had a small orchard by 1666 and planted a larger one on Mount Royal in the mid-1670s; by 1685 they operated two cider presses at a fort on the mission de la Montagne.

In 1705 production reached about 30 barrels, part of which was sold outside the religious community. Orchards on Montreal Island expanded from 90 arpent in 1731 to 402 arpent by 1781. Common cultivars then included Calville blanc, Calville rouge, Famous, Reinette, Bourassa, Pomme blanche, Pomme grise of Montreal and Sauvageon, later supplanted by others.

The British Conquest of 1760 and the cession of 1763 brought protectionist trade policies that favoured imported whisky, gin and rum, discouraging artisanal cider production. An 1807 article in Le Canadien deplored the lack of apple cultivation on Île d'Orléans and argued that cider could reduce excessive rum consumption. Artisanal cider continued until prohibition in the mid-1910s.

In April 1919, 78.62% of Quebecers voted to allow beer, ciders and light wines, but a 1920 legislative omission left cider in a legal void. It remained illegal to sell until 1970, though some apple growers continued producing it. When legalized, industrial cider flooded the market, earning a bad reputation; the Grand Sec d'Orléans became synonymous with undrinkable alcohol. Production fell from about 1,000,000 imperial gallons in 1971 to 300,000 in 1982.

The true rebirth came with craft permits in the late 1980s. The first ice cider was crafted by Christian Barthomeuf in Dunham during the winter of 1989–1990, with bottles bearing the 1990 vintage. A regulation on cider was adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec in November 2008.

Reader's Guide

Quebec cider's significance lies in its long, interrupted history and its eventual revival as a craft product. From the first apple tree planted by Louis Hébert around 1617, cider making was a natural extension of Norman settlement. The Sulpicians' orchards and presses on Montreal Island show early institutional production, but the British Conquest and protectionist trade policies suppressed local cider in favour of imported spirits.

An 1807 newspaper article already lamented the lost opportunity to develop apple cultivation and cider exports. Prohibition and a subsequent legislative omission in 1920 made cider illegal for half a century, driving production underground. When it finally became legal again in 1970, industrial cider makers damaged its reputation so badly that sales collapsed.

The craft permit system introduced in 1988 allowed small producers to rebuild the category, often avoiding the word 'cidre' on labels to overcome consumer distrust. Quebec's innovation of ice cider, first made in 1989–1990, gave the region a distinctive product that helped redefine its cider identity. By 2008, with forty cider makers and over a hundred products, Quebec cider had established itself as a recognized part of the province's alcoholic beverage landscape, alongside its beer and wine revivals.