What is Cider? Is it alcoholic?

[PonyRocker95 106]

Cider's not, but Salt is. It's been confirmed in Over a Barrel When that one Pony get kicked out of the Saloon, The "proof" is from 7:16-7:29.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wTi4BBgaBc

[Apocalyptic_Unicorn 240]

Of course they can't purposely make it alcoholic due to censors, but what if the writers intended for it to be alcoholic without hinting towards it?

Like, its not in the show, but maybe they've verbally agreed that its alcoholic? We may never know though.

 

Take Regular Show for example. Mordecai and Rigby often show subtle signs of drinking and being drunk, but the only cans around them are labelled 'Soda'. Maybe to get past censors?

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,695]

Yes. At least in my headcanon it is, if it's allowed to ferment long enough (i.e. not the cider the Apples sold in Cider Squeezy 6000).

 

I know they can't show it on a kids show, although in the 21st century that seems more like denial than protection. Even the most sheltered kids know that alcohol exists and that it makes adults act funny. But whatev.

[Mephala 2,633]

I highly doubt that is is, since they let Applebloom near it. *laughs*

I mean, they do show fillies and colts lining up for cider, do they not? Unless Esquestria has a really low drinking age, I don't think it is.

[pvbrony 2]

Freshly pressed apple cider cannot possibly be alcoholic...in our universe.  Ponyville is not in our universe; we all know physics work differently in Equestria, so it makes sense that chemistry might work differently as well.  There's probably also some magic involved.

 

Word of God is that Earth Ponies have a passive magic that causes the crops they tend to be more fruitful than those tended by Pegasi or Unicorns.  Perhaps this same passive magic allows cider (and grapes) pressed by Earth Ponies to flash-ferment in the press?  This might also explain Sweetie Belle's confusion over pressing grapes in "Sisterhooves Social".

 

As to whether alcohol can be shown in a show "for kids", I suggest keeping an eye out for channels like ABCFamily broadcasting Disney's Peter Pan; when you see it, ask yourself what's in that jug Smee is often carrying, and why he always looks disoriented.

Edited August 12, 2013 by pvbrony

[Tails_155 68]

Of course it is. From a purely analytical sense, the cider on the episode cannot be alcoholic. There is no fermentation, and no insertion of any liquids that would ferment it. It is seasonal, which likely means it's very fresh.

 

The episode in question is actually my LEAST favorite episode plot-wise, but that's for another thread.

 

I feel like there could be a legitimate "alcoholic cider" off-show, but I don't really think the stuff on the show was, or could have been. Plus, weren't there foals in the crowd?

 

Further, Pinkie is a perfect example of it not being alcoholic. She is seen as completely fine and functional by the end of the episode.

 

@PVBrony: Referencing a show from prior to the political correctness wave of the 70s, and the second, more intense wave of the 90s isn't really legitimate. Remember, kids smoked once upon a time, too.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Tails_155

[Fhaolan 4,484]

 

Plus, weren't there foals in the crowd?

 

Further, Pinkie is a perfect example of it not being alcoholic. She is seen as completely fine and functional by the end of the episode.

 

 

Historically, low alcohol drinks such as root beer, ginger ale, small beer (sometimes called malt beer), and cider are routinely given to children, and are heavily consumed during harvest and planting seasons by the farm workers as it increases their survival rate (the water being unsafe to drink, and boiled drinks like teas and tisanes are usually limited to medicines). According to Victorian record-keeping, workers were usually allocated 10 pints of these beverages a day while in the fields. (a little less than 6 litres). The farm-owners providing small beer to the workers was considered to be part of the pay, and the quality of this beer was a major draw used by the farmers to attract itinerant workers.

 

Yep, real root beer and ginger ale are alcoholic. Normally these 'beers' are about 1-2% alcohol by volume, and many places in RL like Germany and Brazil these are usually sold in right next to the soda versions. Those soda versions mostly came about during Prohibition. For those in North America, that's why it's called 'Dry Ginger Ale' (as in 'Canada Dry') because it was the first non-alcoholic version of ginger ale and needed the descriptor.

 

So that part of the episode makes sense. This is a tradition that is a hold-over from the Apple family needing to attract itinerant workers during harvest time. Cider, and small beers, of this kind usually take about a week to ferment, so running out also makes sense as it would be from the early harvest a week or two before that the family alone would handle, or from the previous harvest but kept *cold* in a deep cellar to prevent excessive fermentation.

 

The rest of the episode makes less sense. The effort to produce cider immediately could only make sense if Earth Ponies have the ability to speed up the fermentation process as part of their 'earth-pony-ness'. But if they could do that, why aren't they doing that at the beginning to try to satisfy their customers rather than hanging around watching the line? All it would take would be seeing Big Mac, Granny, and Applejack in the background running the equipment while Apple Bloom sells the stuff. Yeah, maybe they can't keep up with demand, which would still fit the theme of the episode, but it wouldn't be a matter of 'that's all, no more this year'.

 

The bit with Flim and Flam building a machine that can use their unicorn magic to duplicate Earth Pony abilities makes some sense, as this is an allegory of the industrial revolution with automated looms and spinning machines replacing workers instead of augmenting them. So I'm not concerned about that.

[techno915 408]

well...when cider foams at the top, that generally means it's alcoholic. i don't know from experience, just from what i've read on the internet.

 

 

(but seriously, i never drink. i just put the pic for fun.)

[inactive------account 80]

ok I enjoy apple cider as much as the next person but what is cider in mlp beer? soda? cause ive seen ponys get tipsy off of it on comics whats ur opinion? what is cider suppose to be in the show?

 

[Iudex 1,945]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=cider

 

Cider is cider. It in itself is alcoholic. 

 

Edited January 13, 2015 by Kiari-san

[Judgement 445]

I'm guessing that to ponies it is like a sort of energy drink. It could very well be considered beer or root beer, too.

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

ok I enjoy apple cider as much as the next person but what is cider in mlp beer? soda? cause ive seen ponys get tipsy off of it on comics whats ur opinion? what is cider suppose to be in the show?

 

There are plenty of kinds of alcholic-inclusive, or, rather, 'hard' ciders in the USA, let alone the world. That's all it is. :3

[Lisa 5,553]

Off-set they drink hard liquor and mix it with the cider so that when they're on-set it can still be a kids show.

 

This is the only obvious reason.

[Judgement 445]

Well, if it IS because of the hard liquor, then that would explain why people lost interest in Flim and Flam's Cider. Not because they were rushing or anything, but because they totally forgot about the liquor. Rainbow has been waiting in line for the longest time just for a taste of alcohol. It's perfect logic.

[sweetolebob18 728]

I grew up in the sticks.  Cider is like apple juice but thicker (IDK why).  There is both fermented (Hard) cider & regular.  Some people let the hard cider freeze & pour the liquid off the frozen gunk.  This makes apple whiskey (AKA Apple Jack).  You need a really cold night to do this & most recent winters haven't really been cold enough, so IDK if they still do this (my childhood was 40 years ago)

 

In MLP they seem to use "cider" as TV Y code for "beer".  (Can't drink alcohol in a kid's cartoon).  I'm especially thinking of the "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" episode

 

IIRC, In one of the movies they mention "sparkling cider" No clue what they mean by that.

[Guest]

@, I have merged your thread with an earlier thread which similarly questions the nature of cider in MLP:FiM, hopefully this will help you find further clarity on the matter. To facilitate the discussion, I have included your original post as a quotation in the original post of the older thread. Before making a thread, it's always worthwhile checking to see if a similar thread already exists, (doing so will thus limit your chances of posting duplicate content). Whilst the search function is experiencing problems, an alternative method for checking is to google keywords and 'site:mlpforums.com'. Many thanks and please continue!

[Pastel 7,630]

I guess it's alcoholic (well, just a little) like our cider, but where's the problem?

[VitalSpark 1,830]

Friendship in Magic is an American series (OK, so it's mostly produced in Canada, with Canadian voice actors, but the majority of the writers are the the United States).

 

In most of the world, "cider" is a fermented apple juice. Its alcoholic strength varies from that of a weak beer (1 or 2% alcohol) up to almost that of a wine (10% or more), depending on the apple variety, yeast variety, and brewing process. Whether it's bubbly or not depends mostly on the brewing process. I've brewed cider before - it's quite easy to do. I even managed to get it bubbly using champagne yeast and a two-stage fermentation.

 

In the United States though, the word "cider" normally refers to a non-alcoholic beverage, which we'd just call "apple juice" elsewhere. In particular it refers to fresh, unfiltered apple juice.

 

Given that no fermentation is shown in the show, and that the ponies don't seem to suffer any ill effects from cider consumption, I'd guess that the cider in question is non-alcoholic.

[whitetiger187 197]

I don't think it is alcohlic.

 

If it was then the citizens of Ponyville have a major alcohol problem, considering how all those ponies lined up for miles IN THE MORNING to get some from the apple family in that one episode. And remember the uproar it caused when they ran out? lol

Edited January 13, 2015 by whitetiger187

[NinjaFlutterbat 6]

Well I think it's really up to the viewer whether it's alcholic or not. Whether they actually get tipsy or in heaven because of the taste is really up to interpretation.

Edited January 13, 2015 by NinjaFlutterbat

[Fhaolan 4,484]

As I mentioned in an earlier version of this thread, equine digestive systems are considerably different from humans. They have a built-in fermentation system used to break down all that vegetation they eat. All herbivores do, although the exact method varies.

 

Because of this even if the cider isn't alcohol to begin with, it will be shortly after being drunk by the ponies. Fruit have a lot of sugars in them, and that will be converted to alcohol by the pony's own digestive system. However, herbivores are used to having an amount of alcohol in their systems at all times, so it takes a significant amount in addition to that to make them 'drunk'.

[Ianpiersonjdavis 513]

I don't think so.

 

In one episode there was a photo of Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Spike drinking it together and the latter is a baby dragon, so I think the only reason it's hyped up so much in the show is because in Ponyville the only source is Sweet Apple Acres and given the special talents of the family who provides it, it would make sense that they really enjoy the taste and quality of it.

 

Salt on the other hand is something that I believe was intentional by the writers as an alcoholic reference, since a stallion drunk on salt licks is seen getting thrown out of an establishment in "Over A Barrel".

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Well this might be a combination of localization and animation.

 

Here in the wonderful U.S.of A. "cider" is a short hand for "apple cider" which is often served around autumn as that's the apple picking time and it's basically spicier and all around better apple juice.

 

In the great bastion of Europe, to my understanding, "cider" means "hard cider" which very much is alcoholic.

 

(Not that either is exclusive to the places that gave rise to them.)

 

Further confusing matters is that Sweet Apple Acres cider foams up, which only happens if the beverage is fermented. Further, further calling something a non-alcoholic when it very much is isn't unheard of in animation either.

 

So, like so much in the show, I think it's up for interpretation.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Well this might be a combination of localization and animation.

 

Here in the wonderful U.S.of A. "cider" is a short hand for "apple cider" which is often served around autumn as that's the apple picking time and it's basically spicier and all around better apple juice.

 

In the great bastion of Europe, to my understanding, "cider" means "hard cider" which very much is alcoholic.

 

(Not that either is exclusive to the places that gave rise to them.)

 

Further confusing matters is that Sweet Apple Acres cider foams up, which only happens if the beverage is fermented. Further, further calling something a non-alcoholic when it very much is isn't unheard of in animation either.

 

So, like so much in the show, I think it's up for interpretation.

 

TV tropes calls that trope for when something obviously alcholic is stated to not be booze Frothy Mugs of Water

[Steel Accord 6,660]

TV tropes calls that trope for when something obviously alcholic is stated to not be booze Frothy Mugs of Water

 

Yes, that particular phenomenon was what I was citing. I try not to endanger those to the exposure of TV Tropes anymore than I have to. Just because I have the constitution to resist it's many links doesn't mean everypony does.