The four apples pictured here in grower Steve Wood’s hands are, clockwise from the bottom right, Dabinett, Ellis Bitter, Major and Foxwhelp. (Courtesy Brenda Bailey) This story has been updated to reflect a correction.  Increasing interest in hard ciders and a critical shortage of some varieties of cider apples in the U.S., particularly for bittersweet and bittersharp varieties, could provide apple growers a new market. There is huge demand for high-tannin cider varieties used in hard cider. One of the reasons for the shortage is the huge boom in demand for hard cider — increases of 78 percent, 63 percent […]