French hard cider is often my "go to" for a refreshingly funky apple beverage. But recently I found a more locally based product; Bad Seed Cider, a Highland Hills, New York state-based producer. Devin Ritter, one of the owner-brewers periodically sells his brew at the Union Square Green Market. If you get a chance to visit the market, try to find him. He'll give you an education in cider varieties. Meeting him, I purchased a few bottles of his "IPC," which uses IPA beer yeast, along with some "semi dry," which Devin said wasn't quite as funky as French cider but has similar crispness. What I like about these ciders is the clean taste, effervesence more akin to a champagne. They drink well and go good with almost any food.