I'll have to find my sources, but in colonial America cider was kept in barrels because it was safer to drink than much of the
water. Yeast was introduced eventually and hard cider was created because it was more stable. Children would drink a diluted form of it. I'm not sure of the religious implications/tolerance but it was more out of necessity than pleasure.
**Edit** I had to look up the book in particular and see that it is set around the 1860's where there was a kind of a boom of cider production with cider mills and presses being sold everywhere. A link that might give you some insight can be found
here.