Hard Cider Taste Test
Looking for a crisp hard cider to enjoy this Fall? This Hard Cider Taste Test has all you need to know!
I’ve rounded up 12 hard ciders from around the globe and tested them with a panel of expert tasters to help settle the debate:
which hard cider is best?
Finding Your New Favorite Hard Cider
This Hard Cider Taste Test lists the sugar content, total calories, and ABV for each option below. Check out our opinions and make the call yourself!
1. Woodchuck Hard Cider, Amber
ABV: 5%| Calories: 170 |Sugar: 17 grams in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in:Vermont
Details: Tasters found this “sweet-ish”, light, fizzy, flavorful, light and good, though some weren’t wild about the higher sugar content.
Average Rating: 7.5/10
2. Magners Irish Cider
ABV: 4.5%
Calories: 150
Sugar: 12 grams in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in: Ireland
Details: This one was dryer, with an interesting aftertaste which was almost musty and stale, very tart, less flavor than the first.
Average Rating: 4/10
3. Cider Boys, First Press
ABV:5%
Calories: 244
Sugar: 30 grams in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in: Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Details: Tastes like a true apple cider! Tasters found this one tart, and while there is so much sugar, there is a good overall cider flavor.
Average Rating: 5/10
4. Gumption Hard Cider, Original
ABV: 5.5%
Calories: 220
Sugar: 20 grams in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in: Vermont
Details: This one was found to be very sweet, tasting like the peel of an apple, with a “different flavor”.
Average Rating: 5/10
5. Strongbow Gold Apple
ABV: 5%
Calories: 172
Sugar: 19 grams in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in: United Kingdom
Details: Tasters found this to have a bitter aftertaste, although light, with a little must, clean and crisp. It had a nice apple taste, wasn’t overpowering, and was very good. One taster mentions, “This one’s as good as woodchuck!”
Average Rating: 7/10
6. Crispin Original Hard Cider
ABV: 5%
Calories: 220
Sugar:17 grams in 16 fluid ounces
Brewed in: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Details: Extra bubbly, dryer, with no nasty aftertaste. “Like a true crunch of an apple!”, this one was champagne-like, fizzy, light, although it had less flavor than Strongbow.
Average Rating: 6/10
7. Sociable Cider Werks, Freehwheeler
ABV: 6.4%
Calories: 165
Sugar:5 grams in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in: Minneapolis, MN
Details: Tasters thought this one was extra dry, with not as much flavor, a sour and almost watered down apple taste and finish. There “wasn’t enough flavor for me”, said one taster, with another recalling, “I don’t like it so much that I need to have another one”.
Average Rating: 5/10
8. Schilling Hard Cider
ABV: 5.2%
Calories: 125
Sugar: 6 grams in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in:Washington
Details: Tasters love the artwork on the can, depicting a Sasquatch. This one had a dark, caramel like finish, and was tart and slightly sweet. Tasters noted this one being less fizzy, and love how low in sugar it is.
Average Rating: 7/10
9. Wild State Cider, Classic Dry
ABV: 6.9%
Calories:
Sugar: 0 grams in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in: Duluth, MN
Details: “Zero grams of sugar?!” After the shell shock of that statement, tasters found this tart, sour, and reminiscent of a “hard seltzer with a splash of apple”. Another taster commented how it isn’t sweet enough: “You’d need to chase it with about a dozen chocolate chip cookies!”
Average Rating: 6/10
10. Angry Orchard, Easy Apple
ABV: 4.2%
Calories: 150
Sugar: 15 grams in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in: HudsonValley, NY
Details: This cider was a happy medium for tasters. It had plenty of flavor, wasn’t as tart as others, and was smooth. Multiple mentions were made about the taste, and how refreshing it was.
Average Rating: 7/10
11. Stella Artois Cidre
ABV: 4.5%
Calories: 180
Sugar: 16 grams in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in: New York (original brewery founded in Belgium)
Details: Tasters noted an aftertaste with pear, artificial bubblegum, or banana flavor. It was found to be too sweet, although he sugar content is much lower than other options that had been tasted. It had a soft mouthfeel, and was easy enough to drink.
Average Rating: 5/10
12. Maiden Rock Honeycrisp Hard Cider
ABV: 6.8%
Calories:
Sugar: in 12 fluid ounces
Brewed in: Wisconsin
Details: A tue Minnesotan will love anything Honeycrisp, so tasters had high expectations for this one! It had a lot of flavor, although the after taste was “not very apple”. Tasters found it surprising that the ABV is so high, but the cider is still very sweet!
Average Rating: 7/10
And The Winner Is...
Though it was close between a few, the winner of this Hard Cider Taste Test, clocking in at an average rating of 7.5 out of 10 was…
Woodchuck Hard Cider!
Tasters loved how the cider wasn’t too sweet, had great fizz, and overall was well balanced.
Coming in at second with a four-way tie was:
2. Strongbow Gold Apple
2. Schilling Hard Cider
2. Angry Orchard Easy Apple
2. Maiden Rock Honeycrisp
Looking for more Fall inspiration? Check out my Guide to Fall Entertaining!