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