Beverage Testing Institute Ranks Ciderboys “Exceptional” Among U.S. Hard Ciders

The BTI’s expert judges taste-tested hard ciders from North America and Europe during October and bestowed four gold medals – the most for any cider maker – on Ciderboys’ Peach County, Raspberry Smash, Magic Apple and Cranberry Road hard ciders, which blend unexpected fresh fruit flavors with the crisp taste of apple. Ciderboys First Press Traditional Hard Cider earned a silver award.

The BTI’s hard-cider judging, part of the institute’s ongoing World Beer Championships quality rankings, was the very first beverage competition Ciderboys Cider Co. has entered. The results are available online at www.tastings.com and will be published in All About Beer magazine in early 2014.

“A gold medal in the World Beer Championships represents exceptional taste and quality, and the BTI judges found what they were looking for when they sampled Ciderboys hard ciders,” said Joe Martino, Ciderboys Cider Co. Operating Partner. “Hard cider fans know quality when they taste it, too, and at Ciderboys Cider Co. we’re working overtime to keep up with demand.” 

The World Beer Championships, founded in 1994, is an ongoing competition open to commercially produced beers and hard ciders from around the world. Using proprietary blind tasting methodology developed by the Beverage Testing Institute, expert judges award rankings based on a 100-point rating scale. Scores of 96 to 100 denote a “superlative” platinum award, while 90 to 95 points are “exceptional” gold award winners. Products earning 85 to 89 points are deemed “highly recommended” silver winners. The BTI’s top 15 hard ciders for 2013 are: