By Eitan Levine

Admit it, beerficianados: Ciders are the best slightly alcoholic drink on the market. Listen, I like beer. I will even go as far to say that beer is great, but I’m not obsessed with beers like some of my friends are, and I will never understand why anyone would pay $15 for a 12-ounce can of a beer made with elderberries.

Ciders are simply better. They taste better, they sip better and they don’t come with annoying friends who say things like “I’d rather jump off a hops-covered bridge then let Bud Light touch thine lips.”

I’m not alone on this. Over the past few years, tastebuds in the U.S. have started to trend toward hard cider and the market is increasing yearly. Cider sales reached $601.5 million dollars in the U.S. during 2012, that equates for 2% of all beer sales nationally. That number also shows a 27.5% increase in hard cider sales since 2007. Beer companies have obviously taken note of this with major beer players C&C, MillerCoors and Heineken acquiring cider breweries Vermont Hard Cider, Crispin and Strongbow respectively.

Still not getting behind the cider revolution? Try any one of these and see if you still want a standard old boring brewski after.

• 1. Ace Pumpkin Cider

  

  Cinnamon, cloves, and allspice are added to fermented apple juice to produce a cider which tastes just like pumpkin pie.

  Image: @osnapitzlisayo on Instagram

• 2. Herrljunga Strawberry Vanilla Cider

  

  This cider is made with water from the Herrljunga source, flavored with strawberry and vanilla.

  Image: @soraiarosa77 on Instagram

• 3. Brothers Cider Toffee Apple Cider

  

  A delicious blend of cream soda, apples and smoldering toffee flavor.

   

  Read the rest at Mashable

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