There are many kinds of cider
Just as there are many varieties of beer (IPA, stout, pilsner), and many varieties of wine (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir), there are many varieties of cider. However it's hard to tell that looking at labels. Sometimes labels are helpful with some information, but there is rarely enough information to help you find the ciders you will like.
Different people prefer different kinds of ciders
This should go without saying, but we're saying it anyway. Some people like fruit ciders (cherry, currant, pineapple), some people don't think fruit ciders should be considered ciders at all. Some people like dry, some people prefer sweet. Some don't care about sweetness, but it's some other combination of tastes that make or break the cider.
Should I stick to highly-rated ciders?
Not necessarily.
CiderExpert is not unique in having people give 1-5 star ratings, then displaying an aggregate rating. While there is some use to this, it isn't as useful as you might think. A highly rated cider could be any of these:
- An overall excellent cider
- A cider good in its category, with a lot of reviewers who like that category
- A cider good in a popular category
If it's the first one, you definitely want to give it a try! However in the other cases, if you don't happen to like that category, you might be sorely disappointed.
So the short answer is no. Sticking to highly rated ciders is no guarantee you'll enjoy your cider, and you're likely to miss out on a lot you will like.
Should I avoid low-rated ciders?
Not necessarily.
There are multiple reasons why a cider could end up with a low rating, for instance:
- It's just not a great cider
- A cider good in its category, but with few reviewers who like that category
- A cider good in an unpopular category
With just looking at the rating, you have no way of knowing why a cider got a relatively low overall rating. You might find that you're a fan of ciders that are somewhat less popular.
If ratings aren't helpful, why does CiderExpert have a top-rated listing?
The list of top-rated ciders has ciders that have a sufficient number of ratings that the number is meaningful, and has the highest overall aggregate rating including all reviewers. This doesn't mean that everyone will like these ciders, but they are popular.
So don't read too much into this list, but these ciders are good bets when:
- you are trying to start learning about different kinds of cider and don't know where to start
- you are picking out a cider to satisfy a group
Soon you will hopefully be venturing far beyond this list!
Finding ciders you like
So does a cider drinker give up hope? No!
CiderExpert can recommend ciders that you are likely to enjoy based on your personal taste preferences.
To get personalized recommendations, rate how much you like at least 10 ciders. Rating ciders you don't like is just as important as rating one you do like.
Once that is done, go to the Recommended for Me to see some top recommendations!
Rating ciders
On pages for different ciders, you'll see a place to assign a rating for "Do you like it?". Like many other sites, just click to select the right number of stars to match how much you like it, 1 to 5. There is no right or wrong answer, and you can always change your answer later. The more ratings about ciders you like (4 or 5 stars) and dislike (1 or 2 stars) that you assign, the better our recommendations will be.
How do I get automatic recommendations?
Once you have rated 10 ciders showing how much you like or dislike the cider (you don't need to rate taste properties), automatic recommedations will be available to you!
To get a top 20 list, go to Favories -> Recommended For Me. This won't show all recommendations, but will show some highly-rated ciders that are a good match for your taste preferences.
If you are looking at a cider page that is recommended, you will see a badge that looks like: 
This will show ciders that aren't on your top 20 list, but still worth trying. If you tap/click on the recommendation icon, you will be shown some of the reasons why this might be a good cider for you.