Hard seltzer, adult seltzer, mature seltzer, spiked seltzer and hard sparkling alcohol water is a type of

highball A highball is a mixed alcoholic drink composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer, often a carbonated beverage. Examples include the Seven and Seven, Scotch and soda, gin and tonic, screwdriver ...

drink containing

seltzer Carbonated water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, either artificially injected under pressure, or occurring due to natural geological processes. Carbonation causes small bubbles to form, giving the water an effervescence, effer ...

(carbonated water),

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

, and often fruit flavorings. In the US the alcohol is usually made by fermenting cane sugar or

malted barley Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as " malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar ...

. Hard seltzer products outside of the US often use either

neutral spirit Rectified spirit, also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is highly concentrated ethanol that has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. In some countr ...

, or fermentation of fruit. The

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...

is around 5% and the

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy that originated from the caloric theory of heat. The large calorie, food calorie, dietary calorie, kilocalorie, or kilogram calorie is defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one liter o ...

-content is relatively low, derived almost entirely from

fructose Fructose (), or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and gal ...

History

The concept of flavored malt beverages has been popular since the 1990s. The first widely available commercial product was Two Dogs, which launched in Australia in 1993 and claimed to be the "world's first brewed alcoholic lemonade" (falsely, because of the pre-existence of traditional drinks like

sima Sima or SIMA may refer to: People * Sima (Chinese surname) * Sima (Persian given name), a Persian feminine name in use in Iran and Turkey * Sima (Indian given name), an Indian feminine name used in South Asia * Sima (surname) * Sima (born 1 ...

, a fermented Finnish drink). Two Dogs paved the way for similar products such as Hooper's Hooch and Mike's Hard Lemonade. These alcoholic alternatives were commonly known as

alcopop An alcopop (or cooler) is a category of mixed alcoholic beverages with relatively low alcohol content (e.g., 3–7% alcohol by volume), including: # Malt beverages to which various fruit juices or other flavorings have been added # Wine coolers: ...

s in the United Kingdom and malternatives in America. The concept of hard seltzers started with Nick Shields developing the 'Spiked Seltzer' branding style, in Westport, Connecticut, brewing the first commercial batches in November 2013. Other hard seltzers rose to popularity later, in 2018. Sales of the most popular US hard seltzer brand, White Claw, grew 85% in just one year, with revenues of over $4 billion in 2020 alone. Analysts attributed the success of White Claw and the appeal of hard seltzer in general to increased demand from health-conscious consumers.

Nutritional information

Across all hard seltzer brands, there is a median of 100 calories, 2g of carbs, 0-2g of sugar while still maintaining 5% alcohol. Additionally, most are gluten free. Manufacturers assert that they are healthier than more calorically heavy alcoholic beverages. For example, nutrition information is often displayed prominently on packaging. The social media presence of hard seltzer companies is massive and often depict healthy people drinking and having fun, further promoting the message that hard seltzers are a healthy alcoholic alternative. However, although it may be ‘healthier’ than some other alcoholic drinks, nutritionists have warned that it is not a healthy beverage per se. Many hard seltzers have added flavoring and are mixed with sugary soda waters to add sweetness.

Branding

In addition to advertising hard seltzers as the 'healthy alternative', the marketing of hard seltzers has often relied on their trendiness. In 2019, YouTuber Trevor Wallace posted a video title “Summer of White Claw”. This video went viral and was watched over six million times. Following the video, sales of White Claw (as well as other hard seltzer brands) rose sharply and White Claw experienced a shortage. While alcoholic beverage ads are often targeted at one or other gender, seltzer companies have made a point to have gender-neutral advertising in order to reach the most people possible. This has also contributed to the drink's surge in popularity. The demographics of hard seltzer drinkers are Caucasians who are 21 to 44 years of age. The rise of hard seltzers in the

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

category may also be seen as a reflection of the broader surge in popularity of non-alcoholic flavored seltzers evidenced by the sudden and massive popularity of brands like LaCroix and Spindrift. On the back of this popularity, hard seltzer brands have launched in numerous countries, including

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and the UK. In February 2020, White Claw launched in Canada and subsequently Australia and the UK.

Fermentation process

Similarly to beer,

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

is needed to make these drinks alcoholic. However, instead of yeast converting starch to glucose, the fermentation process of Hard Seltzers consists of directly fermenting a sugar base. This fermentation process yields a discoloration in the product so effective filtration practices of these colors and odors is necessary. A common filtration process consists of a carbon treatment which uses CARBOFIL RW, RHC or CA filter sheets. This creates a plain alcohol base where flavor can be added afterwards.

Popular brands

References