Hard Seltzer

San Diego-headquartered JuneShine released its first commercial campaign today, promoting its recently launched ready-to-drink, spirits-based canned cocktails with the tagline of “Dodge the Sugar.” Beer buyers’ behavior has “continued to revert to pre-pandemic trends” for the third consecutive month, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) March Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI).

A bill introduced in the New Jersey state Senate last month proposes the creation of a new tax class for flavored malt beverages (FMBs). The bill would tax FMBs at $4.40 per gallon, far closer to New Jersey’s rate for distilled spirits ($5.50 per gallon) than for beer ($0.12 per gallon).

OldKnow Beverage Co. launched Verte Absinthe Spirited Seltzer last month, an absinthe-based ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTD) that the Rabun Gap, Georgia-based company believes is the first on the market.

Hard Seltzer Roundup: New Belgium Releases High ABV Fruit Smash Super Hard Seltzer; White Claw Launches ‘Surf;’ Two Robbers Debuts Fruit Punch

Boston Beer replaced the two flavors in its Truly Extra Hard Seltzer line with Pineapple Orange Punch and Berry Blast.

Some hard seltzers and hard kombuchas in Utah are a signature away from being relegated to state-run liquor stores due to a bill that bans drinks made with flavors containing trace amounts of ethyl alcohol from grocery and convenience stores.

As the lines between beer, wine and spirits continue to blur, Molson Coors is launching Vizzy Mimosa Hard Seltzer to capitalize on the popularity of the sparkling wine-based cocktail.

Some hard seltzer brands may be excluded from grocery and convenience stores in Utah under an omnibus bill proposed in the state Senate. Alaska’s state Senate has passed a bill that would make it harder for breweries to open taprooms in the state.

Shipments from Mass. Bay Brewing Company – whose portfolio includes Harpoon Brewery, UFO Beer Co., Clown Shoes Beer, City Roots Cider and Arctic Chill Hard Seltzer – declined -10% in 2021, marking a second consecutive year of double-digit production declines, according to estimates from the Brewers Association (BA).

Boston Beer Company founder and chairman Jim Koch discussed the future of core beer and his company’s fourth category offerings – including the forthcoming Hard Mtn Dew collaboration with PepsiCo – during Beer Business Daily’s annual Beer Industry Summit earlier this week.

Anheuser-Busch InBev North American zone CEO Brendan Whitworth shared updates from across the company’s portfolio, distribution network and e-commerce platforms. Nearly a year after Diageo’s acquisition of Far West Spirits LLC, the maker of Lone River Ranch Water, Diageo Beer Company president Nuno Teles and Lone River founder and CEO Katie Beal Brown discussed the brand’s growth under the spirits giant’s guidance.

The fourth flavor of Boston Beer Company and PepsiCo Beverages’ Hard MTN Dew will be Baja Blast.

Convenience retailers expect the hard seltzer segment to grow +10% year-over-year in 2022, according to Goldman Sachs Equity analyst Bonnier Herzog’s latest “Beverage Bytes” report. Hard seltzer sales slowed to +13% at c-stores in Q4, down from +18% in Q3, +32% in Q2 and +94% in Q1 as the calendar cycled against 2020 numbers.

Independent hard seltzer maker Two Robbers will open its first taproom in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood later this year. The 4,000 sq. ft. taproom – titled Burgers and Seltzers – is the first seltzer taproom in Philadelphia. In addition to a beyond beer-driven menu, Two Robbers will serve smash burgers, beer and spirits.