Hard Seltzers attract drinkers with low calories and zero-sugar promises. The name seems to have appeared out of nowhere, and many may be confused about the definition of hard seltzer.
Is it beer? Is it spirit based? Hard seltzer may even sometimes be confused for a flavored gin and tonic; which is not completely absurd, as both are sparkling beverages around 4% to 5% ABV, usually with the addition of a fruit flavor, similar to premixed spirit cans.
Simply put, a hard seltzer/spiked seltzer/hard sparkling water (the names being interchangeable), is carbonated water, alcohol and fruit flavoring; essentially alcoholic sparkling water. You can usually find them on the craft beer aisle in your local grocery store, which puzzles shoppers even further wondering if hard seltzer can be considered beer.
So… can they?
In the purest sense, beer is made with fermented grains (barley most commonly), hops, yeast, and water. There are some big differences between that definition and the hard seltzer at your local grocery store.
Like beer, hard seltzer is brewed and fermented, utilizing yeasts which convert sugars into alcohol, and the end product is carbonated. You can make hard seltzer by merging water with a grain-fermented spirit like vodka, but that’s not brewing at all.
Unlike beer, hard seltzers don’t use cereal grains, and they absolutely do not include hops, where so many of those delicious flavors in beer derive from. In both, water is a very important feature, and is distilled or purified to create the desired flavor. Tap water would result in incorrect mineral content, and introduce inconsistent flavors.
In the process of making beer, the grains are mashed, then the malt is added to hot water and hops to create the wort; a sugary, malty substance that yeast will convert into alcohol. Hard seltzers forego the first two steps and go straight into the fermentation process, where the sugars are transformed. The main form of sugar used in a hard seltzer is usually dextrose, a sugar made from corn, although sucrose can also be used.
Hard seltzers often utilize champagne yeast, which will present a spritzy quality to the beverage though brewer’s yeast can also be used. The mixture is left to ferment for fourteen days, after which the desired flavor may be added. To avoid a plastic, artificial flavor, most breweries use a natural flavor extract; fruit infusions are not uncommon, especially among craft brewers. For the infusion, fruit is steeped in alcohol before it’s added to the sugar wash. The flavor is added to fermented liquor and then carbonated. The finished product is a spritzy, fruity, alcoholic infusion.
So, although hard seltzers and beer do have a lot in common in the way they’re brewed and fermented, they’re quite different beverages. Hard seltzers are far less complex to brew, and skip several key steps (and expenses). What they do have is less carbs, less calories, and generally less alcohol, an appealing combination for a new generation.
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