Fruit Smash Hard Seltzer
Fruit Smash Hard Seltzer is now being sold at retail outlets.

One of 2021’s most anticipated hard seltzers is finally here; meet Fruit Smash from New Belgium Brewing. The Instagrammable seltzer, first scooped by Hard Seltzer News in September 2020, hits store shelves this month.

Fruit Smash is being introduced in three dreamy flavors, straight from your favorite childhood juice box – Berry Blast, Pink Lemonade, and Tropical Punch.

All flavors are made with real fruit juice. Fruit Smash contains 100 calories and 4.7% ABV per serving. A variety 12-pack sells for around $18.69 on Drizly.

Creative Packaging

The cans feature playful animals that are ready for fun, like a shark wearing a backwards hat for Berry Blast with real raspberry juice. Other designs include a skateboarding T-Rex, and a cockatoo with a mohawk and sassy glasses (pink lemonade, obvi).

The new seltzer is a big development for the US’s fourth largest craft brewery (according to 2019 rankings). Fruit Smash makes New Belgium the country’s second largest craft beer maker to add seltzer to its portfolio, behind only Boston Beer’s Truly.  Those rankings will be reset, however, as New Belgium was purchased by a Japanese brewing conglomerate Kirin after the 2019 rankings were published by the Brewer’s Association.

More Innovation from New Belgium

Is a hard tea or boozy kombucha next on the docket? Hard Seltzer News reported in December that New Belgium filed an application with the US Patent Trademark Office to use the brand names “SUNWAZE” and “SUNCUT,” likely for a line of alcoholic teas.

The company first registered for use of the name “Fruit Smash” back in September, with a second application to trademark “Sorry for Seltzering” filed the next day.

Other Notable Brand Innovations

The hard tea space has been growing rapidly this year, with Truly’s tea hitting the market just in time for “Try January,” a fun response to “Dry January” where the Sam Adams makers sent fans swag in exchange for trying the sparkling tea.

“We believe that Truly Iced Tea Hard Seltzer, which combines the refreshment of hard seltzer with real brewed tea and fruit flavor at only 100 calories and 1 gram of sugar, will further strengthen our position in the category,” said Boston Beer president and CEO Dave Burwick ahead of its release.

White Claw also has a highly anticipated hard iced tea coming down the pipeline this spring.

Even the makers of POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice are getting in on the boozy tea party. The company applied to register trademarks for POM Wonderful alcoholic beverages, which is slated to include hard seltzers and hard teas.

Aside from spied iced tea, hard kombucha has been experiencing its own surge in popularity recently. The SUNWAZE and SUNCUT trademarks could also refer to a boozy booch, or fermented tea.

Founded in Colorado in 1991 by Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch, who is now retired, New Belgium is best known for its Fat Tire Amber Ale. The company is dedicated to environmental sustainability, making it a centerpiece of its corporate social responsibility efforts.

Commenting in 2019 on the company’s acquisition by Kirin, Jordan said, “This is not the last chapter, there’s more fun to be had. We can’t wait to see what happens next. We are as committed to being a vibrant, values-driven enterprise as we’ve ever been, and we look forward to having a beer with all of you along the journey.”

In addition to the perennial Fat Tire, New Belgium made a splash with Mural Agua, its fruit forward beer line which contains a lighter 100 calories per serving.

We are excited to see how Fruit Smash (and the forthcoming SUN teas) expand and enhance this brewer’s portfolio. We could all use a little more whimsy and comforting nostalgia right now, and Fruit Smash promises to deliver.

Erin Grafton
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