San Francisco’s own 21st Amendment Brewery has announced the national rollout of SOMA, a hard seltzer brand that performed well in its local release.
SOMA, the company says, is “brewed for free-spirited individuals living life against the grain.”
Each 12 ounce can of SOMA contains 100 calories, 2g carbs, 0g sugar, and 4.6% ABV. The handcrafted seltzer is brewed from grains and spiked with four flavors: Watermelon, Black Cherry, Guava & Passion Fruit, and Mango.
SOMA distribution will eventually include the 32 states where the company’s craft beer is sold. It will be available in single flavor 6 packs and variety 12 packs.
“Brewed to strength, we’re using a natural fermentation of grain-based sugars and champagne yeast for our seltzers, which really shows our dedication to the handcrafted nature of SOMA. For six months, we brewed small batches to get the flavors correct,” says Shaun O’Sullivan, Co-Founder and Brewmaster.
“SOMA Hard Seltzer is NOT made with neutral spirits, and then diluted with water. Many hard seltzers made that way have a metallic and artificial taste. When you crack open a can of SOMA Hard Seltzer, you can taste the hard work that’s gone into each distinct flavor.”
The new hard seltzer was released to test markets in Northern California in the summer of 2020. Since then, it “has skyrocketed to the number one “Local Craft Seltzer in Major Northern California Grocery Chains” according to Nielsen data cited by the brewery.
The hard seltzer category finished 2020 up 155% (Goldman Sachs) with projected $2.7 billion (Nielsen) in sales.”
According to Goldman Sachs predictions, sales of hard seltzer will reach $30 billion by 2025. That sort of data makes craft brewers take notice and say “sorry for seltzering.” 2020 sales hit approximately $4.3 billion, depending on which brands you include, according to Nielsen IQ.
Seltzer is a natural fit for 21st Amendment Brewery, which is known for its fruit forward beers like Hell or High Watermelon. This “infatuation” with watermelon is carried over into SOMA.
Founded in 2000, “21st Amendment began expanding beyond the Bay Area by helping to pioneer the movement to canned craft beer.” It was founded by O’Sullivan and his partner Nico Freccia, Californians who met after moving to northern California. They both “heard the calling of beer” and came up with the idea for 21st Amendment “while sitting together in a summer class on brewing science at UC Davis,” according to the company’s website.
The brewery’s name is a reference to the repeal of prohibition. In the year 1900, according to O’Sullivan and Freccia’s research, “there were thousands of small breweries operating across America,” including 40 within San Francisco’s city limits alone.
The pair realized that the brewery’s shuttered by prohibition were uniquely important to San Francisco.
“They were the local gathering places. Places to exchange ideas, debate politics and philosophy. Places for families to come together on weekends. Places that provided something unique—hand crafted beer that was different at every brewery and that defined the taste of a neighborhood.”
The 21st Amendment, of course, put an end to prohibition, eventually allowing for the return of the brewery as a city’s focal point. And with SOMA, 21st Amendment Brewery adds hard seltzer to its proud history.
The new line of seltzer is named for 21st Amendment Brewery’s home neighborhood, the South of Market District (or SoMA). The name pays homage to the “beloved 2nd Street brewpub and the restless creativity bustling at all corners of San Francisco.” In 2015 they opened at the site of a former Kellogg’s cereal factory. A partnership deal with Brooklyn Brewery in 2017 enabled the current distribution footprint.
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