We sit at the crossroads of innovation and exploration on how far you can push the quality and expectations of hard seltzer. Hard seltzer itself isn’t new, but it’s seen a considerable resurgence over the past year. Seemingly, everyone from major beverage producers to mom and pop start-ups began manufacturing their own take on seltzer. As it continues to become a mainstream offering, I’m guessing many are asking, why now?
The Gluten Dilemma
Brewers first took aim at eliminating the gluten impact for consumers by use of the African plant, sorghum. Precedent for this is derived from many beers already in production in Sub-Saharan Africa utilizing sorghum in a blend of adjuncts, including millet and maize.
In the U.S., sorghum struggled to find its place in the craft beer world. While a few notable gluten-free breweries established a firm name for themselves, many brewers difficultly reconciled sorghum’s inherent flavorless state while trying to provide a true replica taste experience for their gluten-avoiding consumers. Until recently, ingredient choices for breweries opting to not brew with gluten malt remained limited.
Hence, many breweries pursued the simpler option and partnered with a local cider manufacturer to provide a non-gluten beverage offering for their brewpubs and taprooms. Thankfully, the Philadelphia region is home to many great cider makers. Cider certainly has a tasty appeal, sitting somewhere between the complexities of wine and an easy drinkability of a light lager. However, cider also tends to sit on the higher carb-load intake for most regular drinkers, especially those trying to enjoy an alcoholic beverage within a limited carbohydrate intake range.
Take Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale as a basic benchmark. The beer chimes in at 16.9 g of carbs per 12 oz serving (bigger beers have upwards of 22g of carbs per 12 oz serving). Meanwhile, if we look at Pennsylvania brewed Windridge Cider, we notice not only 14g of carbs per 12 oz serving, but also an additional 10g of sugars.
For many of us, this isn’t an issue. By including these numbers above, I am in no way denouncing the mentioned brands or products (In full disclosure, I keep a variety of Pennsylvania ciders in stock in my place and I thoroughly enjoy most brands of beer).
Gimme Seltzer?
In 2016, we at Round Guys Brewing Company watched complacently as hard seltzers once again found a place for themselves in the market. By 2019, Round Guys Brewing Company founder and owner, Scott Rudich, and current brewer, Ken Orner, spent considerable time developing and refining a new product called “Gimme Seltzer.”
The endgame, as laid out by Rudich, looked to provide a high-quality, house-brewed alternative for not only the gluten avoidant, but also a thoroughly enjoyable and refreshing product for carb conscious consumers. For Rudich, this wasn’t a measure of jumping on a trend, it was now the only product he could drink!
Both Rudich and Orner embraced a new reality of restricted carbohydrate intake. For Rudich, it stemmed from a doctor’s orders. In Orner’s case, he now avoided gluten-related products after receiving a very unsettling diagnosis of Celiac disease. The irony of their passion and their newfound conditions weren’t lost on the two men.
Rudich immediately began surveying the marketplace for a seltzer he wished to indulge in. He ended up stumbling upon Two Robbers, a Philadelphia-based seltzer manufacturer. After being dismayed at most craft seltzers, Two Robbers stood out to him. He admired the flavors and high quality of the seltzer. More importantly, he appreciated the natural flavor character.
Many hard seltzers impart a flavor akin to an artificial sweetener. You know the flavor I’m talking about, it’s the difference between the more sugar-based flavor of a cola versus the lingering, often clingy, sometimes-cleaner sweetness of a diet cola. His research led him to be heavily inspired to brew a truly craft-based seltzer, not a cheap fix designed to exaggerate flavors.
This shouldn’t be surprising. Take Round Guys Brewing Company’s Transmission and Kiss Off IPAs, as both beers remain at the front of consumer minds despite their lack of the trademarked puckering bitterness that so many India Pale Ales became notoriously known for. Balance would be key to making a truly craft seltzer. A measured approach evening out flavor against the refreshing carbonic acidity we all love in our drinks would also be key to building a truly craft hard seltzer.
What Exactly is Seltzer?
Hard Seltzer really doesn’t solicit change in the overall brewing process. While brewers like Orner may enjoy brewing seltzer, as they don’t have to spend time milling grain, and they get a pass on the backbreaking work of shoveling out heavy, absorbent mashed grain, there are technical considerations that present much more of a challenge to make a truly great hard seltzer.
Flavors derive from a few select adjuncts, basically ingredients used solely to provide flavoring to the drink. In beer, most of that ale or lager’s flavoring comes out of the caramel, chocolate or pale malt used in the mash process. With hard seltzer, the sugar almost solely performs the role of fermenting agent.
This difference in fermentable sugars does present an additional problem. The wort, or the pre-fermented / post-boiled malted barley doesn’t just provide sugars for the yeast to consume, it provides essential nutrients to sustain the yeast. Due to the minimalist nature of hard seltzer, the right balance of yeast nutrients needs to be added back into the cooled product. Think of this as vitamins for yeast.
As hinted at above, adjuncts aren’t new to the world of beer. If you ever had a peanut-butter stout, you’ve surely encountered them. For instance, Round Guys Brewing Company’s Spaceman Wit uses blood oranges and limes to provide a flavorful ‘brightness’ to the effervescent wit (originally with the actual fruit, now we brew it with a very high-quality extract). However, unlike for beer where adjuncts are used to enhance already existing hops or malt driven flavors, for seltzers, they’re a necessity.
In the making of Gimme Seltzer’s Dry Hopped flavor, Omer adds Amarillo hops to the post-fermentation. This addition creates a unique, funky, citrusy, grassy tone to the bubbly beverage. By using hops in the cooled setting of post fermentation, he’s able to fully pull in the dankness of rich hop oils. The final product creates something more akin to a lightly hopped carbonated tea. Aromatics complement the flavors to inviting notes of floral and citrus.
As seltzer continues to gain steam, refinements and new flavors seem almost endless. Recently, I had a cream soda seltzer (which for the low carb seeker may be a bit pointless), but for a general consumer might be very enticing.
Right now, Gimme Seltzer only arrives in Dry hopped and Blood Orange varieties, with Passionfruit coming soon. Being of only a single sugar base, Gimme Seltzer chimes in at 4.5g of carbohydrates per 12 oz (6g per 16oz) and a sessionable 5.1% alcohol by volume. It’s refreshingly crafted and, for a limited time this weekend, you can find a discount code if you head over to GimmeSeltzer.com for $4 off a 4 pack. Be sure to pay attention to Round Guys Radio, as I’ll have a more detailed show coming up on the build and story of Gimme Seltzer, including a chat with Two Robbers Hard Seltzer co-founder, Vikram Nayar.
Bill McGeeney is the marketing officer and co-owner of Round Guys Brewing Company.
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