Last year seltzers came on the scene big time. Over the summer, my goddaughter asked if I could brew a seltzer to enjoy down at the lake, which totally caught me off-guard. I had never brewed a seltzer, but she is my goddaughter, and she knows she has me wrapped around her finger, so it was worth investigating. After some research and a couple of tries, I had produced what I believed was a product worth drinking - introduced it to the crowd and 5 gallons was gone within a week. A week. The reason is simply because on hot summer days, a light refreshing, carbonated, low ABV beverage went down easy. It literally became the "go-to" drink of the summer, I couldn't brew it fast enough. Plus it was low calorie and gluten free, so people that were worried about their figures or were gluten intolerant now had a new option.
Fast forward, we did a test batch in December at the brewery to see how people would accept it. Small batch, only 10 gallons which is far lower than we normally do (we brew on a system that is 217 gallons or 7 barrels). Ironically, it sold out quickly contrary to our internal pessimism.
This is our second hard seltzer batch. Mixed with Blood Orange and Lime concentrate, this hard seltzer is a little higher ABV than our first batch at just over 5%. However, the crisp, bubbly experience should provide a great alternative.
