White Claw Flavor Pack 2 Review: Ranked

Thomas Short — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 02:12:37 +0000

When in Rome (quarantine), do as the Romans do (drink what’s in the fridge). I’ve gone back and forth on how similar I really think hard seltzer is to beer. In some ways they’re similar — low ABV, easy availability, brewed by breweries, and so on. But hard seltzer is very different from beer. For example, everybody wants to treat the two as competing industries. Forbes pointed out that hard seltzer outsold craft beer 12-packs over a 52-week period. You also can’t be a beer drinker and open up a hard seltzer without a disclosure. “I want something to cleanse my palate between barrel-aged stouts.” “I only drink them because my girlfriend buys them.” “Hard seltzers are barely even alcoholic, anyway.” Whatever your excuse, you’re on this page and that means you must be interested in hard seltzer or, at the very least, White Claw. I personally enjoy hard seltzer and, upon running out of things to write about, wanted to write about the new White Claw flavors. Here are my impressions on the new flavors. Enjoy. 4. Tangerine In the first White Claw variety pack, people all had their preferences. However, one flavor was almost always voted the worst: lime. Yup, don’t know why, but nobody I know enjoys the lime flavor. If I had to peg a “lime” for the new White Claw variety pack, I’d say it’s tangerine. This isn’t to say I didn’t like it — I thought it was soft and mellow with a nice citrus zing. Not too acidic, but not too subtle. I’m mostly just making this my “calling it now,” just in case I’m right. Tangerine: good, but you’ll probably forget about it after you drink it. 3. Mango I’m going to go ahead and assume that mango is going to be the most popular of the bunch. Why? Because it has six packs readily available in stores. It’s a nice seltzy with a sweet, tangy flavor, kind of similar to Tang. I didn’t even think this tasted like mango. After being spoiled with delicious mangoes in Chile, I found that the Mango White Claw tasted more like blood orange. I think the Blood Orange White Claw flavor will be the most popular. 2. Watermelon Ho ho ho, oh boy. This guy. Watermelon White Claw has more in common with a Watermelon Jolly Rancher than the fruit it’s supposedly based off. This thing is real fruity, but not in a watermelon way. It’s fruity in a, “this candy tastes kind of like it could be similar to a fruit” way. I guess if your goal is enjoying candy that tastes like alcohol (?), the Watermelon White Claw is a step up from vodka soaked gummy bears. If you couldn’t guess, this was my least favorite of the bunch. 1. Lemon Sometimes things just make sense. Imagine a non-alcoholic seltzer water. What does it taste like? Probably water, but with a small little something-something to enjoy. That’s the Lemon White Claw through and through. This drink is crisp and clean, almost like a Fresca. It’s the most simple and satisfying of the bunch. I bet most people will hate this flavor for its “boringness,” but I salute Lemon’s simple and unabashed brilliance. Bravo, lemon. I implore you — drink Lemon White Claw over any other flavor. Treat yourself. Overall White Claw V.2 Impression Here we are. I wrote an entire review of the new White Claw flavors and, if you’re reading this now, you read that review. Who would have thought it would come to this. All jokes aside, I like White Claw and other seltzer waters. I still haven’t tried Bud Lite Seltzer or Corona’s version, and I have no plans to. White Claw, among other seltzy makers, give us more than we need. Hard seltzer will never overtake beer because it’s bound by its own simplicity. Alcohol water + flavor = boozy seltzer. You can’t add, subtract, or divide this equation. Only multiply to make more hard seltzer. But hey, hard seltzer is fun. If we’re ever allowed to go to a beach in 2020, wouldn’t you want to enjoy something cold, crisp, light, and alcoholic? Sure, the flavors get boring, but hard seltzer will always have its purpose, and there’s no shame in enjoying it. If you want hard seltzer and feel bored by the lack of options, give White Claw’s new variety pack a chance.

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Alcoholic Seltzer Water: The New Beer

Thomas Short — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 23:13:36 +0000

Image courtesy of White Claw We’re here, folks. It was only a matter of time. Beer is dead. Long live the New Beer. Let’s be real, though. You’ve probably through that beer has been in a steady decline since you started drinking beer and forming your own opinions. There are so many styles of beer that even beer drinkers have been asking if beer is beer anymore. If beer isn’t beer, what is beer? Alcoholic seltzer water, of course. Of course I’m kidding. Beer is far from dead, and while craft beer as an industry has slowed, global beer sales are still impressive. Hear me out, though; Corona (and other beers) don’t use real hops. They use synthetic hops. Is that still beer? Other beers don’t use barley and substitute it with rice or corn syrup (as famously exposed on Big Game Sunday by Bud Light). Barley, or at the very least grain, is a main ingredient for beer, so are these beers that use corn syrup still beer? What if a beer didn’t use barley or real hops, just water, yeast and other stuff, is it still beer? Keep this question in mind, dear reader, and explore the exciting possibilities of alcoholic seltzer water being a beer. What is hard seltzer? Alcoholic seltzer water, aka hard seltzer water, is exactly what it sounds like: seltzer water that gets you drunk. These bad boys come in 12 oz cans, clock in around 6% ABV and are currently the rock in my life that’s keeping me from floating away into the great big blue. They also come in different price ranges like beer, and different qualities (like beer). A main ingredient of seltzer water is real fruit. Plenty of sour beers use real fruit, too. Here’s one thing seltzer water isn’t: seltzer water with alcohol added. I know so many people are thinking that it’s just some horrible vodka tonic knockoff. Not nearly. Hard seltzer water is made similarly to beer – that is, it’s fermented. Like lagers, this is a cold fermentation process. The similarities to beer are seemingly endless. Finally, here’s the one big difference: hard seltzer water ferments sugars instead of barley. You hard-core alcohol know-it-alls will say, “hey, all alcohol comes from fermenting sugars DUH.” Yup, that’s true. And if we can get the sugars in beer from corn syrup, can’t we get it from another type of sugar? Is hard seltzer water a type of beer? No, it isn’t. I’ve been screwing with you the whole time. Of course hard seltzer water isn’t beer! Just because something is alcoholic doesn’t mean it’s a beer. Yes, the line separating beer and literally any other alcoholic drink is constantly getting blurrier, and some day we may have a hard seltzer-beer crossover (are you taking notes, AB-InBev?) Until that fateful day comes, we can separate the two. But hey, I still love these seltzers, and this was the perfect excuse to write about them. Is hard seltzer healthy? No, of course hard seltzer isn’t healthy. It’s alcohol. That being said: yes, slamming seltzer water is healthier than chugging porters. Hard seltzers usually range from 100-125 calories, which isn’t too far off from low-calorie beers. But most beers are a higher calorie count. Also worth noting is that hard seltzers have less sugar in them than beer. What?! Really?! Yes, really. Just because alcoholic seltzer uses sugar doesn’t mean it’s a sugary drink. The yeast in the fermentation process breaks down the sugars and turns them into alcohol. Of course there will be sugars leftover, but hard seltzers happen to have fewer leftover sugars than beer. I can confirm that hard seltzer is healthy for the soul, though. That’s one reason to drink them. Related: 4 Beer Cocktails for Every Beer Drinker

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White Claw Flavor Pack 2 Review: Ranked

Alcoholic Seltzer Water: The New Beer