Over the past several years, a new category of alcoholic beverage has emerged known as “hard seltzer.” The original hard seltzer (or alcoholic sparking water) brand SpikedSeltzer was founded in about 2012 as a light and refreshing alternative to the traditional alcohol categories of beer, wine and cocktails. Riding the overall growth of the seltzer or sparkling water category generally, numerous brands of hard seltzer have emerged over the past half-decade with an increasing backing by some of the world’s largest alcohol beverage companies. Examples of current brands include:

  • Truly Spiked & Sparkling (Boston Beer).
  • White Claw (Mark Anthony Brands).
  • SpikedSeltzer (purchased by Anheuser-Busch InBev).
  • Smirnoff Spike Sparking Seltzer (Diageo).
  • Nauti Seltzer (Wachusett Brewing Co.).
  • Henry’s Hard Sparkling Seltzer (Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Co.).

Because the category of hard seltzer is very young, there is no specific definition, legal or otherwise, for what constitutes “hard seltzer.” As a result there is no consistent legal treatment of hard seltzer either with regard to how it is produced or how it fits into existing alcohol beverage categories.

Beer Versus Malted Beverage