Hard seltzer

The alcoholic fizz is on the rise: 5% alcohol, tangy, fruity and low in calories. With fewer ingredients and a leaner image than other alcoholic mixed drinks, the beverage has been booming in the USA since 2018. The resourcefulness of the US craft brewers has once again ensured that the 2013 innovation has resulted in fully utilised brewhouses and bottling lines. An opportunity that is also available to brewers in Europe. At first glance, the Hard Seltzer seems simple: sugar, water, yeast and flavours are on the list of ingredients. Only a few days pass from the preparation of the sugar base to the filling of the finished product. The production can easily be implemented in an existing brewery: The brewhouse and wort path, for example, are used for dissolving, boiling, cooling and aerating the sugar base. After fermentation, clarification is carried out by the centrifuge and optionally by an activated carbon filter. So far so simple. The challenge in hard seltzer production is the right composition. Here, investments are worthwhile which provide a benefit for the entire process chain of the brewery.