Hop Water's Zero Sum Game
There’s always new trends for craft breweries to consider, with some being more polarizing than others. I find it important to pass on most, while being proactive with those that feel like a natural fit. Beyond just meshing stylistically, the trend should be evaluated for its potential longevity. Is there staying power like the Hazy IPA or flop potential like the Low Cal IPA? Neither of 2023’s fastest growing trends feel like a flash in the pan. They feel like lifestyles of two very different extremes: High Gravity and Zero Alcohol. While I think both will be around and thriving going forward, Sparkling Hop Waters within the Non-Alcoholic (NA) segment is the game I’m betting on and my TikTok & Instagram followers played a big role in building my confidence.
Last year I began documenting my thoughts on the emerging segment of Hop Water using social media, while tasting through various examples on camera. Each video would focus on the sub-topics encountered when taking this product to market. Any value that I offered in the process of sharing these videos was returned to me in droves as the consistent comments provided helpful insights that felt beyond anecdotal.
When it comes to NA, beer has been getting most of the publicity, especially as Athletic Brewing rides a growth and PR wave fueled by its long term investment horizon that enables marketing spend to far outweigh profitability (for now). But Hop Water is lurking in the shadows and has a couple magic bullets that NA Beer cannot compete with.
0 + 0 + 0
While a skeptic will say “it’s just hops and water”, there’s still countless variables in play for breweries to nail their Hop Water recipe, including the drinking experience and occasion being targeted. Hops can come in the form of pellets, extracts, oils, and countless varieties, each with their own pros and cons, expressing different flavors and coming in at wildly different costs. There’s a long list of “natural flavors” that further complicate the recipes and can be used to boost one’s perceptions of the liquid, in addition to commonly used ingredients such as brewer’s yeast, citric acidic, and more. But two qualities that remain consistent beyond zero alcohol for most hop waters is zero calories and zero carbs. And people care…
NA Beers will always have the strategic angle of being “beer”, which Sparkling Hop Waters can’t possibly compete with. There will always be ex-beer drinkers and NA drinkers who want their alternative to alcohol to be created under the same process and guise as the real thing. Alternatively, Hop Waters have a compelling opportunity to better meet customer expectations by not trying to be something they’re not. By avoiding the word “beer” completely, but offering a product that can scratch the itch of an IPA or Pale Ale without any of the consequences, consumers have a greater tendency to be pleasantly surprised versus disappointed. There’s plenty of room for both segments, but given the size of the sparkling water category and consumer’s willingness to spend up for alcohol replacements, Hop Water’s “Zero” cards are going to be a powerful hand to play as the two go head to head.
More Zeroes
The “Zero” traits of Hop Waters don’t stop with alcohol, calories, and carbs. Sugar is highlighted in Austin Beer Works’ first announcement of entering the space above. Where non-alcoholic beers typically contain naturally occurring sugar from the malted barley used to make the beer, or even added sugars, hop waters typically do not.
Sodium is a chemical that the body needs to function properly, but many of us could use less of it in our diet as doing so can reduce blood pressure. While Athletic Brewing’s best seller Run Wild IPA claims 15mg of Sodium per 12oz can, most Hop Waters are able to boast zero. Not the strongest example as sodium is crucial for athletes to maintain fluid balance which is why every 12 ounces of gatorade which contains approximately 160mg, but nonetheless Sodium is another common zero located on the mandatory nutrition label.
Perhaps the most compelling zero is the ability to be gluten-free, a qualifier that sadly has prevented many from participating in the craft beer movement. A 2020 study by the University of Nebraska found that 25% of Americans follow a gluten-free diet. Gluten-reduced beers have been attempted, but rarely pick up steam and stick around. The best attempt was the Bay-Area’s Sufferfest Brewing which was acquired by Sierra Nevada only to be shelved quickly after a failed attempt to go national. Breweries must be careful because while hop waters may essentially be gluten free, to say “Zero Gluten” on the packaging, the FDA requires the following:
Maximum of 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten
No ingredients derived from gluten-containing grains, unless processed to remove all gluten
Manufactured in a facility that is free of gluten contamination
My understanding is that breweries do not need to test their products for gluten, but must implement effective quality control measures that include the implementation of exhaustive procedures to prevent cross-contamination of gluten-free products with gluten-containing products.
Alternative Zeroes
This tweet from Bevnet.com’s founder John Craven recently caught my eye, sharing a new beverage that calls out “Stevia Free” on the neck of the can. The inclusion of Stevia when developing a beverage stems from a desired sweetness to round out the flavor. Stevia is natural sweetener known for its stability when exposed to heat & light and being 200-300 times sweeter than sugar. Despite its potency, Stevia doesn’t add any calories allowing a beverage to maintain its Zero-Zero-Zero traits. But it’s taste is very divisive…
I personally do not enjoy the flavor and especially the aftertaste of Stevia, and many agree citing it being bitter and artificial. What I dislike more though is that it’s inclusion in a drink does not need to be specifically disclosed, it just requires listing “Natural Flavors” on the ingredient list, which could be one of countless other additions. Those proudly not using Stevia in Sparking Hop Waters in the future could begin to call-out “Zero Stevia” or “Zero Natural Flavors” to distinguish theirs as having more purely hop-derived flavor.
In these hyper competitive functional drink categories, producers are presented with limited space for messaging and therefore must prioritize what’s most important. While determining the pecking order of messages, there’s also the concern of being repetitive of every other brand on the shelf in a given category. So how do you stand out? Stevia-free is a valid consideration and one that I’m particularly a fan of, but it could be viewed as too much of an attack using precious real estate that could be used to highlight a positive feature that makes your beverage special & unique, versus focusing on what it’s not.
🫧 Bubbling Up 🫧
A market for non-alcoholic beer has been proven, but a number of factors make it a zero sum game for most craft breweries in search of their next growth driver. The most successful process for making NA beer requires a cost-prohibitive capital expenditure that requires “going big” in order to justify the investment. At the same time, successfully marketing one’s core business of alcohol while giving adequate attention to the NA occasion is a challenging conflict to juggle. Sparkling Hop Waters provide an alternative entry point to the NA occasion that extends craft beer’s #1 style (IPA) with less daunting expectations, minimal capital investment requirements, and a compelling list of zeroes that really start to add up.
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