Lagunitas hop refresher11/14/2023 Ultimately, this puts both of these hop waters in a similar price bracket as the beers they would likely be replacing, although perhaps a bit more affordable overall. Likely the most recognizable and widespread “hop water” product on the market today, Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher only seems to be sold in 4-packs of 12 oz, clear glass bottles, at a price point of around $6-7 in most places. How do these two compare, given that they’re likely to be category leaders? And how does the experience of drinking these compare to an IPA, alcoholic or non-alcoholic? Let’s see. I happened to have samples of both in my home, so I figured a head-to-head tasting was in order. Likewise, the choice of Sierra Nevada to sell its hop water in 12 packs of cans suggests they believe that hop water is ready for a significantly bigger audience. With the arrival of another brand from a major brewery, though-Sierra Nevada’s new Hop Splash-the market now has several prominent hop water brands with the backing of recognizable craft beer brands. The one prominent exception would be Lagunitas Brewing Co.’s Hoppy Refresher, a glass bottled product sold in 4-packs, which has been around for several years, effectively laying groundwork for the style as a bigger commercial category. With that said, hop water has largely been a small novelty in the market in recent years, an experiment of small breweries that hasn’t found a lot of wide distribution. If both an NA IPA and a hop water are non-alcoholic, and both are primarily focused on delivering unimpeded hop flavors, then one might actually argue that it’s the hop water that is more cleanly serving the purpose of delivering an IPA experience without the alcohol. What, though, does that really make the “hop water” trend of recent years, in which breweries infuse carbonated water/seltzer with fresh hop flavors? There’s no malt, sure, but modern IPA has already become a category where malt flavors are practically nonexistent in most of the popular hazy examples. A traditional non-alcoholic beer, after all, is exactly what it sounds like-a standard beer that has been brewed to completion, and then had its alcohol removed. Gluten-free.I’ve written quite a bit about non-alcoholic beer and spirits in the recent past, and it’s of course a topic that becomes especially relevant every Dry January, but one of the realities of this corner of the booze world is that each product you try has a tendency to subtly redefine your idea of what “NA beverages” really means. It's a variation on a theme of 25 years of edgy brewing at the edge of brewing. and zero-calorie refreshment, made using everything we know about hops. This IPA-inspired sparkling beverage is a fresh take on an old traditional - a zero-alcohol, zero-carbohydrate. The Lagunitas Brewing Company: Petaluma, Calif & Chicago, Ill.
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