The hottest trend in the beer world right now isn’t beer, it’s hard seltzer. Perhaps you’ve seen hard seltzers on the shelves and thought it was this era’s Zima or wine cooler. Perhaps you’re already a fan. Regardless, it’s capturing a large segment of the market, and it’s time to take a deeper look. What drives the appeal of hard seltzer? In part, simplicity. At its core, hard seltzer is essentially alcoholic sparkling water. It capitalizes on the popularity of (non-alcoholic) seltzers such as Bubly and La Croix, and the top brands capture this easy-drinking essence with a splash of flavor and alcohol.

There is a health and lifestyle factor as well. Brewed with cane sugar and (occasionally) fruit, most seltzers are gluten free. They are generally low calorie, low carb, and most top out at 5% alcohol by volume. White Claw hard seltzer and Truly hard seltzer, the two top-selling brands, are each 100 calories per 12 ounce serving, with 2 grams of carbs.

Hard seltzer sales have grown dramatically in the past several years, even outpacing craft beer. White Claw alone accounted for more than half of all sales for 2019. Truly, a division of Boston Beer Company, followed with nearly a quarter of the market share.

Craft brewers have taken notice, and many have introduced their own versions, including several here in Central Oregon.

I admit, as a beer guy, I was relatively unfamiliar with hard seltzer. To get a handle on the phenomenon, I gathered a number of the local offerings and a few others for a taste test.

White Claw and Truly are good starting points to understand what’s expected. I tried the brands’ black cherry varieties, both quite similar. They are clear and colorless, with soda-like carbonation, and good black cherry fruit aromas. Truly was more pungent with fruit candy in the nose, while White Claw had a more pronounced fruit flavor. Both finished crisp, light and dry.

Locally, Seven Peaks Hard Seltzer has been around the longest, introduced last year. Produced by Avid Cider Company, Seven Peaks uses apple juice instead of cane sugar, and comes in three varieties. I drank Tropical Smash, flavored with cherimoya and pineapple, and found it cider-like with its golden yellow color and hints of apple. The additional fruits lend a light bubblegum sweetness and it finishes clean. Tropical Smash is 4.7% alcohol by volume (ABV) with 95 calories per 12 ounce can.

10 Barrel Brewing Company introduced its Clean Line Mango Hard Seltzer this spring, following the cane sugar formula with some interesting recipe twists, including decaffeinated green tea and prickly pear powder. Mango comes across with an easy fruit character and there is a funky herbal note I attribute to the tea. 10 Barrel also incorporated malted rice, which seems to give it a bit more body than others. Clean Line is 5% ABV and 95 calories.

Redmond’s Kobold Brewing Company has a Mango Hard Seltzer available, on tap at The Vault Taphouse and soon going into distribution, according to owner Steve Anderson. “We have had excellent reviews of our seltzer and it is selling well at The Vault,” he said via email. “Customers find it very refreshing.” I picked up two cans to go.

The mango gives a slight orange tint to an otherwise clear pour. There’s a quite subtle aroma of fruit along with a bit of minerality. The mango shows up more prominently in the flavor, along with a slight cider-like character. The finish is crisp with an ever-so-slight cloying hint of fruit juice. It’s 5% ABV.

Spider City Brewing Company introduced several varieties of its own, including Mixed Berry and Fresh Lime on tap now. “Hard seltzers are a great alternative if you are not in the mood for beer or are gluten free,” owner Melanie Betti wrote via email. “Our approach is to keep seltzers as clean as possible. We like using fresh fruit not extract like other companies as it imparts a truer flavor and is a more organic approach.”

The Mixed Berry showcases the fruit with a dark pink color and pleasant berry fragrance. The berries are subtle in the taste, tending toward a clean minerality and finishing light. It’s 5.4% ABV.

Three Creeks Brewing Company in Sisters also had a Mango Hard Seltzer available recently, but it was not on tap at the time of this writing. The brewpub said it would return later this month.

Though not local, Public Coast Brewing Company from Cannon Beach provided samples of its Blueberry Hard Seltzer to review. The brewery crafted it from cane sugar and blueberries grown on its farm near Banks. The berries give it a vibrant purple-pink color and a jammy, sweet aroma not unlike Kool-Aid. The flavor is subtle, with mineral water and a touch of fruit juice. At 4.5% ABV, it was the lightest of the ones I tasted.

Conclusions? These are casual, easy-drinking beverages that you don’t have to think too much about or fuss over. Betti summed it up well. “When done right, hard seltzers are flavorful, low calorie and dry.”

1. Hawaiian Haze Hazy IPA — Sunriver Brewing

2. Apricot Astronaut — Boss Rambler Beer Club

3. Pils — Heater Allen Brewing

4. Hazy Kush Hazy IPA — Cascade Lakes Brewing

5. Good Limes Roll Agave Lime Cider — 2 Towns Ciderhouse