OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. -- I like Not Your Father's Root Beer.
I like the taste. I like the origin story (created by a father-and-son team). I like the way it came to market slow, and I like the deal its brewer, Smalltown Brewery, struck with Pabst Brewing to take it national.
And so, as a fan of the leader in this new category of sweet beers, I find myself at a crossroads. During recent beer runs, I've come across the new entries in hard soda, specifically, MillerCoors' Henry's Hard, Anheuser-Busch's Best Damn Root Beer and Boston Beer Co.'s Coney Island. And just this past week, North American Breweries announced it will roll out what sounds like the most-complete hard-soda line yet—four flavors right out of the gate—under the Seagram's brand.
So where do a beer drinker's loyalties sit? Do I remain dedicated to the underdog, the little guy that got the hard-soda ball rolling? Or do I owe it to myself to experiment within the category?
Certainly as a beverage writer, I'll try them all when I get the opportunity. But as a beer drinker (Why can't that be a job description?), I find myself inwardly frazzled.
There are things beyond loyalty to consider, of course: price point, availability, marketing, word of mouth, etc. So I find myself standing at the cold-vault door or in the beer aisle longer than I probably should, weighing my options and questioning my fidelity.
I'll report back in about six months, after the dust has settled, and let you know if my allegiance has turned. And who knows, by then hard soda might be in the wine-cooler/has-been column as brewers move on to coconut beer, hard kombucha or whatever trend may come next. (And if it is one of those, I expect a royalty!)
Steve Holtz, who writes the Fluid Thoughts blog, is the online news director and beverage editor for Winsight Media. He has been covering the convenience-store industry and the beverage category for more than a decade. Contact him at sholtz@winsightmedia.com.
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