Review: Fitz’s Hard Key Lime
Fitz’s Hard Key Lime is the second hard soda collaboration between Fitz’s and The O’Fallon Brewery. The first was Fitz’s Hard Root Beer. Fitz’s Root Beer first appeared in St. Louis at a local drive in restaurant in 1947. After disappearing for several years the brand was revived and is made according to the original recipe. Fitz’s currently produces over a dozen soda’s including Key Lime and Cardinal Cream, a red cream soda named for the local baseball team, and Kaldi’s Coffee Cola, a natural sugar cane cola blended with genuine Kaldi’s freshly brewed espresso roast coffee. The building that houses Fitz’s was build in 1928 for the West End Bank. The space became a Chinese Restaurant in the 1980’s. Fitz’s Key Lime is brewed as an ale at the O’Fallon Brewery with the same distinctive flavors of tart key limes and natural pure cane sugar found in Fitz’s Key Lime craft soda. The O’Fallon Brewery opened in 2000 and was sold in 2011. Since then they have built a new brewery and added their own bottling line. They currently craft over 30 year round and seasonal beers. Read more 
Review: Coney Island Hard Lemon Lime Twist
Coney Island Hard Lemon Lime Twist is one of four hard soda flavors this division of Boston Beer Company currently produces. The other flavors include a Hard Root Beer, Cherry Cream Ale, and Orange Cream Ale. At one time they also made a hard Ginger Ale. I was sorry to see Ginger Ale is no longer featured on the Coney Island website. It scored very high and actually tasted like Ginger Ale, instead of Ginger Beer. Coney Island is also rolling out a new look with their line of hard soda. Gone is the old school bottle label design. In it’s place is the bright colorful label shown here. Hard Lemon Lime Twist is brewed as an ale with natural flavor and caramel color added. Read more
Review: Henrys Hard Grape Soda
Henrys Hard Grape Soda was just released. It is one of four hard soda flavors produced by the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company, a division of Miller-Coors. Henrys is named for Henry Weinhard, a German who immigrated to the US in 1856. In 1862 Henry purchase the Liberty Brewery in Portland Oregon. In 1864 he also acquired the City Brewery where he moved the entire brewing operation. This brewery was the oldest continuously operating brewery in the west until 1999 when after Miller Brewing Company acquiring the brewery, they closed it. Like many breweries, the Weinhart Blitz Brewery survived prohibition by producing premium soda. Today four of those soda’s are still produced. Henrys Hard Grape Soda is brewed as a malt beverage. Cane sugar, natural flavors and certified color is added. Read more
Review: Wild Sit Russ Alcoholic Citrus Soda
Wild Sit Russ Alcoholic Citrus Soda was recently released along with the previously reviewed Wild Alcoholic Rock & Rye Soda by the Wild Ginger Brewing Company. They join a lineup that already includes Wild Ginger Alcoholic Ginger Beer and Wild Root Alcoholic Root Beer. Wild Sit Russ is brewed as a premium malt beverage with natural flavors and color added before canning at 4.5% alcohol. Read more
Review: Wild Docta Alcoholic Rock & Rye
Wild Docta Alcoholic Rock & Rye Soda was released June 2016 along with Wild Citrus. Both are hard soda’s brewed by WG Brewing Company in Nashville Tennessee. They join a hard soda lineup that includes Wild Ginger Alcoholic Beer and Wild Root Alcoholic Root Beer. Faygo is the only brand I know of that makes a Rock N Rye Soda. With a name like Wild Docta I was expecting a hard Dr. Pepper flavored soda. WG Brewing founder Jamey Grosser learned the art of brewing from legendary moonshiner Popcorn Sutton. Read more
Review: Coney Island Hard Cherry Cream Ale
Coney Island Hard Cherry Cream Ale was just released. This is my 7th hard cherry soda review. Four of the seven have been hard cherry cola’s. Cherry Cream Ale is made with ale, natural flavors and caramel color by the Coney Island Brewing Company, an independently operated brewery owned by the Boston Beer Company. The Coney Island Brewery crafts several beers including Kettle Corn Cream Ale, Cotton Candy Kolsch, and a Watermelon Wheat, along with Coney Island Hard Ginger Ale, Root Beer, and Orange Cream Ale. Read more
Review: McAles Hard Ginger Ale
McAles Hard Ginger Ale is one of four hard soda flavors produced by McAles Brewing Company in Los Angeles California. It is contract brewed in Lacrosse Wisconsin at the old G. Heileman Brewery that operated from 1858 to 1996 and was most famous for producing Old Style Beer. Their other hard soda flavors include Root Beer, Orange N Cream, and Cola. McAles Hard Ginger Ale is described as a smooth brewed old fashioned hard ginger ale made from a secret family recipe. McHales Hard Ginger Ale is a flavored malt liquor brewed with a complex natural blend of ginger spice. Read more
Review: Henrys Hard Cherry Cola
Henrys Hard Cherry Cola was just introduced. This is the third hard soda produced by Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company, a division of Miller-Coors in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Henrys is named for Henry Weinhard who left Germany in 1856. By 1862 he purchased the Liberty Brewery in Portland Oregon. After merging with the Portland Brewing Company in 1928 the name was changed to Blitz-Weinhard. The brewery survived Prohibition by producing soda, syrup, and NA beer. Today four of those premium sodas, Henrys Weinhard Root Beer, Orange Cream, Vanilla Cream and Black Cherry Cream are still produced. Henrys Hard Cherry Cola is a malt beverage made with cane sugar and natural flavors. It is sold in 6 packs of 12 ounce bottles and 4 packs of 16 ounce cans. Read more
Best Tasting Hard Soda Part 1 Hard Root Beer
Sugar, Cold Water, Root Beer Extract, and Dry Ice. That’s all that’s needed to create a decent tasting home made root beer. The recipe can be found on the internet. Made with your dad the day of a family party makes it taste even better. Tim Kovacs at the suggestion of his son Jake spent 18 months perfecting first a 19.5%, and then a 10.7% hard root beer. By November 2012 Not Your Fathers Root Beer was also being brewed at 5.9%. Unable to keep up with demand, production and bottling was moved to the City Brewing Company in Lacrosse Wisconsin in late 2014. Six months later Not Your Fathers Root Beer was available nationwide and the Hard Soda revolution was well underway. By some reports six packs of Not Your Fathers Root Beer are now the number one selling craft brew sku. Other reports estimate hard soda sales now account for over 1% of total beer sales in the US. Samuel Adams, Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, Seagrams, and several regional breweries have entered the hard soda market. As a lifelong soda drinker, and someone who has reviewed 41 hard soda varieties, I’m prepared to give you my opinion on which Hard Soda’s pop and which Hard Soda’s fizzle. Read more
Review: Mikes Harder Orange Soda
Mikes Harder Orange Soda was just released. I never questioned whether or not Mikes would enter the hard soda market, but I am a little surprised they entered with their Harder Line. Mikes Hard Lemonade was first introduced in the US in 1999 and they currently list 15 flavors of Mikes on their website. Mikes Harder line currently consist of 8 flavors including Tigers Blood, their Watermelon, Strawberry, N Coconut flavor. Mikes is a premium malt beverage with natural flavors and certified color added. Their Harder product line is the same except instead of the 5% alcohol Mikes is bottled at, Mikes Harder is canned at 8%. Packaging is another difference Mikes is bottled and sold in six packs, Mikes Harder, is sold in individual 23.5 oz. cans. At some point the only difference between calling a product a Hard Soda’s or a flavored malt beverages like Mikes, Seagram’s Escapes, and Smirnoff Ice, is marketing. Speaking of marketing, the tag line for Mike’s Harder says everything you need to know about their target market. It reads, if one Harder lasts more than 4 hours, call a doctor. Read more