7 Hard Seltzers And Ranch Waters That Are Flying Off The Shelves In Texas

With the seltzer craze not showing any signs of slowing down, more craft breweries and independent companies in Texas are offering options with natural ingredients and unique flavors, hoping to grab a piece of the market from the big name producers.

Blue Norther

Founded in 2019 in Austin by a native Texan father-son team Austin T. and Austin M. Pittman, Blue Norther was developed to honor Texas’ heritage. Named for the fast-moving cold front also called a Texas Norther, this all-natural seltzer comes in two flavors - Wild Blackberry and Agave Lime - made with real fruit juice and organic agave.  “The response so far has been incredible, both to the drink and to our team – this community has been so supportive during a tough time for new businesses,” says the young Austin M. “I think we’ve got exactly the right product for the right place, at the right time, to create something truly special.”

Blue Norther is currently available in retail stores in Greater Austin and San Antonio. They’ll soon be available for online orders, and plans are afoot to expand into other Texas metro markets and eventually nationwide. 

Austin Eastciders

The popular cidery got on the seltzer bandwagon in March, releasing three flavors – Peach, Black Cherry, and Apple – available in cans at retail outlets and on draft at their Collaboratory and new restaurant on Barton Springs Rd. Made from cider and real fruit with no sugar added, these refreshers clock in at 100 calories and just 4.2 AVB.

“Austin Eastciders has always been in the better for you space,” says Dave Rule, vice president of marketing. “Our ciders are made with the best all-natural ingredients and include a lot less sugar than mainstream cider brands. For years we have been working on offerings that push the calories down to 100 and below, all while maintaining our commitment to quality ingredients and flavor. With our seltzer we were able to produce something unique using real fruit juice and a fermented apple juice base that really creates an elevated flavor experience.”

Slush Buddies

Austin‘s St Elmo Brewing Co. and Zilker Brewing Company are launching a cool collaboration on September 4, just in time for Labor Day Weekend. The canned hard seltzer, called Slush Buddies, will be available only at the breweries’ taprooms. The breweries are allowing customers to pre-order the new product beginning Thursday, September 3 at 10pm.

Both St Elmo and Zilker had launched hard seltzers in the past year - St Elmo’s Ripple and Zilker Brewing’s Tiger’s Blood - to offer a different product to non-beer drinkers who may want to hang out at the brewery with friends or family. St Elmo co-founder and head brewer, Bryan Winslow, says it was fun to experiment with such a different product, and the two teams shared insight on process, ingredients, and ideas for this fun release. Slush Buddies comes in at 5.5% ABV so it’s light enough to enjoy a few.

Straight Shooter

The 111-year-old Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas, brewer of the iconic Shiner Bock, recently announced the launch of a hard seltzer, Shiner Straight Shooter. Crafted in smaller batches using traditional craft brewing methods, Straight Shooter is naturally gluten free with zero carbs, zero sugar, and 90 calories per serving.

“When we set out to make our first hard seltzer, we wanted it to be genuinely craft brewed,” says Jimmy Mauric, Shiner’s Brewmaster. “With that in mind, we use just a few simple ingredients and water sourced from our artesian well. We brewed it so it would live up to its name ‘Straight Shooter’—it is a straightforward, transparent, delicious, and refreshing craft brewed hard seltzer.”

Straight Shooter will be available in four flavors: Wild Cherry, Lemonade, Mango, and Grapefruit & Lime and will initially launch with Texas retailers at the end of August. 

Canned Ranch Waters

Known as the “Unofficial Cocktail of West Texas,” the Ranch Water is a mix of tequila, lime, and soda water that has a long history and many Texas-sized fables as to its origin. Although the origin of the Texas bar staple is still a matter of contention, its popularity brought it into bars and restaurants across the state, and is now a hot commodity in the ready-to-drink beverage category.

Ranch Rider Ranch Waters

Born from the Ranch Hand food truck in Austin, Ranch Rider Spirits Co. makes real cocktails with premium spirits, sparkling water and fresh-squeezed citrus. Backed by notable industry leaders such as Deep Eddy Vodka and Heaven Hill Brands, and the New York Times bestseller Alex Snodgrass with The Defined Dish among others,  Ranch Rider is making quite the splash throughout Texas as it has doubled its revenue month to month since its founding late last year. 

“Our products are just premium spirits, sparkling water and real fruit,” says Brian Murphy, cofounder of Ranch Rider Spirits. “Our brand was created for the health-conscious consumer who enjoys adventure, a good drink and transparency in the products they love.”

Ranch Rider Spirits offers three Southwestern flavors: traditional Ranch Water made with fresh-squeezed lime and premium reposado tequila from Jalisco; a Tequila Paloma with fresh grapefruit and lime; and The Chilton, an interesting drink created by a Lubbock physician, Dr. Chilton, and a country club bartender featuring six-times distilled vodka, sparkling water, fresh lemon and a dash of sea salt. Later this fall they will release a new jalapeño flavor.

Lone River

Launched earlier this spring, Lone River Ranch Water is really a hybrid between the classic cocktail and a seltzer, blending highly carbonated seltzer water with 100% organic agave, natural lime juice and gluten free alcohol base. Now, it continuously sells out across Texas and Tennessee in over 2,400 retail stores, and in recent weeks placed among the top five hard seltzers in markets like Dallas-Fort Worth.

“Going into our launch during a global pandemic we really had no idea what to expect in terms of performance,” says Katie Beal Brown, founder and CEO. “Given these factors we feel very fortunate to have experienced the rapid growth surpassing our yearly projections in the first three months.” This growth is expected to continue as they release two new flavors next week - Spicy Ranch Water and Rio Red Grapefruit Ranch Water - and significantly expand their production capacity in the coming months.

RancH2O

Paul and Amelia Lettieri, a husband-and-wife team of Texas natives residing in Dallas, are the force behind RancH2O (pronounced Ranch Two Oh), the newest addition to the growing list of canned ranch water cocktails.

“With the sudden popularity of Texas' beloved Ranch Water, there are still a lot of consumers that don't know what it is, so they don't know what to look for in a canned Ranch Water,” says RancH2O Co-founder and CEO Amelia Lettieri. “If it doesn't say ‘tequila’ on the can, which means there's no tequila in it, it's not a Ranch Water.”

Lettieri found her love for the beverage industry while working with private equity firm SunTx Capital Partners in the acquisition of Carolina Beverage Group, a world-class specialty beverage co-packer for leading beverage brands. “I spent a lot of time searching for the perfect tequila for our Ranch Water, and I'm proud that ours tastes like you just ordered it from the bar, but with the convenience of just popping the top!” RancH2O is expected to hit shelves statewide at the end of September.