Recently Pelican Brewing Company surprised me by sending samples of its newest product—Sparkle Hops, the company’s first foray into non-alcoholic, sparkling hop water territory. Hop waters seem to be the new frontier in the (beer-adjacent) no/low alcohol lifestyle space, gaining prominence over the past few years.

Sparkle Hops come in two varieties: Citra & Lemon, and Strata & Açai. The general description of these on Pelican’s website reads:

Hop in and try Pelican Brewing Company’s NEW non-alcoholic, thirst-quenching, hop-infused sparkling water – Sparkle Hops. Designed for our hop-loving flock, Sparkle Hops delivers all the flavor with no alcohol, so you can enjoy bold hops paired with fruit flavors any time of day. Our Pelican Brewers conceived two perfectly balanced hop-infused flavors to elevate your sparkling water experience – bold Citra hops with lemon and earthy Strata hops with acai.

Both have 0% ABV, 0 calories, and 0 grams of carbs, with fairly simple recipes minimizing any additives or non-essential ingredients. Let’s get to both.

Sparkle Hops Citra & Lemon

C&L lists all of three ingredients on the label: carbonated water, Citra hops, and lemon puree. The description on the website says:

Hop on in the sparkling water is refreshing and crisp with Pelican’s Citra hop-infused sparkling water with lemon. The bold Citra hops deliver citrus notes of hop character paired with a zing of lemon zest in the finish, balanced perfectly with bubbly carbonation to elevate the thirst-quenching experience. When day drinking isn’t an option, this hoppy refresher is perfect on your lunch break to stay clear-minded between your daily activities or adrenaline-packed adventures. Sip Sparkle Hops in a can, from a glass, or mix it up and create the perfect craft-brewed hop cocktail.

My notes:

Extremely pale yellow color, fizzy and bubbly in the glass. Light lemony aroma with a tiny bit of orange or tangerine, and a hint of tobacco-like spice. Flavor is mineral water with a subtle squeeze of lemon and a light woodsy-like note, maybe tea-like. It’s crisp with not much more flavor than that, just that kiss of lemon as the main note. It’s highly carbonated so feels a bit gassy, but it’s refreshing.

Sparkle Hops Strata & Açai

The formulation for Strata & Açai is similar to Citra & Lemon, using Strata hops and açai concentrate of course, with the addition of citric acid presumably for pH balance (since there’s no lemon here). The description says:

Hop on in and experience your not-so-average seltzer, Sparkle Hops. This thirst-quenching hop-infused sparkling water adds an extra zip with every sip! The Oregon-grown Strata hops deliver bountiful flavors of blueberry and blackberry with hints of herbal notes that pair perfectly with the earthy flavors of the açaí berry and bubbly carbonation. Enjoy this refreshing hop-infused sparkling beverage any time of day with no regrets. Now you can have your hops and drink them too!

My notes:

Pink bubblegum color, almost a neon pink. Similar levels of carbonation in the glass. The aroma is super subtle here as well, with hints of berries and earthy, leafy notes. There’s more berry character in the flavor, a light kiss or tang of juice and a hint of citrus (the citric acid in the mix), with some earthiness and possibly a (green) strawberry character. It’s slightly minerally and also well carbonated. Pretty light with a super light, refreshing kick.

Overall

Since Pelican sent me a case of these I’ve been drinking through them and I have to say so far, I think these are the most “sparkling water” (think of drinks like LaCroix) that I’ve tried yet. Easy to drink, refreshing, the hops and flavors are there but quite subtle. I think Pelican has a winner with what they’ve got going here.