What the Fizz is Hop Water?

Today we’re ecstatic to bring you our first ever packaged Sparkling Hopwater. But what does that even mean? And why does it exist?

Well, it does exactly what it says on the tin… it’s a sparkling water, infused with hops. Using the same dry-hop techniques that add flavour and aroma to our beers, we’re using those same, fresh aromatic hops to add a delicious and refreshing dimension to water.

It’s very clean and refreshing, and expresses a completely ‘pure’ hop character as well, as in these cans, there is no interaction with any other ingredients or biotransformation. If you took the oily, resinous residue of fresh hops between your thumb and index finger, that’s the aroma from hop water. If you’ve not smelt fresh hops before, it’s an addictive scent like nothing else.

This idea isn’t entirely brand new. We began work on it at the back end of last year, after our Head Brewer (Sean Knight) and Founder (Darron Anley) went out to the hop harvest.  There was a buzz around hop waters from the US brewers, and we even managed to pick up a few tips from the likes of Reuben’s Brews* in Seattle. Closer to home, our friends at Abbeydale wrote this great intro to hop water last summer.

When we put so much focus on the hops in our brewery, making the effort to travel to select the varieties and lots we really want, it makes sense to be able to try these hops in their most natural state. Hop water truly offers the ‘fresh out of the bag’ character.

Where we see opportunities to innovate, try new things and stand out a bit, we’re never afraid to do that and take on the challenge.

Who might enjoy Sparkling Hopwater?

As a brewery we’re naturally appealing to fans of pale ales and IPAs as a starting point, but the early indications are that the interest could be very broad. Fans of no and low alcohol beers should definitely give this a go, along with any fans of tonic water, fruited sparkling waters or similar RTD (Ready To Drink) products.  You definitely don’t even need to like beer, to love this.

We’ve been quietly trialling our Hopwater in the Tap Yard, and at our 11th Anniversary Party where people were able to try it for free, with the option to donate to local homeless charity Launchpad in exchange.

Many people are surprised at just how much they’re enjoying Hopwater. The most commonly occurring word used is definitely ‘refreshing’. Among the feedback forms we’ve collected, our customers have rated the flavour and aroma both on average 4/5 with an average ‘likely to recommend’ score of 8/10.

The good news is, we think the Hopwater in cans is the best example so far.

What Hopwater is available right now?

As of today (12/04/24) we have the first two variants available.

First up is your friend and ours, Citra. The superstar of the hop world, Citra® is widely adored by brewers and customers alike for its citrus and tropical fruit flavours. In this hop water, it presents with clean, grassy and dare we say it - dank - aroma that should really hit the spot for IPA fans.

Buy Sparkling Hopwater Citra

Second is a new kid on the block, Idado7. Named after its home state, Idaho7® is a new hop making a big impact. You'll find sweet, juicy tropical notes in abundance. If you thought that this hop was amazing in your pale ales, wait until you taste how fruit-led it is in hop water.

Buy Sparkling Hopwater Idaho 7

 As this is a brand new product, with no existing category, we’d love to get it out there for as many people as possible to try. We’re offering the first 500 people who see this to try a free 2 pack of our first two cans.

All you need to do is use the code ‘TRYHOPWATER’ on our webshop from 12pm Friday 12th April.

What’s next for Hopwater?

Watch this space! The range of flavours and aromas from hops is so diverse that the opportunities are limitless. Single hop examples alone are working really well, before you even think about the combinations possible (Soundwave-inspired Hopwater, anyone?).

We’ll also be rolling out our Sparkling Hopwater to your favourite pubs, bars, restaurants, and now - cafes! It will be available in kegs and cans. 

Pre-dinner sparkling water, late night gin&tonichopwater , supermarket meal deal, weeknight options, pub refreshment… we love this product and hope that you will too, regardless of how or when you think about drinking it!

Buy Sparkling Hopwater