Hey friends. Yesterday we launched Hoppy Hour – our first ever non-alcoholic bevvy from Alibi Ale Works! It’s our hop-infused sparkling water with mood-boosting nootropics and adaptogens. Woohoo! This has been my passion project for the past 8 months. Beer is still my first love, but I’m drinking less alcohol these days and while I love the idea of sparkling hop water, I’ve been underwhelmed with the brands I’ve tried. So we decided to create our own! Here’s the brief story of Hoppy Hour. 

The Unrealized Potential of Hop Water

I have two beer taps plumbed from the kegerator in my garage through the wall into my kitchen. A few years ago, I converted one of the taps to sparkling water. After several years of drinking sparkling water on a nearly daily basis (sometimes in between beers to stay hydrated), it’s safe to say I am hooked on carbonated bevs. I’ve been paying attention to the hop water category for several years. I love the hop water concept – a hop-infused sparkling water that you can drink literally anytime with no downsides. Unlike non-alcoholic beer, hop water has no calories and no gluten. Hop water is light and refreshing and sometimes hits the spot when NA beer does not. As one writer eloquently wrote, “Non-alcoholic beer is like going to see a cover band. It’s cool, but it’s not the real thing. Hop water is like going to see an emerging indie band. It’s a new genre of music altogether.”  

After trying every commercial hop water available in our local area (and some from afar), I found that most of them fit into one of two categories: 1) wet salad – overly hoppy and grassy with little to no supporting fruit character, or 2) fruit-forward bubbly water with little to no hop aroma or flavor. I was craving a hop water that delivered the perfect balance of hop aroma and flavor with a supporting citrusy/tropical fruit character. I pitched my idea for an Alibi hop water to our team in December 2023. Everyone agreed – we should pursue this and aim to create a hop water that we are all truly excited to drink. A hop water worthy of our Alibi brand. 

R&D: Flavor, Aroma, Function

R&D began almost immediately. The first trials were in 5 gallon kegs. They quickly progressed to 7bbl (210 gallon) batches. Over 8 months, we tested a wide range of hop varieties and hop products. We tested a wide variety of natural fruit flavors from several different suppliers before partnering up with a professional flavor formulation company to develop our own proprietary blend. In March, we began canning test batches and giving cans away at our pubs. We collected 275 anonymous surveys from Alibi customers (plus hundreds of anecdotal conversations), giving us feedback that was invaluable in honing our recipe. 

By late May, we had our overall flavor and aroma in a zone we were very happy with and we turned our attention to functional ingredients. The absence of alcohol, calories and carbs is great, but we wanted Hoppy Hour to include a few functional ingredients that add value to our customers’ lives. Identifying functional ingredients that would provide useful benefits was the easy part. Sourcing our preferred ingredients in forms that were water-soluble, shelf stable, and did not have any negative impacts on flavor was a real challenge.

But persistence paid off. Our Lion’s Mane is a certified organic, 8:1 concentrated powder derived from a two-part extraction (water and alcohol) that releases the full spectrum of beneficial compounds. We love Lion’s Mane (mushroom) for its wide range of health benefits, from mood enhancement to supporting brain and gut health to reducing inflammation. We are also adding L-Theanine (an amino acid that is naturally occurring in high concentrations in green tea), to support relaxation, cognitive focus, and sleep quality. Lastly, we’re adding your daily dose of good old vitamin C to help with immune support and cardiovascular health. 

Name & Branding

Last but certainly not least: the name and branding. The name “Hoppy Hour” came to me at 1:30am, at the tail end of a sleep-deprived brainstorm on names. After cross-referencing probably 100+ name ideas with the US Patent and Trademark database, “Hoppy Hour” crystallized in my brain and, to my surprise, was NOT trademarked. Eureka! Within 48 hours, we had filed our trademark application and we were all in on Hoppy Hour! The name is fun, memorable, and obviously beer-related. Everyone loves a good happy hour, and now Hoppy Hour is here to bring the happy hour vibes into ANY occasion!

Our branding and design process focused on giving Hoppy Hour its own personality while maintaining some continuity with the well-established branding of Alibi’s core beers. We worked with Alibi’s talented, long-time design partner, Daryll Peirce. We explored a wide range of concepts early on, and ultimately arrived at the beautiful can design you see today. Is it a sunrise or a sunset? You be the judge. Either one can be your personal Hoppy Hour.  

Developing Hoppy Hour from a concept to a reality has not only been a passion project for me personally, it’s been a community effort. I am grateful for the many talented people who have contributed their expertise and invested time and energy into this product. Thank you to all our Alibi staff, customers, friends and colleagues who provided feedback along the way. You helped shape Hoppy Hour!

Beer is still our first love and primary focus at Alibi – that’s not changing. Since day one, we have focused on brewing lower alcohol beers that complement a healthy, active lifestyle. Hoppy Hour gives us an opportunity to be part of even more occasions. Whether you are hydrating between beers, conquering your to-do list, or taking a break from booze, Hoppy Hour is here for you. And we are stoked to be shipping to all 50 states!