Hard Tea Is This Summer’s Hard Seltzer — Here Are 6 You Need to Try

If you've ever spent more than two minutes with me, you probably know that I have a hops allergy. As a once IPA-obsessed beer snob, I absolutely cannot shut up about my endless search for a hops-free summer drink that's both low(ish) ABV and as refreshing as a lime-soaked Corona on the beach. For a short time, bone dry ciders did the trick, but most of them are far too sweet, or only sold at craft brew stores. Last summer, I reveled in the Summer Of Hard Seltzer. I fell deeply in love with pomegranate Truly until I felt a stinging sensation in the back of my throat, read the ingredients, and learned that my sweet favorite was full of hops. I sated my summer cravings with grapefruit and the new lemon White Claw, I even tried to like hard kombucha, but it was all in vain. Call me picky, but I just really wanted a canned drink that didn't taste like a vodka soda or fermentation.

And then, with a little bit of luck and lot of Bravo's Summer House, I discovered hard tea. Like its spiked seltzer counterparts, it's low in sugar and has ABVs that mostly range from four to five percent. Many of the flavors resemble Starbucks iced tea and taste like a Sunday afternoon at grandma's. As I stocked my fridge for quarantine, I went on a hunt for the best of the best when it comes to hard teas. Ahead, every hard tea in my fridge this summer and where to buy.