Stone Buenavida Hard Seltzer – Black Cherry

Stone Buenavida Hard Seltzer – Black Cherry by Stone Brewing Co. is being judged as a fruited seltzer with black cherry against the 2022 Beer Connoisseur Seltzer Guidelines, available online here.

The seltzer presents brilliantly clear with moderate outgassing. The aroma is bright with ripe black cherry of moderate intensity and distinct volatile perfumy character. Beneath the fruit is a low-level grainy sweetness adding to complexity and clearly separating the aroma from a non-alcoholic soda pop. That said, the aroma was more than a tad reminiscent of Dr. Pepper, but in a nice way.

The flavor brings a strong but not overdone dark cherry front that goes more aromatic and tart in the mid-palate, before coming back with some sweetness, rich with rounded black cherry fruit, and a light alcohol heat. Finish is dry, leaning to medium-dry; ferment character and light sweetness make this a somewhat “big” feeling seltzer. Body is medium, made to appear a bit heavier than otherwise by the relatively light carbonation. Strength from alcohol appears standard-high. Acid balance is spot-on.

Overall, this seltzer presents a clean and direct cherry fruit flavor profile, apparently sourced by fruit extract, given the clear color. That fruitiness is packaged in a medium-bodied and lightly spritzed style that is quite enjoyable.