Volley Blue Agave Tequila Seltzer has now released in various markets in New York, New Jersey and Florida. Volley is a new tequila-based seltzer shaking up the RTD market and made with just three ingredients -- 100% blue agave tequila, sparkling water and organic juice. Full details are below.

After successfully creating delicious mixers with American Cocktail Company, husband and wife duo Christopher Wirth and Camila Soriano set out on a journey to transform the hard seltzer category and develop the first clean tequila seltzer made with the best ingredients. The result: Volley, the ready-to-drink tequila beverage made perfect for doing things. By putting your favorite tequila soda in a can, Volley is giving you the perfect grab-and-go beverage for any outing—from beaches to backyards.

Onda Sparkling Tequila in New York, New York is now available throughout the greater New York area. Full details on this brand are below.

NEW YORK — Onda, a spirits brand for a new generation of drinkers, launched with a line of premium canned sparkling tequila beverages. Onda is available for purchase nationally at drinkonda.com and in select retail locations throughout the greater New York City area.

Onda’s beverages are made with blanco tequila from a woman-owned distillery in Jalisco, Mexico. The tequila is carefully mixed with sparkling water and real fruit juice to create a finished drink that tastes light and refreshing with just a hint of tequila. Each 12 oz. can is 5% alcohol, 100 calories, zero sugar, zero carb and naturally gluten free.

Drawing from the nostalgic surf style of LA, the Onda brand is infused with the spirit of endless summer. The brand’s vibrant visual identity, anchored by its signature Onda orange, stands apart in a category defined by a sea of white cans.

Onda is co-founded by Noah Gray (Chief Executive Officer), Max Dworin (Chief Operating Officer), Kelli Adams (Chief Creative Officer) and Shay Mitchell (Chief Brand Officer). Obsessed with tequila soda, the team shared a vision to elevate the ready-to-drink alcohol space with a new take on their favorite drink.

Boochcraft in San Diego, California has announced an expanded distribution footprint including South Texas and Austin, Texas. Full details from the company are below.

SAN DIEGO — Boochcraft, the country’s #1 selling hard kombucha, has recently expanded distribution to South Texas, including Austin. Boochcraft is now available in eight states: California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Colorado, and Texas. Born out of a garage in San Diego and launched in Spring 2016, Boochcraft is the nation’s premier certified organic hard kombucha. The beverage company offers a core collection of distinct and delicious flavors, including Grapefruit Hibiscus, Ginger Lime, Lemon Maple, and Orange Pomegranate, in addition to limited seasonal and heirloom offerings, including fan-favorite summertime Watermelon Chili. Boochcraft is newly available in six-packs of 12 oz. cans and available at HEB Markets throughout Austin.

Steve Olkewicz, distributor and business development manager of Ben E. Keith Distributing, says of the expansion, “We are grateful and excited for the opportunity to partner with Boochcraft in the South Texas markets.  Boochcraft has done a fantastic job creating authentic, high-quality, plant-based kombucha drinks for one of the fastest-growing alcohol beverage categories. Through Ben E. Keith distributors, we are eager to bring such a great product to retailers and consumers in the coming weeks and beyond.”

VIVE Hard Seltzer in Covington, Kentucky has announced a new packaging refresh. Full details are below.

COVINGTON, Ky. – VIVE Hard Seltzer, a widely-recognized regional velocity power player, introduces a carton refresh that accompanies the brand’s vast growth in the hard seltzer category. Offering such varieties as Lime, Dragon Fruit, Mango and Grapefruit, the updated packaging brings vibrant imagery to the all-natural adult refreshment. The redesign also comes at a time when VIVE has proven to be a major force within the category. Consumers can find the Original Variety Pack on shelf at Kroger, Meijer, and Walmart stores throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio at an SRP of $13.99 – $14.99.

Year to date, IRI data ending June 14th identified VIVE as a hard seltzer generating the second highest velocity among regional competitive counterparts in the Midwest. In competing with larger counterparts, VIVE still proved to be a hard seltzer generating the eleventh highest velocity since June to date, with 213 percent growth since the same time last year. This growth, paired with unprecedented growth in the hard seltzer category, overall, prompted the VIVE packaging refresh currently on retailer shelves.

Mighty Swell, an Austin, Texas-based hard seltzer company, has announced it has expanded into six new distribution markets over the past 9 months. Full details are below.

AUSTIN, Texas — Mighty Swell, an Austin-based spiked seltzer company, has successfully launched into six new markets in the last nine months, increasing its YOY sales 104% percent and has become the highest selling independent spiked seltzer brand in the country*. Mighty Swell was founded in 2016 by the creators of Deep Eddy Vodka and Waterloo Sparkling Water and is the only independent brand to be included in the top-15 spiked seltzer brands in the United States*. This position as a top nationally-ranked spiked seltzer is made that much more impressive, as Mighty Swell is currently available in 19 states and not yet nationally distributed.

Flying Embers Hard Kombucha in Ventura, California has announced a new collaboration with reggae band Stick Figure on a new Mango Coconut flavor. Full details from the company are below.

VENTURA, Calif. – Flying Embers, the better-for-you alcohol company, is teaming up with top-streaming reggae brand Stick Figure to bring fans a special release hard kombucha flavor – Mango Coconut. This collaboration brings two unique brands with shared values together to deliver a delicious hard kombucha experience that will resonate with fans of both. Available now here: www.flyingembers.com/pages/stickfigurerelease

This 7% ABV “vacation-in-a-can” was brewed specifically to compliment the band’s sound, particularly on their latest album, “World On Fire.” To do so, the brewery combined ripe mango with refreshing coconut to deliver a flavor experience designed to transport the drinker to a tropical island paradise. And staying true to the brand’s ethos, the product contains 0 sugar, 0 carbs, USDA organic ingredients, and live probiotics. And like all Flying Embers hard kombuchas, it is gluten free, vegan, and keto-friendly.

Bombay Sapphire Gin has announced a collaboration with artist Hebru Brantley on its first-ever Artist Designed bottle. Full details from the company are below.

Hamilton, Bermuda – Bombay Sapphire, the world’s number one premium gin by volume and value, announces its collaboration with contemporary Chicago artist Hebru Brantley to launch its first-ever artist-designed bottle in North America. As an extension of Stir Creativity, the global platform from Bombay Sapphire, the new Hebru Brantley Limited Edition bottle embodies the brand’s mission to inspire and awaken creative potential within everyone. The launch of the Hebru Brantley Limited Edition will benefit the Chicago chapter of Black Lives Matter.

Harbor Hemp Co. in Coventry, Connecticut has announced the release of a non-alcoholic CBD-infused seltzer. Full details on this release are below.

COVENTRY, Conn.— Glen and David Boggini of Harbor Hemp Company today announced the addition of Calm Seas Seltzer to their burgeoning line of CBD products. The non-alcoholic black cherry seltzer contains 26mg per 16 ounce can and retails for $16 per four pack.

The Calm Seas CBD-infused seltzer was developed in Harbor Hemp Company’s Connecticut headquarters, which is one of Connecticut’s first licensed CBD manufacturing facilities with Current Good Manufacturing (cGMP) certification. It’s made with a proprietary water-soluble CBD nanoemulsion, leveraging 80 years of family business experience to yield the highest quality non-alcoholic seltzer on the market.

“Our customers have been requesting a non-alcoholic CBD-infused seltzer and we were ready to answer that call with a great tasting beverage with 26 mg of CBD per can.” said Glen, co-owner of Harbor Hemp Company. His brother David added, “Leveraging our experiences with beverages, our grandfather taught us to always source the best ingredients and that’s why we only use hemp that is US grown, non-GMO and pesticide free”

Welcome to the Summer 2020, Issue 49 of The Beer Connoisseur!

We’ve collected all the brew that fit’s to drink in this, our 49th installment of the magazine, and we have something for everything in this summertime special.

Beer has long been a popular drink, but just how long have some breweries existed? Jessie O’Brien answers that interesting question in The Oldest Breweries in the World.

COVID-19 remains the single biggest story on the minds of everyone around the world, so we had Dean Brightman, in his BC debut, check in on three California breweries of differing sizes to see how each of them has responded to this historic pandemic.

Kombucha is another category of beverages that has gained immense popularity over the past few years. But what actually is it? Seth Levy dishes on the varieties and recent history of this fermented beverage.

In another BC first, Marty Nachel, writer of Beer for Dummies, chimes in with an education story about the six-sided Brewer’s Star, which was once the universally recognized symbol of brewers worldwide. Why is it no longer the omnipresent symbol of beerdom? Marty has the answers!

There once was a bumper sticker that read, “New Jersey and you – perfect together!” That line still holds true today. New Jersey is a state with a smorgasbord of points of interest for people of all ages. New Jersey’s famed highlights include the boardwalks of Point Pleasant Beach and Seaside Heights, Lucy The Elephant in Margate, the casinos of Atlantic City, Salt Water Taffy, the legend of the Jersey Devil, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, and Sandy Hook, home to Gunnison Beach – the largest clothing-optional beach in the northeastern United States. Let it be known that in the Garden State, craft beer has rapidly grown in popularity. Like the foam rising, New Jersey’s craft breweries have become prime destinations. Fact: New Jersey is a highly sophisticated state, with a Garden-ful of choices to appreciate.