16 Hop Waters, Ranked Worst To Best

Somewhere in the cross section of seltzer and non-alcoholic beer lives another fizzy, refreshing beverage: hop water. Hop water is essentially a type of carbonated water flavored with hops. What hops do in beer can also be achieved in other beverages. This low-to-no calorie drink is also sometimes flavored with fruit to complement the hops and give variety to the consumer. It sounds simple, but the type of hops used can drastically change the drink, both in terms of the flavor and intensity.

The appeal of hop water is simple. Sometimes beer is too heavy, seltzer is boring, and you don't want anything sweetened or alcoholic. Hop water fits the bill all around. For this ranking, I gathered a range of brands and flavors, capping each brand at three varieties. To assess the hop waters, I used my extensive test kitchen experience to evaluate each variety. The ranking was determined by overall taste as well as the balance between hops and any additional flavors.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Lagunitas is a California-based brewery that produces a wide range of beers as well as hop waters and non-alcoholic beer. Most of the flavored hop waters in this ranking are single-flavored, so having one with mixed flavors was a fun addition to change things up. I immediately picked up on raspberry as the bubbles spritzed forth, which quickly morphed into a lemony pine smell. The taste, however, went on an entirely different journey.

There was an unexpected perfumy flavor to the hop water while also being mouth-puckeringly sour. The combination made me feel like I was drinking something from under the sink rather than a refreshing beverage. Of course, taste is subjective, but even if what tastes chemically to me is pleasant to another, there were no detectable hops. This drink ranked last because I couldn't get past the blend of flavors and found no trace of hops. So, as a hop water, it missed the mark all around.

Tropical fruits are a common flavor note in various hops, which would explain why I found so many tropical varieties across brands when researching and ranking hop waters. I love passionfruit, so I was optimistic that the combination here was going to be successful. When I opened the can, I got a faint whiff of lemon and passionfruit along with less specific fruit. The drink was crystal clear with lots of dancing bubbles.

Sadly, my hopes were dashed in the first taste when I was not able to taste any passionfruit. Though not as sour as the lemon berry variety, it too tasted overly floral, verging into candle territory, and lacking hop presence. While not as off-putting as the lemon berry, it still finished at the end of the ranking because it's not a great representation of hop water and did not deliver the promised passionfruit flavor.

Before tasting this drink, I read the can description and ingredients, which were straightforward and basic. Just some hop extract and natural flavors, with the note to expect citrus, so I was anticipating a light and crisp experience. What I got instead was a burst of mixed fruit that faded into something akin to grape bubblegum with a hint of soap.

The website offers much more detail that I found helpful. There, they call out mango, grapefruit, and orange notes and four different hops. I continued to sip, looking for those various hops to come through the fruit, but I wasn't able to pick them out. The sour edge of the drink continued to build, but fruit remained the dominant taste. Although this was the best Lagunitas of the three I tasted, it still finishes at the bottom because the lack of hops was disappointing and the flavor was challenging. Instead of growing on me as I tasted, I enjoyed it less and less.

Hop Splash is one of two varieties of hop water from the well-known brewery, Sierra Nevada. It is flavored with two types of hops, and there are no other ingredients besides water and carbon dioxide. It has a strong hoppy aroma and is pale yellow, cloudy, and full of large bubbles that pop through the surface.

In this hop water, the Citra and Amarillo hops create an earthy, somewhat skunky smell, not far from what you might notice in an American lager. The skunkiness carries through to the taste, and there is also a slightly sour, bitter finish, which actually gives it a beer-like quality. However, this drink was in the bottom third of the ranking because, without the other aspects of beer to balance out the hops, it was harsh tasting and hard to get down. I found myself taking smaller and smaller sips, hoping for a bit of relief from the intensity, but it never came.

Hoplark has a wide variety of non-alcoholic options, including hopped iced teas, non-alcoholic beers, and sparkling waters. For this ranking, I stuck to three differently hopped sparkling waters from Hoplark. Hoplark Mosaic ranked lowest of the three despite being incredibly refreshing.

Hoplark Mosaic was crisp and bubbly, but it didn't have a strong flavor identity. Hoplark suggests it has notes of pine, and after reading that I sniffed intensely and sort-of-kind-of picked up a juniper-like smell similar to very diluted gin, but it does not come through in the taste at all. It was more similar to seltzer than a hop-specific beverage and had just a hint of bitterness at the end to signal it was not plain carbonated water. It doesn't feel particularly special considering the added cost of buying hop water, so although it wasn't bad, I had to rank it towards the bottom for being too gentle with the hops.

Similar to Hoplark's Mosaic hop water, this variety was also extremely light in taste. Citra hops have a citrusy flavor profile and there was some of that in the drink. Specifically, I picked up on lemon, though more in the initial aroma than on the palate. With only carbonated water, hops, and citric acid (the same for all three Hoplark Hop Waters), it has a very clean taste and was almost totally clear in color where other hop waters have a touch of yellow or some cloudiness.

This hop water ranked low for similar reasons to the Mosaic, which is simply for having a very light hit of hops in the water. If I were blindfolded, I couldn't tell you if it was lemon seltzer or something else, but I doubt I would pick up the unique taste that hops can bring. This did trump Mosaic, however, because there is an element of citrus and it's not just plain bubbly water.

HOPWTR has L-Theanine (nootropics) and ashwagandha (adaptogens) added to its hop waters. Adaptogens claim to help reduce stress, but the importance of consuming these is a personal choice and they were not a factor when evaluating the waters. There are four types of hops in all of the HOPWTR flavors in this ranking: Citra, Amarillo, Mosaic, and Azacca.

I was surprised at how fruity this hop water smelled, considering it is the classic flavor. I was able to pick out lime, and something less specific, in the way that candy can taste like "red." The color is similar to ginger ale or light beer and has abundant small bubbles. The hops revealed themselves with a flavor crossed between bubblegum and banana, something I experience with certain types of beer and hops. The drink is dry and smooth, and the defined hoppy taste reminded me of beer. It didn't rank higher because there were others that were just that much better.

This hop water is the only one in the ranking with juice (and calories for that matter), though at 15 calories for a 12-ounce serving, it's hardly a significant amount. The drink is flavored with grapefruit and blood orange juice, and Mosaic and Simcoe hops, both of which have tropical and citrus flavor notes.

This is an incredibly bold, dry, citrus-forward drink. Citrus Hop Splash is juicy, aromatic, and bitter at the same time. There is also a strong drying and tannic quality, which could be from the oils in the added crystallized orange and grapefruit. The flavor is so strong and different from the other hop waters that it's hard to compare it. It would be a good option for someone who likes negronis and wants something to sip rather than chug. It ranked in the middle because although the citrus and hops work well together, the intensity almost makes it more like a non-alcoholic cocktail than a hop water.

DayPack is the line of hop waters from Athletic Brewing Co., and all the varieties are flavored with hop oil. When I cracked a can of Lemon Lime DayPack, I was hit so acutely with the nostalgic scent of a lime popsicle or yellow sports drink that I was surprised it was colorless and not yellow. DayPack describes the drink as having notes of sweetness and bitterness, which is funny because the aroma does almost trick you in thinking the drink is lightly sweetened.

The first sip had a burst of fruit that included the expected citrus, and also ripe melon. The hops take a backseat to the fruity flavors at first, but as the drink sat in the glass and opened up, the elements became a more balanced blend. The gentle bitterness also built to a moderate level that kept it from tasting like seltzer or a flat soda. It was very easy to drink and tasty, and the only reason it didn't rank higher was because I found the other DayPack flavors even more successful.

Sabro hops flavor this sparkling water that really captures a mix of tropical fruits without any sugar or juice, just the power of the hops themselves. The strong aroma carried through to the taste, and I picked up on banana, pineapple, and coconut. The flavors are crisp and the hints of coconut taste fresh without any of the trappings of reminding you of sunscreen. It's not until the end that a bit of bitterness from the hops settles in, a punctuating reminder that this isn't actually tropical seltzer.

The bolder taste, without being overwhelming, made this my favorite of the three Hoplark hop waters in this ranking. It still ended up in the middle because the hops were very light, and others struck a better balance. Still, it's more complex than a regular seltzer, and a solid recommendation for someone who doesn't like beer but is looking for an interesting non-alcoholic drink.

This hop water leaned into limeade vibes immediately with a pleasant, not too sharp or sour kick of lime in the aroma and taste. With a pale, yellow color and plenty of carbonation, it looks like a fizzy limeade, too. What I loved about this hop water ultimately pushed it just out of the top five of the ranking.

It is so refreshing and drinkable, but the lime pushed ahead of the hops a little too much, making it hard to pick them out. Since lime has a bit of natural bitterness in the rind anyway, the earthy, bitter flavors you expect from hops just came across as another layer of limey flavor. It was more complex than a lime-flavored sparkling water, but didn't feel like a solid hop water. I would give this to anyone who says they don't love beer or are hesitant about trying a hop water, but for this ranking, those qualities held it back.

One of the trappings of cherry-flavored drinks is that it's easy for them to skew medicinal or fake because fresh cherries have a subtle taste that's hard to replicate and are not nearly as intense as tropical fruits or citrus. DayPack does a good job of not overdoing the cherry and pushing into candy territory or totally stepping over the hops.

To that point, the cherry is stronger in aroma than taste, which keeps it from becoming heavy or building too much with subsequent sips. Although the hops are subtle, they are there as a back note to the fruit, though I didn't pick up on the pine flavor suggested by DayPack. The beverage has a tannic drying quality that elevates it from a simple, bubbly drink into something much more interesting. It was really delicious, and I don't usually reach for cherry-flavored drinks. The blend of tastes and crisp carbonation brought DayPack Black Cherry into the top five.

Fieldwork Brewing out of Berkeley, California, makes a variety of beers, non-alcoholic brews, sparkling tonics, and this hop water. Made with Mosaic and Nelson hops, the flavor is also enhanced with hop terpenes, which are only listed in one other hop water in this ranking. Nelson hops are not a variety I come across often. They are described as a very intense hop with many of the same flavor notes found in a sauvignon blanc wine grape, and I absolutely recognized similar aromas between that wine and this water.

This water is a true expression of hops, leaning closer to an alternative to beer than a light sparkling beverage. The clear, bubbly drink smacks you in the face with hops from the start and stays with you with a pleasant bitterness and juicy, citrusy taste. The carbonation adds a tingly fizz, which helps break up the intensity and prevent palate fatigue. This hop water ranks in the top five for boldly and cleanly fusing hops with the water and leaving no doubt what you are drinking.

Juicy, tropical, and hoppy, HOPWTR Mango was my favorite of the three from the brand in this ranking. I immediately recognized the aroma of mango from the freshly opened can and also picked up a twist of lemon. The smell was very inviting and familiar, but not overwhelming.

Similarly, the flavor of both the mango and hops was light but present and complemented the crisp effervescence from the bubbles. The hops add a mild, bitter taste at the end that is just enough to highlight the tropical notes without taking over the mango. Here, the hops and fruit lift each other up rather than fighting against each other. The drink was super refreshing and I can already imagine myself chugging one on a hot summer evening. HOPWTR Mango landed at number three for being craveable and tasty. It was a close race by this point in the ranking to grab the top two spots.

This hop water is another excellent example of how tropical fruits and hops go so well together. Although the can just lists hop oil, similar to the other DayPack flavors, the website reveals that Chinook hops are used, which have notes of pine and grapefruit, which make sense in complementing mango.

The mango has a bold presence, and the aroma smells just like a bottle of mango nectar with hints of other tropicals. If you told me there was coconut in there too, I wouldn't be surprised, though everything remained light and very fresh, just like a ripe piece of fruit. Even though the hops were still subtle, the mango balanced perfectly so you tasted them more than the other varieties of DayPack, while still being secondary to the fruit. This hop water came in second just because the winner had a purer, well-balanced hop taste, but this is a beverage I anticipate stocking in my fridge regularly and was utterly delicious.

Founders is a brewery I'm familiar with, but you can't assume a successful beer will translate to a good non-alcoholic option. However, Founders did bridge the space with a hop water that is full-flavored, crisp, and refreshing.

There are three different types of hops in this drink: Mosaic, Amarillo, and Simcoe which work together to be reminiscent of an IPA with tropical and grapefruit notes. This hop water also has terpenes, a plant compound that enhances the aroma. The pale-yellow drink smells like an IPA with some tropical and grapefruit notes, but the flavor is more subtle. With moderate carbonation, the drink isn't spicy with fizz which works to not overshadow the taste. There is a hint of bitterness that complements the flavor of the hops, and the lack of any other fruit flavors puts all the attention on the hops. This hop water took the top spot because it was incredibly satisfying and had a beautiful, but not too intense, hoppiness.

I consider myself someone who pays attention to their hydration. But even so, 16 cans of hop water was a lot for one day, so I tasted over a few days, cleansing my palate with plain, still water. I drank at least half a can of each variety, well chilled, slowly sipping after pouring into a cup to see how the flavor changed and how long the carbonation lasted. If a drink was flavored, I considered how accurate the taste was to the description and how it balanced with the hops.

For classic varieties I focused more on the taste of the hops and how distinctly it stood apart from plain carbonated water. The ranking did not come down to which drinks were more strongly flavored, because intensity isn't always the mark of success. But in order to move into the top of the ranking, hops had to be present, preferably in the aroma and the taste.