Twisted Tea Extreme

Hard tea is trending hard. Twisted Tea, the reigning hard tea brand, may have been around for twenty-two years, but recently, it’s seen unprecedented double-digit growth. But with growing popularity comes growing competition. Iced tea brands Lipton, Arizona, Peace Tea, and Bojangles have all tossed their proverbial hats into the hard tea ring. Even Monster Energy is planning on launching a hard tea line. But Twisted Tea isn’t letting the competition get it down. The brand owns 91% of the hard tea market, and it’s not going down a single percentage point without a fight — an extreme fight. How do we know this? According to an article in Brewbound, Twisted Tea made an announcement yesterday that it’s planning on releasing a new line of high-alcohol hard teas, Twisted Tea Extreme. And when Twisted Tea says “extreme,” it means extreme.

Everything We Know

Twisted Tea Extreme will be available in two flavors, Lemon and Blue Razz. These are similar to Twisted Tea’s popular flavors Twisted Tea Original and Twisted Tea Raspberry. We don’t know the nutritional information for Twisted Tea Extreme yet, but we can venture to guess that the drinks will not be low-cal or low-carb. Unlike the majority of hard seltzers and canned cocktails, hard teas are flavored malt beverages (FMBs), meaning they’re made with a process similar to beer production. Because of this, FMBs tend to run higher in calories and carbs than hard seltzers and canned cocktails, and hard teas are not gluten-free. Twisted Tea Original, for example, contains 194 calories and 25.9 grams of carbs per 12 oz serving.

These “extreme” hard teas will be available in select markets “early next month.” The select markets are Montana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. According to Brewbound, Boston Beer Company is testing these high-ABV drinks on “highly developed Twisted Tea markets.” So, let’s hope these drinks ace their test and we see them nationwide soon.

To the Extreme

Twisted Tea Extreme will have an alcohol content of 8% ABV. That might not seem all that “extreme” to you, but Twisted Tea Extreme will only be available in 24 oz single cans. For comparison sake, one can will have more alcohol than three shots of 80-proof liquor. Additionally, Twisted Tea contains 30 mg of caffeine per 12 oz serving. Meaning each can of Twisted Tea Extreme will have approximately the same amount of caffeine as a shot of espresso. However, these high-ABV hard teas still fall short of the extreme (or just plain dangerous) nature of notorious caffeinated alcoholic drinks like Four Loko (before the brand was pressured to change its recipe). The original-recipe Four Loko had 156 mg of caffeine as well as containing taurine, guarana, and an alcohol content of up to 14% ABV. So while Twisted Tea Extreme will likely live up to its promise of being “extreme,” it’s unlikely that it will match the same notoriety (or infamy) of original-recipe Four Loko.

Want to find your perfect hard seltzer or canned cocktail? Try our new Seltzer Finder! You can search by flavor, ABV, carbs, and more to discover your ideal beverage.