As the weather heats up, so does the demand for light and refreshing alcoholic beverages. This summer, two brands are vying for the top spot as the go-to drink: Truly vs White Claw. But which is better? Let’s take a closer look at both options to help you decide.
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably seen ads for Truly and White Claw hard seltzers lately and are wondering what the difference between them is. Both brands offer a spiked sparkling water that’s low in calories and carbs, but there are some key differences between the two. In this article, we’ll compare Truly and White Claw to help you decide which one is right for you.
What is White Claw?
Contents
White Claw is an alcoholic seltzer water beverage that was introduced in 2016. The beverage is made from a blend of seltzer water, a gluten-free malted alcohol base, and fruit flavor. White Claw is sold in many different flavors and has become a popular choice for those looking for a refreshing, low calorie alcoholic beverage. So, Who owns White Claw? You can learn this on our other post.
Stats:
- Year launched: 2016
- Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
- ABV: 5%
- Market share: 58% (as of 2019)
- Famous friends: Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Cayman Jack (White Claw is owned by Mark Anthony Brands, International)
Tagline: Let’s White Claw
What Type of Alcohol is in White Claw?
White Claw is a type of alcohol known as malt liquor. Malt liquor is made from fermented grains, typically barley or wheat. White Claw is 5% ABV, which is on the higher end for malt liquors. White Claws are also gluten-free, since they are made with sorghum instead of wheat or barley. White Claw has become one of the most popular alcoholic drinks in recent years, especially among millennials.
What is Truly?
Truly is a brand of hard seltzer that was founded in 2016. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and its products are available in the United States and Canada. Truly has a variety of flavors, including mango, grapefruit, and black cherry. The company’s seltzers have no artificial sweeteners or flavors and are gluten-free. Truly also offers a line of canned cocktails. The alcohol in Truly’s products is distilled from cane sugar and is considered to be gluten-free.
Stats:
- Year launched: 2016
- Hometown: Boston, MA
- ABV: 5%
- Market share: 26% (as of 2019)
- Famous friends: Sam Adams, Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard (Truly is owned by Boston Beer Co.)
Tagline: No One Is Just One Flavor
What Type of Alcohol is in Truly?
Truly is an alcoholic beverage company that produces Truly Hard Seltzer, Truly Spiked & Sparkling, and Truly Lemonade. The seltzers contain alcohol derived from cane sugar and are available in a variety of flavors. Truly Hard Seltzer is 5% ABV and Truly Spiked & Sparkling is 4.5% ABV. Truly uses a variety of fruit flavors to flavor their hard seltzers, including blueberry, raspberry, lemon, and lime.
Truly vs White Claw: What’s the Difference Between Them?
White Claw vs Truly are two of the most popular hard seltzers on the market. But what exactly is the difference between them?
1. Origin:
Truly and White Claw are two of the most popular hard seltzers on the market. But what is the story behind these drinks? The hard seltzer category exploded in 2016 with the launch of Truly and White Claw.
Truly was originally developed by the Boston Beer Company, makers of Samuel Adams. The brand initially gained popularity for its unique glass bottles. Three years after its launch, Truly changed its name to Truly Hard Seltzer to reflect its growing popularity.
White Claw was launched a few months after Truly and is produced by Mark Anthony Brands. White Claw quickly gained popularity due to its wide range of flavors and convenient can packaging.
Both Truly and White Claw have become popular choices for those looking for a refreshing, alcohol-based drink. So next time you reach for one of these drinks, remember the story behind them.
2. Flavors:
Truly has a wide range of flavors to choose from, including Truly Spiked Punch, Truly Iced Tea, Truly Lemonade and Truly Extra (which has an 8% ABV). The classic Truly spiked seltzer comes in 12 fruit flavors. You’re sure to find a flavor that you love, including:
- Black Cherry
- Blueberry Acai
- Wild Berry
- Raspberry Lime
- Lime
- Grapefruit
- Citrus Squeeze
- Lemon
- Pineapple
- Mango
- Passion Fruit
- Watermelon Kiwi
The classics are available in conveniently sized variety packs, perfect for those who want to try four flavors at once:
- Truly Berry includes wild berry, blueberry acai, black cherry and raspberry lime.
- Truly Citrus has lime, grapefruit, citrus squeeze and lemon.
- Truly Tropical has pineapple, mango, passion fruit and watermelon kiwi.
White Claw currently has 17 flavors in its drink lineup, including four flavors of Spiked Iced Tea and two of White Claw Surge (its 8% ABV variety). Its classic lineup has 11 fruity flavors, including:
- Black Cherry
- Mango
- Watermelon
- Natural Lime
- Ruby Grapefruit
- Raspberry
- Lemon
- Tangerine
- Strawberry
- Blackberry
- Pineapple
Just like Truly, White Claw offers its classic in tasty variety packs, including:
- White Claw Flavor Collection No. 1 includes black cherry, raspberry, rube grapefruit and natural lime.
- White Claw Flavor Collection No. 2: includes mango, watermelon, lemon and tangerine.
- White Claw Flavor Collection No. 3: includes mango, blackberry, strawberry and pineapple.
White Claw is available in three delicious flavors: mango, black cherry and watermelon. Whether you’re throwing a party or just looking for a refreshing way to beat the heat, White Claw has you covered. Each 18- or 24-pack comes with an assortment of our most popular flavors, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
3. Production:
While Truly and White Claw both fall into the category of flavored malt beverages (FMBs), they are not technically beer. As a White Claw brand representative explained to VinePair, its 5 percent ABV “comes from fermented sugars derived from malted gluten-free grains.” Truly is also brewed similarly to beer, with its alcohol content (also at 5 percent ABV) derived from fermented cane sugar. And both brands count natural flavors, cane sugar, and juice concentrate as ingredients.
When it comes to production, Truly and White Claw are fairly neck and neck. Each has a slight edge in terms of sugar content, with Truly having just 1 gram versus White Claw’s 2 grams. However, White Claw’s iced tea line only has 1 gram. The brands’ lineups each contain hard iced teas and slightly boozier products, “White Claw Surge” and “Truly Extra Hard Seltzer” that clock in at 8 percent ABV.
4. Cocktails:
Hard seltzer cocktails are an intriguing idea that has yet to take off in the mainstream, but when applied correctly they can yield surprisingly tasty results. Thankfully VinePair already did all of this research for us and created recipes with popular hardseltzer flavors.
The team was inspired by the bright flavors of tequila, lime and agave syrup. They created an Americano with Campari for its citrusy notes in sweet vermouth mixed together perfectly to make you forget all about your morning hangover while also adding some creativity through re imagining classic cocktails like Clover Club which exclude eggs but retain authenticity through use simple ingredients such as gin or lemon juice instead.
5. Healthiness:
Truly hard seltzer is one of the most popular brands on the market, and for good reason. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also relatively low in calories and sugar. White Claw is another great option if you’re looking for a healthier hard seltzer. Both of these brands are perfect for summertime sipping.
Truly and White Claw are both relatively healthy choices when it comes to alcoholic beverages. Each can contains only 100 calories, and both have a low carbohydrate content of 2 grams per can. However, Truly has an edge over White Claw when it comes to sugar content, with each can containing only 1 gram of sugar compared to 2 grams in White Claw cans. Therefore, if you’re looking for a slightly healthier option, Truly is the way to go. However, both brands are still relatively healthy choices overall.
Truly has less sugar than White Claw, making it a slightly better choice for those watching their intake of the sweet stuff. However, White Claw recently released a line of hard seltzers with just 1 gram of sugar, matching Truly gram for gram in that category. They also debuted a line of 70 calorie hard seltzers in spring of 2020. And while it’s unclear if these will be a limited edition run or a permanent part of the beverage company’s lineup, there’s no denying it could give White Claw a clear advantage in the domain of diet-friendly drinks.
So, which hard seltzer brand is the healthiest? It’s tough to say for sure. But if you’re looking for a low-sugar option, Truly is the way to go. If you’re watching your calorie intake, White Claw may be a better choice. Either way, you can’t go wrong – both brands offer delicious, refreshing hard seltzers that are perfect for summer sipping.
6. Brand power:
There’s no denying that Truly and White Claw have taken the summer by storm. Whether you’re seeing posts about people sipping on their drinks of choice at the beach or poolside, it’s clear that these two brands have become synonymous with warm weather fun.
White Claw’s social media presence is unrivaled. The brand has been able to take over people’s newsfeeds with its unofficial taglines, like “White Claw Summer” and “Ain’t No Laws When You’re Drinking Claws.” These taglines are more well-known than White Claw’s actual official tagline, “Let’s White Claw.” White Claw has also inspired many copycat videos and memes. The brand’s power lies in its ability to connect with its audience on a personal level. White Claw is more than just a drink – it’s a lifestyle.
Truly is a seltzer brand that doesn’t require a lot of background information. In 2021, the brand launched a sponsorship with Grammy Award-winning singer Dua Lipa in an attempt to capitalize on her huge Instagram following. The partnership includes the aforementioned commercial, which draws heavily on 80s nostalgia to appeal to hard seltzer’s target audience of millennials. Truly is trying to build its brand power by partnering with someone who has a large social media presence. This could help the brand reach a wider audience and increase its sales.
What The Pros Think:
As the Business Insider blind test showed, White Claw came out on top as the best tasting seltzer. Business Insider conducted a blind test of the two brands’ seltzers, and White Claw emerged victorious. All four flavors of White Claw that were sampled (Natural Lime, Raspberry, Black Cherry, and Ruby Grapefruit) were found to be enjoyable by the publication’s testers.
Some beverage professionals believe that both White Claw and Truly lack distinction. Margaret Link, director of marketing at Boochcraft, says that she would be “shocked if your average consumer could tell the difference” between the two brands. These delicious drinks can be stored for a long time by storing them in a small wine cooler.
While taste is certainly subjective, it’s interesting to see what the experts think about these popular seltzers. Whether you prefer White Claw or Truly, there’s no doubt that they’re both refreshing options for a hot summer day.
Conclusion:
So, what’s the verdict? Truly or White Claw? In our opinion, they are both great options for summer sipping, but it ultimately depends on your personal preference. If you want a light and refreshing beverage with a slightly fruity taste, go with Truly. If you prefer something with more of a hard seltzer bite, go with White Claw. No matter which one you choose, we know you’ll be enjoying some delicious summer drinks.
If you want a hard seltzer with classic flavors that will please most palates, go for Truly. Also, if you want something more adventurous or are looking for a beverage that packs more of a punch, White Claw is the way to go. No matter which one you choose, we recommend enjoying them in moderation – after all, they’re still alcoholic beverages.
