Among hard seltzers, White Claw, launched only in 2016 in the United States, has quickly dominated the market with a 60% share by 2021.
A classic can of White Claw contains only 100 calories, regardless of the flavor. Compared to the same amount of A&W which has 180 calories, Coca-Cola which has 140 calories, 7-Up which has 150 calories, and beer which has 150 to 200 calories, White Claw quickly became popular among calorie-conscious people.
It also rode the wave of the wellness market because of its light, fruity flavors and gluten-free malt alcohol, although technically White Claw is not a health drink.
No alcoholic drink is healthy. Even if White Claw only has 100 calories, these are empty calories without any nutritional content.
White Claw is branded for millennials, the largest demographic in the United States. Its popularity surged through viral social media videos, which included the slogan coined by YouTube comedian Trevor Wallace, “’Ain’t no laws when you’re drinking Claws.” It got so popular that the market experienced a White Claw shortage in September 2019.
The brand is now sold in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden.
It is named after the rogue “White Claw Waves” which “travel in sets of three across the ocean, delivering unexpected refreshment from the spray that leaps from their crests as they crash to shore with both strength and beauty”, the brand’s sell sheet says.
Standard White Claw Can Sizes and Dimensions
White Claw stands out in its packaging and contains the standard 12 fl. oz. (355 ml.) volume like other beverages.
Compared to regular soda and beer cans which measure 4.83 inches tall and 2.6 inches wide, White Claw stands 6.125 inches tall and measures 2.25 inches wide.
Tall and slim cans occupy a smaller surface area, which lets retailers carry more of the beverage’s cans, which then means larger purchase orders with its manufacturer, Mark Anthony Brewing.
Additionally, tall and slim cans cool a lot more quickly in a fridge or chiller compared to standard-sized soda and beer cans. This means fewer energy costs to cool newly purchased White Claw drinks — a boon for retailers.
White Claw comes in three variety pack options – 12 cans, 18 cans, and 24 cans. Each variety pack comes in three or four different flavors, so consumers can give each flavor a try.
White Claw Alcohol Content
Classic White Claw Hard Seltzer has 5% ABV (alcohol by volume) in the USA and Canada and 4.5% ABV in international markets. It has 2g of carbs and 100 calories per 12 oz. can.
White Claw Hard Seltzer REFRSHR Lemonade and Iced Tea contain 5% alcohol, 1g of sugar and 100 calories per 12 oz. can.
White Claw Hard Seltzer Surf also contains 5% alcohol, 1g of sugar, and 100 calories per 12 oz. can.
White Claw Hard Seltzer Surge has 8% ABV, 2g carbs and 160 calories per 12 oz. can. It also comes in 16 oz. cans.
A 5% ABV is comparable to popular beers like Coors Light or Bud Light. Most wines have a 12% ABV but wine is served in smaller servings.
White Claw’s alcohol comes from fermented sugars obtained from gluten-free malted grains. This, combined with seltzer (carbonated) water, cane sugar, citric acid, and fruit flavor essentially make up the White Claw beverage.
Even though it is less fattening than traditional beer, White Claw is still essentially an alcoholic drink. So, you must be at least 21 years old to legally drink White Claw.
White Claw Flavors
White Claw Hard Seltzer classic now has 12 flavors, ranked by Food Network in the following order:
1. Black Cherry
2. Tangerine
3. Blackberry
4. Pineapple
5. Natural Lime
6. Raspberry
7. Watermelon
8. Mango
9. Strawberry
10. Ruby Grapefruit
11. Lemon
12. Pure (unflavored, as an alternative to vodka soda)
White Claw Hard Seltzer Surf comes in 4 flavors: Citrus Yuzu Smash, Tropical Pomelo Smash, Watermelon Lime Smash, and Wildberry Acai Smash.
White Claw Hard Seltzer REFRSHR Lemonade has 4 flavors: Limon with a Hint of Calamansi, Blood Orange with a Hint of Black Raspberry, Blackberry with a Hint of Red Cherry, and Strawberry with a Hint of Kiwi.
White Claw Hard Seltzer REFRSHR Iced Tea also has 4 flavors: Lemon, Strawberry, Mango, and Peach.
White Claw Hard Seltzer Surge is available in 4 flavors: Blackberry, Blood Orange, Cranberry, and Natural Lime.
All White Claw Hard Seltzer product lines – classic, Surf, REFRSHR, and Surge – contain the same ingredients: purified carbonated water, natural flavors, citric acid, cane sugar, natural fruit juice concentrate, sodium citrate, and alcohol. They differ only in taste– with black tea extract added for the REFRSHR Iced Tea brand– and alcohol content –with 3% more alcohol in the case of Surge.
What is White Claw Surf?
White Claw Hard Seltzer Surf was launched in March 2022 as an innovation into a new fuller-flavored product line featuring 3 professional surfers endorsing it.
Pro surfers Ivy Miller, Hunter Jones, and Blair Conklin were shown in TV spot videos surfing on a single board down a massive sand dune, shouting with joy. Another scene shows them individually surfing down a snow-covered mountain.
The message was clear: just as these athletes were bringing their sport to new extremes, so does White Claw Hard Seltzer with its Surf product line.
What Is White Claw REFRSHR Lemonade and Iced Tea?
White Claw’s REFRSHR Lemonade and Iced Tea essentially take the conventional lemonade and iced tea to new levels with an alcoholic kick. They have real lemonade and tea tastes, except that they’re for adults now, so you get hard lemonade and hard iced tea.
The White Claw REFRSHR Iced Tea is the only White Claw with caffeine, which naturally comes with its sustainably sourced black tea extract certified by the Rainforest Alliance.
What Is White Claw Surge?
According to White Claw’s Chief Marketing Officer John Shea, since a lot of people basically put toppers like vodka on their White Claw, you don’t have to anymore with White Claw Hard Seltzer Surge. It has 3% more alcohol content than the other White Claw product lines and it comes in 16 oz. cans, too, not just the usual 12 oz. can.
To answer this post’s main question in the title, White Claw has only 2 can sizes: 12 oz. and 16 oz.
White Claw is a hard seltzer drink that comes in different flavors and marketing messages to appeal to different sub-niches of the millennial drinking market: classic for the broad millennial spectrum, REFRSHR for those who like childhood lemonade and iced tea in grown-up versions, Surf for the more daring and adventurous, and Surge for harder alcoholic kicks.
What Size Is It started because of that passion, but I have also chosen to write about other size, weight, and value related topics that have interested me.
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