Lauren Chval

At this point, you’ve heard of hard seltzer. White Claw hit the market in 2016 and sales grew at a triple digit rate, hitting $500 million in 2018. The Kimpton Gray Hotel hosted a seltzer-devoted pop-up last summer, serving 10 types of seltzers in 25 flavors. And it’s not a passing trend—craft beer pioneer Boulevard Brewing Company just announced its hard seltzer will make up 25 percent of the company’s business by year-end. That business boom is, no doubt, why so many want in on the seltzer market. Maybe you saw the Please Don’t Destroy “Hard Seltzer” short on Saturday Night Live last fall, which mocked the concept with seltzers from J.C. Penney’s, Jiffy Lube and “Dr. Riccardi, my dentist.” Indeed, browsing the hard seltzer aisle at Binny’s is sort of like playing a game of “I Spy” for massive corporate brands—even Sonic, the car-hopping fast food chain, makes its own branded seltzer.  If that ubiquity and unpleasant corporate vibe makes you feel like seltzer isn’t for you, you’re not alone. Dave Dahl, co-founder of Lo Rez Brewing in Pilsen, will be the first to tell you seltzer is “not really our jam.” But they do have a single seltzer on their taproom menu. Why? “We added a seltzer solely because that's what our locals and regulars asked of us,” Dahl said. So when the people want hard seltzer, what’s a local craft brewer to do? Make something better. Something you’d be proud to bring to your friend’s party or order in a taproom. We talked with four Chicago-based seltzer ma