Upstate NY's Best Hard Seltzers, Twisted Tea & Mead - All Under One Roof at Beer Universe

White Claw • Truly • Twisted Tea • Flying Embers • Mead • Hard Seltzer & More
11 Upstate NY locations • 1-Hour Delivery • Curbside Pickup • Statewide Shipping from Albany

The seltzer aisle has gotten complicated. A few years ago it was White Claw and Truly and that was basically the whole conversation. Now there’s hard kombucha, mead in cans, Twisted Tea in about fifteen flavors, high-ABV seltzer spinoffs, vodka-based seltzers, and craft options that most grocery stores don’t even bother stocking.

If you’re standing in front of a cooler trying to figure out what’s actually good and what the difference is between a hard seltzer and a hard tea, this post is for you.

Beer Universe carries the full “Seltzers & More” category across all 11 upstate New York locations — Albany, Coxsackie, Amsterdam, Kingston, Saugerties, Schenectady-Kelton, Schenectady-Union, Troy-5th Ave, Troy-Northern, Troy-Hoosick, and Wynantskill.

We also ship across New York State from our Albany location and offer 1-Hour Delivery, In-Store Pickup, and Curbside Pickup.

Here’s the full breakdown of what we carry, what makes each category different, and how to pick the right one for whatever you’re doing.

Hard Seltzer - The Category That Changed Everything

Hard seltzer went from novelty to dominant category in about three years. The core appeal is simple: low calorie, low carb, light ABV (usually 4-5%), fruit-forward flavor, and packaging that travels well.

It’s not beer, it’s not a cocktail, it’s its own thing, and at this point it’s a permanent fixture of any serious beer store selection. Beer Universe carries hard seltzer in single cans, 6-packs, 12-packs, and variety cases across two main brands that own the category.

White Claw

White Claw is still the benchmark. Made with a blend of seltzer water, a gluten-free malted alcohol base, and fruit flavors, each can clocks in at 5% ABV, 100 calories, and 2g carbs. The carbonation is fine and persistent, the fruit flavor is clean without being artificial-tasting, and the whole thing is built to be crushable without being cloying. We stock multiple White Claw SKUs at Beer Universe:

White Claw Hard Seltzer Surge Natural Lime (19.2oz): The Surge line is the higher-ABV play-8% in the big can format. The Natural Lime is clean and citrus-forward with a bigger kick than the standard line. Good choice if you want something that actually hits without going the cocktail route.

White Claw Watermelon Hard Seltzer (12oz): One of the better flavors in the lineup. The watermelon is fresh and summery rather than candy-sweet, and it’s light enough to drink a few without wearing out your palate.

White Claw Hard Seltzer Iced Tea Variety Pack: A newer direction for the brand, hard seltzer crossed with iced tea. Lower sweetness than a straight Twisted Tea, more flavor complexity than a plain seltzer. Worth trying if you like both categories and haven’t crossed them yet.

White Claw Flavor Collection No. 2 (12oz Variety Pack): Tangerine, Watermelon, Lemon, and Mango. Four solid flavors in one case, good for a party where not everyone agrees on what they like.

“ If you’re in Albany, Schenectady, Troy, or anywhere else in our 11-store network and you’ve been searching for White Claw in the area, we have it in-store and available for 1-Hour Delivery. Our Albany location ships statewide. ”

Truly Hard Seltzer

Truly is the other major player, and the lineup has expanded enough that it’s worth knowing the different sub-lines. All standard Truly is 5% ABV, 100 calories, 1g sugar, made with real fruit juice. The flavor range is broader than most people realize:

Truly Wild Berry (24oz single can): Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Sweet and juicy, one of Truly’s more consistently popular flavors. The 24oz is good for a long afternoon.

Truly Pineapple (24oz single can): Tropical and bright. Made with real fruit juice since the recipe update — the pineapple actually tastes like pineapple rather than pineapple candy.

Truly Lemonade Variety Pack: Hard seltzer crossed with lemonade. Original Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, and Mango Lemonade. Slightly sweeter and more substantial than the plain fruit flavors. Good for people who find regular seltzers a bit thin.

Truly Unruly Hard Seltzer (12oz, 12-pack): A rotating pack of unconventional flavors for people who’ve gone through the standard lineup. Good pick for the seltzer drinker who’s bored with the usual options.

“ Hard seltzer in upstate New York across 11 locations, in store or delivered within the hour. Truly and White Claw are stocked at every Beer Universe. ”

➤ Shop Hard Seltzer → beeruniversestore.com/shop/?subtype=seltzer

Hard Tea - Twisted Tea and the Case for Not-Quite-Seltzer

Hard tea is the category for people who want something with more flavor depth than a plain seltzer but don’t necessarily want a beer. Twisted Tea is the dominant name and they’ve earned it, they make a genuinely good hard iced tea that doesn’t taste like it came out of a chemistry lab.

Beer Universe stocks Twisted Tea across multiple flavors and formats:

Twisted Tea Half & Half (24oz): Real brewed iced tea meets lemonade. Half tea, half lemonade, non-carbonated, 5% ABV. This is the one that consistently gets ordered by people who discovered it once and won’t go back. The Half & Half format softens the tea character and makes it more sessionable than the straight original.

Twisted Tea Blueberry (24oz cans): The Original formula with natural blueberry flavor added. Same non-carbonated, naturally sweetened base, brewed black tea with a fresh blueberry finish. Clean and ripe without being sweet like candy.

The Twisted Tea lineup at Beer Universe also extends to variety packs, check the hard tea section online for current availability across locations. If you’re in Albany, Troy, Schenectady, or anywhere in the network and you want Twisted Tea in the area without driving around, our delivery and pickup options cover it.

“ Twisted Tea Half & Half in a 24oz is one of those purchases where people say “I’ll just try one” and then immediately put a six-pack in the cart. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. ”

➤ Shop Hard Tea → beeruniversestore.com/shop/?ch-query=hard%20tea

Hard Kombucha - Flying Embers and the Fermented Option

Hard kombucha is the category that tends to surprise people who try it without knowing what they’re in for. It starts with kombucha, fermented tea with a slightly tangy, funky baseline, and then adds more alcohol to land somewhere between 4.5% and 8% ABV depending on the style.

Beer Universe carries Flying Embers across multiple expressions, and they’re one of the better hard kombucha producers in the US. Their base is live culture kombucha fermented with plant botanicals, no artificial flavors, low sugar, and a flavor profile that actually rewards paying attention to what’s in the can.

Flying Embers Prickly Pear & Blue Agave Hard Kombucha (12oz): Made from the prickly pear cactus, a flat-stemmed spiny cacti, this Ojai-inspired flavor brings notes of strawberry and melon with the delicate sweetness of blue agave. The prickly pear juice is harvested at a vivid neon color and gives this one a distinctive profile that’s hard to compare to anything else.

Flying Embers Black Cherry Hard Kombucha (12oz): The classic kombucha pairing, black cherry and fermented tea work together cleanly. Tart, slightly sweet, and botanical without being medicinal about it.

Flying Embers Lemon Kombucha: Citrus-forward with subtle undertones of lavender, mint, and ginger underneath. The botanicals are restrained rather than in-your-face, and the lemon keeps it refreshing.

Flying Embers Citrus Golden Hour Hard Kombucha Variety Pack (12oz): Multiple citrus expressions in one case. Good entry point if you want to try the brand across a few different flavor directions before committing to a full four-pack of one style.

Hard kombucha is low calorie, low sugar, and gluten-free, same general health profile as a standard seltzer but with more going on in the glass. If you’re looking for hard kombucha in upstate New York and the grocery store doesn’t carry it, Beer Universe is your stop.

“ Flying Embers Brut Nature is aged in Chardonnay barrels. Let that sink in. Hard kombucha in 2025 is a different category than it was three years ago. ”

➤ Shop Hard Kombucha → beeruniversestore.com/shop/?ch-query=kombucha

Mead - The Oldest Fermented Drink in the World, Now in a Can

Mead doesn’t fit neatly into any of the standard drink categories, which is probably why it’s taken this long to land in mainstream beer store coolers. It’s made from fermented honey and water, not grapes, not grain, which puts it in its own lane entirely.

The quick primer on mead styles worth knowing:

• Traditional mead: honey, water, yeast. The flavor comes entirely from the honey varietal — orange blossom, wildflower, buckwheat, clover, and dozens of others each produce a distinct character.

• Melomel: fruit added to the base. The most common style in the modern commercial market because the fruit gives it instant approachability. Raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, cherry meads dominate this category.

• Metheglin: herbs and spices added. Ginger mead, lavender mead, cinnamon-spiced mead — the range is wide and the results depend entirely on the meadmaker’s restraint.

• Session mead: lower ABV (4-8%), usually sparkling, designed to be drunk like a beer rather than sipped like a dessert wine. This is the format that’s made mead commercially viable at a beer store level.

Beer Universe carries mead across our locations, availability varies by store, so the best way to check what’s in stock is to shop online and select your location, or call ahead.

If you’ve never tried mead and you’re curious where to start: go for something fruit-forward and sparkling rather than a traditional dry still mead.

The sparkling melomel styles, berry or stone fruit based, are the most accessible entry point and the ones most people enjoy on the first try regardless of their normal drink preferences.

“ Mead in upstate New York used to mean a specialty wine shop trip. At Beer Universe, it’s right there in the cooler next to the seltzers. The category has arrived. ”

➤ Shop Mead → beeruniversestore.com/shop/?ch-query=mead

Quick Reference: Which Category Is Right for You

The Seltzers & More aisle covers a lot of ground. Here’s the short version of how to navigate it:

➤ Want light, low-cal, fruit-flavored, and easy: Standard hard seltzer, White Claw or Truly. Pick a flavor, pick a variety pack, done.

➤ Want more flavor depth without carbonation: Twisted Tea. Original, Half & Half, or one of the fruit flavors depending on how sweet you like things.

➤ Want something genuinely different with gut-health credentials: Flying Embers hard kombucha. Start with the Citrus Golden Hour Variety Pack and see which direction you like.

➤ Want to try something nobody else at the party has heard of: Mead. Get something fruit-forward and sparkling. Tell people it’s honey wine. Watch the conversation change.

➤ Want maximum ABV in a seltzer format: White Claw Surge or Truly EXTRA. Both hit 8% in can formats that look like standard seltzers.

➤ Throwing a party and need to cover everyone: Truly Party Pack (24 cans, multiple flavors) plus a case of Twisted Tea. That covers the seltzer crowd and the tea crowd without overlap.

Find Seltzers at Beer Universe - 11 Upstate New York Locations

Every Beer Universe location carries the full Seltzers & More lineup, hard seltzer, hard tea, hard kombucha, mead, and vodka-based seltzers. Stock rotates and new releases come in regularly, so checking online before you come in is the quickest way to confirm what’s available at your nearest store.

For anyone in the Albany area, our Central Avenue location ships hard seltzer and all of the Seltzers & More category across New York State. Orders placed before 3 PM EST ship same day. Minimum order is $20.

Our 11 locations across upstate New York:

📍 Albany • Coxsackie • Amsterdam • Kingston • Saugerties

📍 Schenectady-Kelton • Schenectady-Union

📍 Troy-5th Ave • Troy-Northern • Troy-Hoosick • Wynantskill

1-Hour Delivery is available from all 11 locations to addresses within 8-10 miles. In-Store Pickup and Curbside Pickup are also available at every location.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between hard seltzer and hard kombucha?

Hard seltzers like White Claw are typically made from a clean malt or sugar base with fruit flavors, resulting in a crisp, low-calorie drink. Hard kombuchas like Flying Embers use a fermented tea base with live cultures and botanicals, offering a more complex, slightly tart flavor profile.

Where can I get Twisted Tea delivered in the Capital Region?

Beer Universe offers 1-hour delivery for Twisted Tea, White Claw, and our entire seltzer inventory across 11 locations, including Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and Amsterdam. Simply order online for fast delivery to your door.

Do you carry high-ABV hard seltzers?

Yes! We stock "Surge" and "Extra" versions of popular brands like White Claw Surge and Truly Extra, which typically feature an 8% ABV—perfect for those looking for a stronger kick in a familiar seltzer format.

What exactly is Mead and do you sell it in cans?

Mead is a traditional "honey wine" made from fermented honey and water. At Beer Universe, we carry modern Session Meads in cans, which are typically sparkling, fruit-forward, and lower in alcohol (4-8%) compared to traditional still meads.