Sometimes, you want to open a can of cold seltzer with a little kick of alcohol, and put your feet up to relax after a hard day at work. And, White Claw Hard Seltzer is one of the best beverages for that exact purpose. They offer many different flavors, so you will find one that is perfect for your taste.
However, if you are following a ketogenic diet, you need to track carbs in everything. Even when you drink White Claw seltzer and alcohol. While it might feel like they are light and refreshing, these beverages can have large amounts of carbs. And, they can kick you straight out of ketosis!
Still, is that the case with this brand of hard seltzer? Can you drink White Claw on the keto or a low-carb diet? Keep on reading to find out!
What is White Claw?
This brand became popular because of its hard seltzer. Hard seltzer, or as people also call it- mature, adult, or spiked sparkling alcohol water, is carbonated water with alcohol in it. It often contains some type of flavoring. White Claw is exactly that. A line of flavored, hard seltzer manufactured by the Mark Anthony Group.
They first introduced this beverage in 2016 in numerous different flavors. The beverage grew more and more in popularity in the years. In 2019 it was noted as the top-selling hard seltzer in the United States. In that same year, as its popularity grew, there was a national shortage of White Claw hard seltzer. The reason for its overwhelming popularity is a viral YouTube video made by a popular YouTube comedian.
In July of 2020, the company reported a 246.7% increase in sales, in comparison to the same time in 2019. In 2020 the brand introduced its beverage to the Canadian market, with limited flavors.
Apart from its spiked alcohol sparkling water beverages, the brand also offers alcoholic, hard seltzer iced tea and white claw hard seltzer surge.
What flavors do they offer?
The White Claw Hard Seltzer line offers 11 flavors and those are Black Cherry, Mango, Watermelon, Raspberry, Ruby Grapefruit, Natural Lime, Lemon, Tangerine, Blackberry, Strawberry, and Pineapple.
Their alcoholic iced tea line offers Raspberry, Lemon, Mango and Peach. Their hard seltzer surge line offers Natural Lime, Blood Orange, Blackberry, and Cranberry.
White Claw Nutrition Facts
Below, we have the nutritional information on 4 of their popular beverages of 1 can or 12 oz. The nutritional information is from their official website.
| Nutrition | Black Cherry | Watermelon | Raspberry Iced tea | Blood Orange Surge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 100 kcal | 100 kcal | 100 kcal | 160 kcal |
| Fat | 0 grams | 0 grams | 0 grams | 0 grams |
| Protein | 0 grams | 0 grams | 0 grams | 0 grams |
| Total Carbs | 2 grams | 2 grams | 1 gram | 2 grams |
| Fiber | 0 grams | 0 grams | 0 grams | 0 grams |
| Net Carbs | 2 grams | 2 grams | 1 gram | 2 grams |
White Claw Ingredient
These are the common ingredients of the 4 different beverages- purified carbonated water, alcohol, natural flavors, cane sugar, citric acid, sodium citrate. Here are some White Claw flavors:
| Black Cherry | natural cherry juice concentrate |
| Watermelon | natural watermelon juice concentrate |
| Raspberry Iced tea | brewed black tea extract, natural raspberry juice concentrate |
| Blood Orange Surge | natural flavors |
How much alcohol do White Claw products have?
Their hard sparkling water and the alcoholic iced tea contain 5% alcohol. Their hard seltzer surge line has 8% alcohol.
What kind of alcohol is in White Claw beverages?
If you look into the ingredient list of their products you can see that it just says the word alcohol, and that does not tell you a lot. And, some people describe its taste as “light beer”. However, on their FAQs page, they mention that they use a gluten free alcohol base. And also, that their beverages do not contain hops, which manufacturers use in the production of beer. Therefore, these products can not be classified as beer.
So, the answer to this question is that we do not know exactly what kind of alcohol these beverages have. The manufacturers keep their recipes a secret. However, here is a list of gluten free alcoholic beverages that may be in these products- bourbon, gin, whisky, tequila, vodka, rum, cognac, and brandy.
Can You Drink White Claw On Keto Diet?
As you can see from the table with nutritional information, in one can or 12 oz these beverages contain 100 calories for the alcoholic tea, and sparkling water, and 160 calories for the surge. They contain 0 protein, fat, or fiber, and they only have 1 or 2 grams of net carbs.
However, 2 grams of carbs are equal to 8 calories. So, where do the other 92 calories come from? They come from the alcohol itself. Even though alcohol is not a nutrient, it does provide energy. It has 7 calories per 1 gram, which comes second to the number of calories from 1 gram of fat.
Also, the sugar they use is cane sugar, which is basically sucrose and has a high glycemic index. This means that it raises blood sugar fast after consumption. Additionally, these beverages contain preservatives, natural flavors, and natural concentrates, which are usually avoided on the strict keto diet.
So, let’s answer the question. Can you have White Claw on the keto diet? The answer is NO, you can not if you are on a strict keto diet. While White Claw is keto in terms of net carbs, they do contain alcohol.
Alcohol on the keto diet can be a tricky subject. While its pure form does not contain any carbs, your body burns the alcohol first, then the carbs, and then the fat. So, by drinking alcohol you are adding another step that your body needs to complete until it reaches the fat-burning stage. That is why it is better to avoid it if you are on a strict keto diet.
The non-ketogenic ingredients in these refreshing beverages are natural flavors, natural concentrates, and preservatives.
However, it is understandable if the low carb amount catches your interest. Drinking White Claw is unimaginably tempting. You can enjoy the cold and refreshing can of hard seltzer if you are not on a strict keto diet, and you are okay with having non-ketogenic ingredients.
Where To Buy?
You can find their products in common grocery stores such as Walmart, Walgreens, 7-Eleven, Target and others. You can also order online for pick up or for delivery from your nearby liquor store or convenient store.
Bottom Line:
They are not STRICTLY keto-friendly. However, if you are on a low-carb diet and do not follow a strict keto diet, you can have them.
This flavor has 100 calories and 2 grams of net carbs
If you’re not on a strict diet plan, it’s ok to have 1 or 2 cans every now and then.
Yes it has cane sugar.
Conclusion
This brand of delicious, and refreshing alcoholic beverages with White Claw flavors was introduced in 2016. It is manufactured by the Mark Anthony Group. It became extremely popular in 2019 and 2020 because of a viral video that spread on social media sites. People love the beverages so much that their sales grew by almost 250% in just one year.
They offer a variety of fruity flavors. Some of their most popular alcoholic carbonated water flavors are Black Cherry, Mango, Watermelon, Raspberry, and Natural Lime. They also have an alcoholic iced tea line and an alcoholic surge line.
Their products are low-carb, with 1 gram or 2 grams of net carbs per can of 12 oz. However, they contain alcohol, which is generally not recommended for a strict keto diet. The products also have other non-ketogenic ingredients such as preservatives, natural flavors, and concentrates. So, unfortunately, these products are not strictly ketogenic.
However, you can still consume them if you are not strictly following a ketogenic diet or if you are on a low-carb diet.
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