HOP WTR’s Blood Orange Sparkling Water Is Bloody Good

If you’re a gym rat (or just someone working on their fitness), it can often feel like “healthy” and “tasty” are polar opposites. After all, a slice of cheesecake is tasty as all get out, but it doesn’t necessarily have the best macros for your nutrition goals.

When it comes to your beverages of choice, this problem is just as relevant: A cold, crisp, refreshing beer definitely hits the spot at a barbecue or during beach season, but at the cost of too many unwanted calories and carbohydrates. 

Luckily, HOP WTR wants you to enjoy the best of both worlds — the company’s line of zero-calorie, hop-infused sparkling waters bridges the gap between quenching your thirst in a tasty way and staying on track with your nutritional goals. And out of all their diverse flavoring options, nothing goes down like HOP WTR Blood Orange.

HOP WTR Blood Orange is a tantalizing, zesty blend of citrus and other flavors that is as breezy on the palate as it is on your macros. And, as a bonus, you don’t need to break your Sober October streak every time you crack open a can. 

BarBend has teamed up with HOP WTR to bring you a month full of fall-inspired freshness by putting each flavor to the test. In the spooky spirit of Halloween, this week we’re guzzling down Blood Orange.

Tasting HOP WTR Blood Orange

Blood orange may be floral and tart, but that hardly means it’s a summer-only flavor. HOP WTR’s Blood Orange sparkling beverage is scarily good no matter what month you’re in. Pull the mask off and you’ll find a surprisingly fitness-friendly nutritional profile underneath as well.

Aroma

For maximum freshness, we strongly recommend refrigerating HOP WTR. Pull a can from the fridge and pop it open and you’re immediately met with a sensory blitz of fizzy sweetness (and the aural experience of popping the tab doesn’t hurt, either).

Blood Orange contains notes of, well, orange of course, but also hints of piney hops you’d find in a session IPA. Opening a can hits with the same sensory satisfaction as the crunch of stepping over crumpled leaves on a crisp fall day.

Appearance

“Blood” oranges get their namesake from polyphenol pigments known as anthocyanins found in the body of the fruit, and it’s clear that HOP WTR took inspiration from the source when designing the canister.

Small colonies of carbonation cling to the interior of the glass as you pour, and while Blood Orange comes out crystal clear, it could easily pass for a low-calorie IPA or even ginger ale once in a glass.

HOP WTR Blood Orange is a non-alcoholic beverage. But at a glance, you wouldn’t know that. The can is colorful and vibrant and would fit in alongside any shelf of bespoke brewery brands. Grab a can for your next sober social outing and you’ll blend in just as well. FOMO? Nowhere to be found.

Taste

Take a sip of HOP WTR Blood Orange poured into a glass over ice and you’d swear on your life there was a fresh slice of orange garnishing the glass. Straight from the can? Same deal.

Each sip gives you a little — but not too much — injection of citrusy flavor and the smallest bite of tartness. But it never insists that you chug it down quickly. In fact, the final sip is just as tasty as the first.

The Benefits of HOP WTR

HOP WTR Blood Orange has a lot going for it, but let’s face facts: If you’re reaching for a can, it’s probably not just because you’re hooked on the flavor (though we wouldn’t blame you).

HOP WTR does its song and dance just as well as any alcoholic beer out there, but doesn’t contain a single gram of ethanol. This makes it a viable substitute during Sober October or, heck, any other instance during which you’d like to abstain from the real thing.

But the benefits don’t end there. HOP WTR tactically swapped out the booze for healthful, mood-boosting ingredients: ashwagandha and the amino acid L-theanine.

Studies have shown time and time again that ashwagandha has some compelling effects on enhancing mood and mindstate: “…full-spectrum Ashwagandha root extract safely and effectively improves an individual’s resistance towards stress and thereby improves self-assessed quality of life.” (1)

Amino acids aren’t just good for building muscle after a hard workout. You’d typically find L-theanine in green tea, but HOP WTR wisely included it in the formulation of Blood Orange. Studies show that L-theanine has beneficial effects on both cognition and attentiveness, (2) helping you stay in the pocket socially and be the life of the party without the hangover that so often follows.

Hop to It

Fall may be in full swing, but you can relive the best days of summer (or embrace the crispness of the season) with a can of HOP WTR Blood Orange. Blood Orange is heavy on the flavor and texture and light on just about everything else — zero calories, zero carbs, and, most importantly, not a single drop of alcohol along the way.

Head here to learn more about HOP WTR.

References

1. Chandrasekhar, K., Kapoor, J., & Anishetty, S. (2012). A prospective, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of safety and efficacy of a high-concentration full-spectrum extract of ashwagandha root in reducing stress and anxiety in adults. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 34(3), 255–262. 
2. Baba Y, Inagaki S, Nakagawa S, Kaneko T, Kobayashi M, Takihara T. Effects of l-Theanine on Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Subjects: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study. J Med Food. 2021 Apr;24(4):333-341. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2020.4803. Epub 2021 Mar 22. PMID: 33751906; PMCID: PMC8080935.

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