{"id":2449997,"date":"2019-10-17T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=314489"},"modified":"2019-10-17T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T22:00:00","slug":"libations-hoptea-is-in-a-glass-of-its-own-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/libations-hoptea-is-in-a-glass-of-its-own-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Libations: HopTea is in a glass of its own"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When a sampler pack of HopTea appears at my doorstep on Sept. 30, I\u2019m conflicted. When would I want to drink iced tea that tastes like craft beer? Why not just sip iced tea alone or go all-in on hop flavor with actual beer?<\/p>\n

Then I realize: \u2019tis the season of Sobertober, the annual offseason month that calls for a welcome booze break.<\/p>\n

HopTea, which launched last spring and has already earned accolades, including the grand prize at the 2018 BevNet New Beverage Showdown and a 2019 Best New Beverage Award from the Natural Foods Expo West, essentially created its own beverage category. It\u2019s brewed in Boulder, using organic tea (green, black, white) and Pacific Northwest hops, which imbue fruity, floral and pleasantly bitter IPA aromas and flavors into a sparkling, nonalcoholic, sugar-free beverage. Even better: unlike craft beer, each 16-ounce can of the original lineup has zero calories.<\/p>\n

I find myself reaching for HopTea in situations where I normally crave beer or blindly consume alcohol. Here\u2019s how I got hooked:<\/p>\n

Oct. 1, 4:30 p.m.:<\/strong> At my desk and wanting to hit happy hour, I crack open a can of intensely flavored HopTea, \u201cThe Really Hoppy One,\u201d brewed with black tea plus Citra and Simcoe hops. Crisp, bitter notes and 70mg of caffeine pull me out of an afternoon slump, and I make a 5:30 p.m. CycleBar class ready to crush it.<\/p>\n

Oct. 2, 1 p.m.:<\/strong> \u201cThe Hoplemousse One,\u201d infused with organic, fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, makes a great post-lunch palate cleanser. While sipping a hoppy beverage mid-workday is mind-melting, I remind myself it\u2019s just fizzy tea.<\/p>\n

Oct. 3:<\/strong> Driving up Independence Pass, I pop open \u201cThe Lemony One,\u201d and taste bright citrus notes, paired brilliantly with views of golden foliage. Since drinking this stuff only feels illegal, I speed along toward Denver without worry.<\/p>\n

Oct. 6:<\/strong> At a Sunday Funday barbecue, I pour \u201cThe Green One,\u201d made with Imperial tea and Mosaic hops, discreetly into a pint glass. (Co-founder Dean Eberhardt suggests a tulip glass to fully capture hop aromas.) Nobody suspects I\u2019m teetoaling, and 60mg of caffeine offers a gentle jolt.<\/p>\n

Oct. 10:<\/strong> Wired at 10 p.m after working a catering gig, I crave a couch chill sesh before bed. Two cans of caffeine-free \u201cThe Calm One\u201d seem to soothe sleeplessness with citrusy chamomile. And no headache the next morning.<\/p>\n

Oct. 12:<\/strong> Showcasing zesty Lemondrop and Simcoe hops, plus 60mg caffeine, a frosty \u201cThe White Tea One\u201d joins me on a post-hike hot-tub soak. I reflect on my October journey, and Eberhardt\u2019s words as an occasionally abstaining beer fanatic ring true: \u201cHopTea,\u201d he says, \u201crecalibrated my relationship to alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n

amandaraewashere@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a sampler pack of HopTea appears at my doorstep on Sept. 30, I\u2019m conflicted. When would I want to drink iced tea that tastes like craft beer? Why not just sip iced tea alone or go all-in on hop flavor with actual beer? Then I realize: \u2019tis the season of Sobertober, the annual offseason […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2449997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-30 04:38:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449997\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}