BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Two beverage industry giants, PepsiCo and Boston Beer, have announced a partnership to create an alcoholic Mountain Dew drink.
The beverage, called Hard Mtn Dew, will be produced by Boston Beer, the fourth-largest brewery in the United States. PepsiCo will be tasked with selling, delivering and marketing the product.
“For 80 years MTN DEW has challenged the status quo, bringing bold flavors and unmatched beverage innovation to millions of fans,” said Kirk Tanner, CEO of PepsiCo Beverages North America, in a press release issued this week. “The Boston Beer Company partnership combines two recognized leaders in our respective industries to address the changing tastes of drinkers and we are thrilled at the opportunity to create HARD MTN DEW that maintains the bold, citrus flavor fans know and expect.”
Hard Mtn Dew will contain 5% alcohol by volume (ABV), consistent with other flavored malt beverage (FMB) offerings including hard seltzers, sodas and lemonades. Beer typically contains 4-6% ABV, while wine averages 5.5-16%.
Hard Mtn Dew is expected to make its way to shelves in early 2022.
PepsiCo’s biggest competitor and market leader, Coca-Cola, announced it would create Topo Chico Hard Seltzer in October. The drink will be produced through a partnership with Molson Coors Beverage.
