Hard Soda Sweeps The Nation

Soda, that most innocent of American beverages, now packs a punch, and we can't get enough of it.

Hard -- alcoholic -- soda has the beverage industry in a fizzy tizzy.

"We had 50-plus calls a day over the summer about Not Your Father's Root Beer,'' says Dan Nolan, assistant manager of the Spirits Unlimited store on Route 72 in Manahawkin. "We were getting 90 cases a week, and they would be gone by the end of the day. We had to limit people to one (six-pack) a day.'' And that was last summer, now that the name of the game is hard soda, it's here to stay.

Not Your Father's Root Beer, which registered $75 million in sales last year after its launch in June, is the undisputed king of the category, but serious contenders are springing up. There's Best Damn Root Beer and Coney Island Hard Soda and Henry's Hard Soda. Now there's more than one top soda contender, and the warm weather is just going to bring more fizz to the world.

Not Your Father's, in fact, ranked third in all craft beer sales nationwide from January through November, according to one study. Personally my favorite is Jed's Hard Orange Cream Soda.