Co-Packing Resources:

What is Seltzer Base?

When you or a consultant builds a seltzer recipe, the main ingredient besides water is a concentrated neutral alcohol base. This base can be brewed from sucrose, in which case the final seltzer will be treated as an IRC Beer, or from a malt-based sugar, which is one part of qualifying the product as a TTB Beer. (Click to learn about the difference.)

Producing a high-quality seltzer base is not trivial, as the goal is to create a colorless, flavorless, and odorless liquid with a high alcohol level, and without going through distillation.

Some large suppliers will produce their own seltzer base, though there are many plants who source their base from a third-party manufacturer. Transfers in bond between plants were made possible by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and a resulting 2018 TTB Procedure governing the requirements. The seltzer and contract brewing industry rapidly pivoted to utilize the new rules surrounding brewery-to-brewery transfers and specialize into producers and blending/co-packing businesses.

Seltzer base liquids are typically produced around 13-14% alcohol by volume, which is then diluted by the co-packer to your target ABV during blending. (Sidebar: 14% ABV is the upper limit of alcohol tolerance for many yeast strains.) Your co-packer should be calculating the dilution rate on every batch as the base ABV will vary from batch to batch. In this calculation, your copacker should also be taking into account the alcohol content of other ingredients, particularly your flavors.

Blending Calculator Request

At The Nations, we have developed a blending calculator for use in seltzer production. Submit the contact form and we will email a copy of the recipe blending calculator to you. We hope this is will be a valuable tool for modeling your production costs, for both startup and established brands.

At The Nations, we have years of experience blending and packaging seltzers and we would be happy to discuss your project, whether you are starting a new brand or looking for additional production capacity.

This article, calculator, and any feedback during your project are guidance based on our experience with TTB formula and label approval, but they are not a substitute for advice from an attorney familiar with your state and Federal alcohol regulations.