Review: Happy Dad Hard Seltzer
Happy Dad Hard Seltzer was founded June 2021 by Sam Shahidi, John Shahidi, and Kyle Forgeard. They currently produce 8 different flavors. We are going to review the 5 pictured today. If we like Happy Dad we will start our search for Happy Dad Wild Cherry, Fruit Punch, and Grape. Happy Dad weighs in with 100 calories and 2 carbs and is lightly carbonated. It appears to be made from a sugar alcohol base with carbonated water natural flavors and cane sugar. Lets get started.
Happy Dad Banana: I decided to start with their newest flavor because it is their newest flavor and because banana is a flavor I typically enjoy and have never experienced in a hard seltzer. The aroma leads with fresh banana. The first thing I notice is this is lightly carbonated. The flavor enters with fresh banana but it is immediately challenged with carbon seltzer. I was hoping since this was lightly carbonated there would be less of a carbon seltzer taste. It fades with real ripe banana but finishes with carbon seltzer and banana peel. This has all the flavor without the added sweetness of a seltzer I would put on the A list if they could only reduce the carbon seltzer taste throughout.
Grade: B+
Happy Dad Lemon Lime: After banana I decided to just randomly select a can from my refrigerator and Lemon Lime won. The aroma leads with old school 7Up aka Sprite. The lemon lime soda entry is also met with some carbon seltzer resistance but maybe not as much as the banana. It fades with lemon lime soda flavor and finishes with lemon peel and burnt carbon seltzer taste.
Grade: B
Happy Dad Pineapple: The aroma leads with grilled pineapple as some of the burnt carbon seltzer bleeds through. The sweet pineapple entry is somewhere between fresh sliced and canned but is blocked from reaching its flavor peak once again by a carbon seltzer wall. It fades with canned pineapple flavor and finishes with grapefruit peel, tangy pineapple, and carbon seltzer taste.
Grade: B-
Happy Dad Watermelon: The aroma leads with Jolly Rancher candy watermelon. The Jolly Rancher watermelon candy entry is not candy sweet but it does have the same flavor DNA from my childhoods favorite Jolly Rancher Candy variety. Maybe because I am sampling these one after another or maybe because they did a better job burying the carbon seltzer taste the watermelon flavor covers up most of the carbon seltzer taste at entry. It fades with creamy bright red watermelon and finishes with sour watermelon gummy and burnt carbon seltzer taste.
Grade: B+
Happy Mom Raspberry: This formula was chosen by a panel of hard seltzer loving moms. The aroma leads with fresh raspberry and coconut cream pie. The sweet raspberry entry builds to a raspberry and cream peak. It fades with raspberry froyo and finishes with coconut cream softened sour raspberry and mild carbon seltzer taste. Happy Dad needs to call back this same group of Mom’s when they start developing their next flavor. Happy Mom Raspberry is the best Happy Dad/Mom flavor.
Grade: A
Made in Santa Ana California
5% Alcohol
100 Calories
2 Carbs
1G Sugar