Monster Energy The Beast Unleashed™ Hard Seltzer

Most people know exactly how they feel about energy drinks. You love them and can’t get enough. Or, you hate them (and have to plug your nose so you can still get that sweet energy boost). Either way, if you’re feeling wild and reckless at the bar, you might throw caution to the wind and order one mixed with your favorite vodka. Energy drinks are a convenience store staple, and there are a few top brands that rise above the competition. Monster Energy is one of the top-selling brands in the energy drink category, second only to Red Bull by an arguably small margin. Monster recently announced that they’re venturing into a new phase of their product catalog. As of late 2022, Monster Energy will be launching a line of malt beverages called The Beast Unleashed™.

Monster Energy Moves Beyond Energy Drinks

This announcement comes in the wake of Monster Energy purchasing CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective LLC last January. The craft beverage company sold several malt-based alcoholic beverage brands to Monster. This included the popular Wild Basin Hard Seltzer. The brand takes pride in the fact that Wild Basin was the “first nationally distributed craft hard seltzer.” In a January 2022 press release, Monster’s Vice Chairman Hilton Schlosberg explained their purchase as the “springboard” they intended to use to join the adult beverage industry. He added, “The acquisition will provide us with a fully in-place infrastructure, including people, distribution and licenses, along with alcoholic beverage development expertise and manufacturing capabilities in this industry.”

Is it Still an Energy Drink?

We think it’s safe to say that there is one question on all of our minds. Will The Beast Unleashed™ be an energy drink as well as an alcoholic beverage? Monster, unfortunately, has not been forthcoming on this point. However, in 2010, the FDA all but banned caffeine in alcoholic beverages, calling it an unsafe additive. This decision prompted brands such as Four Loko, Joose, Sparks, and Tilt to change their recipes to not include caffeine, guarana, and taurine. However, there are a few hard seltzer brands currently on the market that do include trace amounts of caffeine, including Truly Iced Tea and White Claw Refrshr™ Iced Tea. So, while we do not yet know the ingredients of The Beast Unleashed™, it’s reasonably safe to predict that it will not include anything more than trace amounts of caffeine, guarana, and taurine (if any).

What We Know About The Beast Unleashed™

While the buzz around The Beast Unleashed™ has a lot of excitement and very little information, we do know a few facts about the upcoming launch. In Monster Beverage Reports 2022 Second Quarter Financial Results, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer Rodney C. Sacks says, “We are planning to launch our first flavored malt beverage alcohol product leveraging Monster’s brand equity late in the 2022 fourth quarter.” Meaning, we might see these malt beverages hit shelves as soon as October 2022.

The announcement also states that these drinks will come in four flavors and have an alcohol content of 6% alcohol by volume (ABV). The Beast Unleashed™ flavors will be available in 16-ounce single-serve cans and in flavor variety packs of 12-ounce “sleek” cans.

Want to find your perfect hard seltzer or canned cocktail? Try our new Seltzer Finder! You can search by flavor, ABV, carbs, and more to discover your ideal beverage.