Suntory Strawberry -196 Vodka Seltzer at Yankee Stadium April 7, 2026

Welcome everyone from Yankee Stadium. This is my first game of the 2026 season. While I'm not drinking today, my daughter Jordan got herself a tall can of the Suntory Strawberry -196.

This particular beverage made in Japan and is how its made is interesting. This is how the -196 website describes their process:

-196, pronounced “Minus One Nine Six”, is a vodka seltzer that gets its name from the technology used to extract flavor from whole fruit...It starts with real, whole lemons that are frozen at -196 degrees Celsius, or -320 degrees Fahrenheit, using a proprietary Japanese process to lock in whole fruit flavor, then infused with premium vodka to bring forward a bold, fruit-forward flavor & aroma.

While I said I wasn't drinking today, I did sneak in a sip. I have to say that I kind of expected a bit more of a synthetic taste. But surprisingly it didn't. And it wasn't overly sweet. At 5.5% ALC/VOL, 710ml/24 ounces, the beverage has 3g of sugar per 12oz serving. The can in total of 6g of sugar. Which I guess is an ok amount...if you just have one. Those sugar grams can add up quickly.

While I was finishing the postcard, Jordan ended up getting herself a second one. This one was the Strawberry Pineapple Vodka Seltzer. Once again I had a sip and this one wasn't as good as the plain Strawberry. The pineapple flavor was much more prevalent than the strawberry, lending it a mote tarter flavor. 

As a meal, Yankee Stadium is trying to up their food game. While I didn't get any of the new offerings, I got myself an O.G. Chicken Sando from FUKU. Can't go wrong with this chicken sandwich.

My next post concerning the effects of two cans of Samuel Adams Summer Ale had on my blood sugar the other day.

Until Then May You Have Some Happy, Safe and Responsible Drinking,

SiscoVanilla
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Sugar and Non Alcoholic Beer April 2, 2026

As a former bartender, I last worked behind the bar at a time when the non-alcoholic beer trend was starting to hit its stride. Known as NA or 0.0% beer, these kind of beers run the gamut from lagers, to IPA, to dark beers and everything in between. It got me thinking, do NA beers have more or less sugar than their alcohol full versions. The answer is definitely interesting. 

The article Is Non-Alcoholic Beer Bad For You? dated December 19, 2023 from DayDrinker.com describes it as so:

Yes, they often contain sugar. But why do non-alcoholic beers have more sugar than traditional beers? In traditional beers, sugar is converted into alcohol through the fermentation process, which results in a zero-sugar product (unless sugar is added back in). However, with non-alcoholic beers, taste is often lost through the process of dealcoholisation which means sugar needs to be added back in at the end to improve its quality.

They also mention that NA beers tend to have higher carbohydrate numbers because of the extra sugar. 

I'm not very versed in the NA brands. I've tested a few in the past and haven't been too impressed by them.  One brand that I can say that I've had and actually like is the Athletic Brewery Co. offerings. I've had their Upside Dawn Golden NA beer in the past. I'll keep an eye out for some of the macro brewery offerings. 

I recommend that you check out The BBC Radio 4 Sliced Bread program has the article and audio version of the article Is no and low-alcohol beer better for you than a regular pint? Dated May 18, 2023.

Also check out the article How Much Sugar Does Alcohol Free Beer Have? From the Impossibrew.co.uk website. The article notes that while some of the NA beers have low sugar levels, some of them compensate for the loss in flavor by adding sugars. 

As stated in prior posts, as I'll post links and pics as I come them.

Until Then May You Have Some Happy, Safe and Responsible Drinking, 

SiscoVanilla

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