Quick Answer
Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze contains approximately 34 grams of sugar per 12 fl oz bottle. This amounts to about 8.5 teaspoons of added sugar. The sugar content comes from added cane sugar as well as naturally occurring sugars from fruit juices used to flavor the beverage.
Nutrition Facts
Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze has the following nutrition facts per 12 fl oz bottle (nutrition facts from mikeshard.com):
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 220 |
| Carbohydrates | 34 g |
| Sugars | 34 g |
As you can see, a 12 oz bottle of Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze contains 34 grams of sugar, which accounts for a significant portion of the total carbohydrates.
Sugar Content Analysis
To put the 34 grams of sugar per bottle into perspective, here are some key facts:
- 34 grams of sugar is equal to about 8.5 teaspoons of granulated white sugar.
- The American Heart Association recommends adult women consume no more than 25 grams of added sugar per day and adult men consume no more than 36 grams.
- One bottle of Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze contains more than the daily recommended limit of added sugars for adult women.
- There are approximately 4 calories per gram of sugar. So the 34 grams of sugar in Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze contributes about 136 calories, which is over half the total 220 calories per bottle.
Clearly, a significant portion of the calories in Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze come directly from added sugars. Consuming multiple bottles in one sitting would easily exceed the recommended daily limits on added sugar intake.
Ingredients
To understand where all the sugar in Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze comes from, let’s take a look at the ingredients list:
- Carbonated water
- Cane sugar
- Grape juice concentrate
- Natural flavors
- Blueberry juice concentrate
- Ascorbic acid
- Citric acid
- Sodium citrate
- Potassium sorbate
- Potassium benzoate
- Sucralose
- Red 40
The primary sources of sugar are the added cane sugar and the grape and blueberry juice concentrates. While fruits naturally contain sugars, juicing them concentrates all the natural sugars while removing the beneficial fiber. So fruit juice concentrates effectively act as added sugars.
Together, the added cane sugar and fruit juice concentrates contribute to the high sugar content of 34 grams per 12 oz bottle.
Sugar Content Compared to Other Mike’s Flavors
Mike’s Hard Lemonade comes in a variety of flavors, each with slightly different sugar contents. Here’s how the sugar content of Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze compares to other popular Mike’s flavors (nutrition facts from mikeshard.com):
| Mike’s Flavor | Sugar per 12 oz |
|---|---|
| Mike’s Hard Lemonade | 32g |
| Mike’s Harder Lemonade | 38g |
| Mike’s Harder Strawberry | 39g |
| Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze | 34g |
Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze has a similar amount of sugar as the original Mike’s Hard Lemonade and moderately less sugar than the Strawberry and Harder Lemonade flavors. But they all contain high amounts of added sugar.
Sugar Content of Other Popular Flavored Malt Beverages
To put the sugar content of Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze in context, here is how it compares to some other popular flavored malt beverages:
| Beverage (12 oz serving) | Total Sugars |
|---|---|
| Smirnoff Ice | 30g |
| Bud Light Strawberry Lemonade | 32g |
| White Claw Black Cherry | 2g |
| Truly Lemonade | 4g |
| Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze | 34g |
Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze has significantly more sugar than popular low-calorie spiked seltzers like White Claw and Truly. It also has moderately more sugar than other flavored malt beverages like Bud Light Strawberry Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice.
So while Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze is on par with most flavored malt beverages, it contains far more added sugar than low-calorie spiked seltzer options.
Daily Value Analysis
Looking at the sugar content in Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze as a percentage of the daily value can also put it into perspective:
- The daily value for total carbohydrates is 275g per day.
- Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze contains 34g of total carbohydrates, which is 12% of the daily value.
- The daily value for sugars is 50g per day.
- Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze contains 34g of sugars, which is a whopping 68% of the daily value for sugars!
Consuming a single 12 oz bottle of Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze provides over two-thirds the daily value for sugar intake. And if you drink two bottles, you’ve exceeded the recommended daily sugar intake.
This daily value analysis reiterates that the sugar content in Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze is very high, especially in the context of a 2000 calorie diet.
Sugar Content of Mike’s Blue Freeze vs Beer
Since Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze is considered a flavored malt beverage, it’s interesting to compare its sugar content to traditional beer:
| Beverage (12 oz serving) | Total Sugars |
|---|---|
| Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze | 34g |
| Budweiser | 6g |
| Miller Lite | 3g |
| Guinness | 14g |
As shown above, regular beers like Budweiser and Miller Lite contain only a fraction of the sugar found in Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze. While more sugary beers like Guinness contain moderate amounts of sugar, none come anywhere close to the whopping 34 grams in Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze.
So Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze has 5-10 times more sugar than typical full-strength and light beers. Clearly, the added fruit juices and flavorings in Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze are responsible for boosting its sugar content far beyond normal beer levels.
Sugar Content of Mike’s vs Other Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
Finally, it’s useful to compare the sugar content of Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze to other common sugar-sweetened beverages. Here’s how it stacks up against some popular sugary drinks (nutrition data from CalorieKing):
| Beverage (12 oz serving) | Total Sugars |
|---|---|
| Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze | 34g |
| Coca Cola | 39g |
| Gatorade | 21g |
| Red Bull | 27g |
| Starbucks Frappuccino | 45g |
While Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze doesn’t quite reach the sugar levels of sodas like Coke or heavily sweetened coffee drinks like Frappuccinos, it contains significantly more sugar than most other flavored malt beverages.
Amongst popular sugary drinks, Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze is certainly on the high end of added sugars.
Conclusion
In summary, Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze contains a very high amount of added sugars, with 34 grams per 12 oz bottle. This is equal to over 8 teaspoons of sugar and accounts for over two-thirds the daily value for sugar intake.
The high sugar content comes primarily from added cane sugar as well as concentrated fruit juices used for flavoring. When compared to various beers, other flavored malt beverages, and sugary soft drinks, Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze is on the higher end for added sugar levels.
So if you are concerned about sugar intake, it would be wise to moderate your consumption of Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze or opt for low-calorie spiked seltzer alternatives that are much lower in sugars. As with any sugary beverage, enjoy Mike’s Hard Blue Freeze in moderation as part of an overall healthy diet.
