Truly Extra Hard Seltzer has quickly become one of the most popular hard seltzers on the market. With fun flavors like pineapple, blueberry, and mango, Truly offers a tasty and refreshing adult beverage. But many health-conscious consumers want to know – how much sugar does Truly Extra contain?
What is Truly Extra Hard Seltzer?
Truly Extra Hard Seltzer is an alcoholic sparkling water beverage made by the Boston Beer Company, the makers of Samuel Adams beer. It contains alcohol, carbonated water, natural flavors, and sweeteners. Truly Extra has higher alcohol content at 8% ABV compared to regular Truly seltzers which are around 5% ABV.
Truly Extra comes in a variety of fruit flavors like pineapple, blueberry, mango, lemon, and black cherry. The seltzers are sweetened with a blend of cane sugar and stevia leaf extract to provide sweetness while keeping calories and carbs low.
Nutrition Facts for Truly Extra
Here are the nutrition facts for a 12 oz serving of Truly Extra Hard Seltzer:
| Calories | 100 |
| Total Fat | 0 g |
| Sodium | 0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 2 g |
| Protein | 0 g |
As you can see, Truly Extra is low in calories, fat, sodium, protein and carbs. But how much sugar is in each can?
Sugar Content of Truly Extra
According to the nutrition label, Truly Extra contains 1g of sugar per 12 oz serving. This sugar comes from a blend of cane sugar and stevia used to sweeten the seltzer.
To put this in perspective, here is how Truly Extra’s sugar content compares to other popular seltzers:
| Beverage (12 oz serving) | Sugar (g) |
| Truly Extra | 1 |
| White Claw | 2 |
| High Noon | 1 |
| Bon & Viv | 1 |
As you can see, with only 1g of sugar per serving, Truly Extra is one of the lowest sugar spiked seltzers available.
How Does Truly Extra Achieve a Low Sugar Content?
Most hard seltzers use a combination of cane sugar and fruit juice concentrates to provide sweetness and flavor. The fruit juice concentrates add a lot of natural sugars.
Truly Extra instead uses a blend of cane sugar and stevia. Stevia is a zero calorie natural sweetener extracted from Stevia plant leaves. Using stevia allows Truly Extra to provide sweetness with minimal added sugars.
The addition of stevia instead of fruit juice is how Truly Extra achieves only 1g of sugar per serving. This is less than many competing seltzer brands that use juice concentrates and have 2g or more sugar per serving.
Is 1g of Sugar in Truly Extra Considered Low?
Yes, Truly Extra’s 1g of sugar per 12oz can is considered very low, especially for a flavored alcoholic beverage. Here is how it compares to the daily recommended limits for added sugars:
- World Health Organization (WHO): 25g per day for women, 36g for men
- American Heart Association (AHA): 24g per day for women, 36g for men
- USDA: 50g per day for a 2000 calorie diet
One 12oz can of Truly Extra contains just 1g sugar, or approximately 2-4% of these daily recommendations. Consuming a single Truly Extra would have minimal impact on sugar intake.
Also, since Truly Extra uses a blend of cane sugar and stevia instead of high fructose corn syrup, it is considered a source of more natural sugar.
How Many Carbs are in Truly Extra?
Each 12oz serving of Truly Extra contains 2g of carbohydrates, which comes mostly from the added cane sugar. Since cane sugar is about 99.9% sucrose, which is a carbohydrate, the 1g of sugar accounts for most of the 2g carbs.
With 2g of net carbs, Truly Extra can be considered low-carb friendly. It contains far fewer carbs than beers (10-15g per serving typically) and many other alcoholic drinks.
Does Truly Extra Have Artificial Sweeteners?
No, Truly Extra does not contain any artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, or acesulfame potassium. The seltzer achieves its sweetness through a blend of cane sugar and stevia leaf extract.
Stevia leaf extract is considered a natural non-nutritive (zero calorie) sweetener. Truly uses purified stevia extract called Reb-A which contains sweet tasting steviol glycosides extracted from the Stevia rebaudiana plant. Since stevia comes from a plant, it is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and not an artificial sweetener.
Is Truly Keto-Friendly?
With only 2g net carbs and no artificial sweeteners, Truly Extra can fit into a keto diet. Most keto diet plans recommend limiting net carbs to 20-50g per day.
So with one Truly Extra can containing 2g net carbs, you can comfortably drink several Truly’s per day and remain in ketosis. It provides a keto-friendly alcohol option compared to beer, wine, and cocktails which can contain 15g+ carbs per serving.
Is Truly Extra Gluten-Free?
Yes, Truly Extra Hard Seltzer is certified gluten-free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO). It is brewed from cane sugar, seltzer water, natural flavors and stevia without any grains containing gluten.
This makes Truly a good alcoholic beverage choice for anyone following a gluten-free diet due to celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
Is There Sugar in All Truly Flavors?
Yes, all flavors of Truly Extra Hard Seltzer contain 1g of sugar per 12oz serving. The sugar blend of cane sugar & stevia leaf extract is used in their pineapple, mango, lemon, blueberry, and black cherry flavors to provide sweetness.
So you can choose any Truly Extra flavor based on taste preferences without having to worry about differences in sugar content.
Can Diabetics Drink Truly Extra?
In moderation, most diabetics can enjoy Truly Extra as the occasional alcoholic treat. With only 1g sugar and 2g carbs per can, a single Truly Extra has minimal impact on blood sugar levels.
As always, diabetics should monitor their blood sugar closely when consuming alcohol and limit themselves to 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men.
Is Truly Extra Bad For You?
Truly Extra does contain alcohol, which in excess amounts can be unhealthy. However, in moderation Truly Extra is considered one of the healthier alcoholic beverage options thanks to its low sugar, carbs, calories and no artificial ingredients.
Compared to cocktails, beer, and wine, Truly Extra provides a solid alternative for health conscious drinkers. Just be sure to enjoy Truly’s responsibly and avoid excessive alcohol consumption which can cause health risks.
Conclusion
Truly Extra Hard Seltzer contains only 1g of sugar per 12oz serving, providing sweetness through a blend of cane sugar and stevia. This low sugar content makes it one of the lowest sugar options among major hard seltzer brands like White Claw and High Noon.
With natural ingredients, 2g carbs, and no artificial sweeteners, Truly Extra can fit into diets like keto and is considered a smart alcoholic beverage choice for health-conscious drinkers. Just remember to enjoy Truly’s in moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle.
