Is C4 Making A (Non-Alcoholic) Beer-Flavored Energy Drink?

C4 is no stranger to wild energy drink flavors. The brand has gone well beyond the usual fruit punch and lemonade territory, but this new flavor could be one of its wildest ones yet.

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C4 appears to be getting “All Hopped Up” with a new beer-inspired energy drink. Yes, beer. The rumored flavor is designed to have the crisp taste of a light beer with a citrus twist. There is one very important detail, though: this is an energy drink, not an alcoholic beer.

C4 Is Getting “All Hopped Up”

C4 appears to be working on something called All Hopped Up, which is inspired by light beer, with citrus notes and a serious caffeine kick. There is no traditional beer involved, though. 

The contain less than 0.1% ABV from flavor ingredients. That tiny amount comes from the flavoring ingredients rather than from brewing an alcoholic beer. 

The drink is also zero sugar, which puts it much closer to C4’s existing energy drink lineup than a regular beer.

The Caffeine Level Is Very C4

Anyone expecting All Hopped Up to be a mellow sparkling beverage may want to look at the caffeine number first. It contains 200 milligrams of caffeine per 16-ounce can. That is right in line with the caffeine level found in several existing C4 Energy drinks. 

This makes this new flavor really wild. Hop water is already a thing. Caffeinated energy drinks are obviously a thing. C4 seems to be asking what happens when the two ideas get mashed together.

There are already a few drinks that have tried something similar. Fair State Brewing’s Hop Water Plus, for example, combines hop flavor with caffeine and contains 50 milligrams of caffeine. C4’s 200 milligrams would be four times that amount.

Beer-Inspired Drinks Are Already Having A Moment

Again, C4 isn’t the first beverage brand to borrow flavors from the beer world without making an alcoholic beer. As mentioned above, Hop water has grown into its own little category, giving drinkers the citrusy, floral and sometimes slightly bitter flavors associated with hops without the alcohol.

Sierra Nevada’s Hop Splash is one example. It is a sparkling hop water made with Citra and Amarillo hops, with citrus and stone-fruit notes. The brewery lists it at 0.0% ABV.

Go Brewing also sells hop-infused water with zero alcohol, zero sugar, and zero calories, using hops to create a beer-like flavor without actually making beer.

Six In A Pack

Although it’s out of stock on Amazon at the moment,  All Hopped Up comes in a six-pack, and takes C4 into completely new territory.

Someone looking for a non-alcoholic drink with a beer-like flavor already has plenty of options. Someone looking for a 200-milligram caffeine boost has plenty of energy drinks to choose from. C4’s reported idea is to put those two worlds together.