If what bothers you about beer is the bubbles, there are ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages without carbonation. In a can, the newest option in Mexico is hard tea: iced tea with alcohol, still, 4% to 5%. Fitzer Hard Iced Tea is the first one made in the country.
Why bubbles make you feel bloated
The bubbles in beer and soda are carbon dioxide. In your stomach the gas is released and takes up space: that's why by the third beer you feel full even if you haven't eaten. It's not the alcohol, it's the volume of gas.
Alcoholic options without bubbles
| Drink | Bubbles | Approx. alcohol | Ready to drink |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard tea (Fitzer Hard Iced Tea) | Still | 4.0–5.0% | Yes, in a can |
| Red or white wine | Still | 12–14% | Yes, but it's poured |
| Spirits neat or on the rocks | Still | 35–40% | Yes |
| Spirits with juice | Still | Varies | Needs mixing |
| Beer / hard seltzer | Carbonated | 4–5% | Yes |
If you want something low in alcohol that drinks like a beer but without bubbles, hard tea sits right in the middle.
What hard tea is
Iced tea with alcohol, black tea flavor with fruit, still and ready to drink. In the US it's the fastest-growing ready-to-drink category. What hard tea is, in depth.
- Fitzer Hard Iced Tea Peach: 5.0%, 473 ml, more body and more flavor.
- Fitzer Hard Iced Tea Lemon Light: 4.0%, 473 ml, 0 g sugar.
When a still drink makes sense
- The cookout. You eat and drink for hours; without bubbles the fourth feels like the first.
- Serious heat. A cold iced tea goes down easier than something fizzy in the sun.
- The long afternoon. Day drinking, pool, terrace, pre-game.
And if I do want bubbles?
Then hard seltzer: mineral water with alcohol, light, 0 g sugar and with electrolytes. Hard tea vs. hard seltzer.
Quick questions
Do still drinks get you drunk faster? Not gram for gram. But they go down easier, so count cans.
Where can I buy still hard tea in Mexico? At OXXO (north), H-E-B (all stores), Vinoteca (Monterrey and Mexico City) and Amazon Mexico. Full list.
Fitzer Hard Iced Tea: black tea flavor, still, triple-distilled alcohol, 473 ml. Drink responsibly. See the flavors.