Central New York’s Newest Craft Beverage Is Made With A Pretty Unique Ingredient

Central New York’s newest craft alcohol beverage seltzer is made from a pretty unique ingredient.

This hard seltzer is made from milk. Yes, milk.

According to Syracuse.com, it’s fermented from whey, a hard-to-dispose-of byproduct created during the process of turning milk into cheese or yogurt.

Whey, or acid whey, is especially plentiful in Upstate New York’s dairy country due to the many large Greek yogurt producers in the region.

This seltzer is called Norwhey Nordic Seltzer. It was created by Sam Alcaine, a Cornell University food science professor, and his partner, cheesemaker Trystan Sandvoss of First Light Creamery in Genesee County. The whey seltzer is produced for Alcaine and Sandvoss at the Meier’s Creek Brewing Co. in Cazenovia.

Norwhey comes in three flavors: Mountain Berry, Glacial Ginger and Solar Citrus. It’s 4% alcohol (a little less than a Budweiser or Miller Lite). It’s also loaded with electrolytes, vitamins and minerals.

“It hits the low-calorie mark (like other commercial hard seltzers) and with the natural electrolytes and vitamins it is a game changer,” said Alcaine, who has been working on the idea for four or five years. “And then it has that secondary benefit with sustainability.”

Meier’s Creek Brewing Co is located just outside the  town of Cazenovia, about 25 miles from downtown Syracuse. All of their brewing and bottling takes place on site, and you can check out their 16-tap taproom, three-season patio, and beer garden.

Peek into the brewing facility through a wall of floor to ceiling windows while tasting the latest release, while enjoying a full variety of elevated American fare lunch and dinner options."

You can learn more online here.