Mike's Hard Lemonade
Vancouver, Canada
A 5% malt beverage that uses barley and a filtration step it says removes gluten. No official nutrition panel could be found, so none is shown.
- Congeners
- Low
- Histamines
- Very Low
- Polyphenols
- Very Low
- Sulfites
- Very Low
- Tannins
- Very Low
- Sugar
- High
- Additives
- Moderate
In its favor
- ✓Around 5% strength
What to watch
- !Malt base from barley
- !The company's own labelling says the gluten content cannot be verified
- !No official nutrition panel
Factor by factor
Congeners Low ▾
Byproducts of fermentation (methanol, acetaldehyde, fusel alcohols). Strongly linked to hangover severity; darker, less-distilled spirits carry more.
Histamines Very Low ▾
Produced by bacteria during fermentation/aging. Trigger flushing, headaches, congestion in sensitive drinkers. High in red wine, beer, aged spirits.
Polyphenols Very Low ▾
Plant compounds with antioxidant activity. Slightly protective at low doses but at high concentrations may worsen hangover via tannin/quercetin reactions.
Sulfites Very Low ▾
Preservatives (SO₂) added to wine and some beers. Common trigger of headaches, asthma, and allergic-type reactions.
Tannins Very Low ▾
Astringent polyphenols from skins, seeds, barrels. Bind proteins, slow alcohol clearance, and aggravate dehydration-style symptoms.
Sugar High ▾
Residual sugar amplifies hangover via blood-sugar swings and dehydration. Liqueurs and cocktails are the main offenders.
Additives Moderate ▾
Colorants, flavorings, glycerin, propylene glycol, sorbates. Cheap spirits and ready-to-drinks often hide these in trade-secret formulas.
Mike’s Hard Lemonade is a malt beverage, so the alcohol is fermented from a barley malt base. The company carries a “crafted to remove gluten” seal, but its labelling says the gluten content cannot be verified and the product may contain gluten, so it is marked as not gluten-free here.
Third-party databases put a bottle at 220 to 228 calories with about 33g of carbohydrate, but without an official panel those are not shown as figures on this page.
Mike's Hard Lemonade questions
What alcohol is in Mike's Hard Lemonade? ▾
Mike's Hard Lemonade is a malt beverage: its alcohol comes from fermented malted barley, brewed like a beer rather than spiked with a spirit. It is 5% ABV, close to a standard beer.
Is Mike's Hard Lemonade gluten-free? ▾
No. Mike's Hard Lemonade is a malt beverage brewed from barley and never distilled, so the gluten stays in the can. It is not safe for coeliacs; a seltzer fermented from cane sugar or built on vodka avoids it.
Does Mike's Hard Lemonade give you a bad hangover? ▾
Mike's Hard Lemonade scores 5/10 on the SpiritFacts Hangover Index, against 3/10 for hard seltzer & rtd overall. The main drivers are its sugar.