Aussie brewers prepare to sell hemp beer

Brewers are preparing to capitalise on the nation-wide legalisation of hemp seed for human consumption in Australia.

Banned in Australia since the early 1900s due to its association with cannabis, hemp beer will finally be allowed on shelves from November 12.

First brewer out of the starting gates was Melbourne's East 9th Brewing with its Doss Blockos Hempire Hemp Ale, which will be available throughout Australia next week in kegs to select venues, with plans to expand distribution and product range into packaging by early 2018.

East 9th co-founder Benjamin Cairns told Beer & Brewer: "There’s a great deal of anticipation brewing and it’s a taste that Australians have been deprived of for a century, and now we can all experience it.

“At East 9th we’re always eager to add innovative products to our growing portfolio, which is why we jumped at the opportunity to create Australia’s first hemp beer.

“It’s something that we’ve been keen on bringing to life for years, and now we can finally do it, legally!”

He added to The Weekly Times: "Other countries have gone in leaps and bounds on this, while our government has been dragging their heels ... There’s no THC in the product, but there’s a cheeky charm.”

Doss Blockos uses organic hemp seeds in the brew, resulting in a flavour profile that's “nutty and smoky, with a subtle creamy mouth feel”.

Western Australia craft brewery Rocky Ridge Brewing Co and Vasse Valley hemp farm have also teamed up to create Dr Weedy's Hemp Ale, which will be launched at the Fremantle Beer Festival.
Vasse Valley's Chris Blake told WA Today: "Take beer and hemp, two of my biggest passions, put them together and you have a dream come true. We took a major punt in investing to grow hemp."

Hamish Coates of Rocky Ridge Brewing Co. said he was blown away by how much flavour the seed has given this beer: "After one sniff I knew it had that wow factor I've been looking for."

Tackling the marijuana threat to beer

Hemp beer has already taken off in the United States, where there are at least eight hemp beer products on the market. The legal cannabis business is booming there - making about $US6 billion in annual sales. There are estimates that figure could climb to $US50billion by 2026.     
At the same time, the beer market is under pressure - beer penetration fell 1% in the US market from 2016 to 2017, while beer already lost 10% of market share to wine and spirits from 2006 to 2016.

Forbes recently reported that beer companies could lose more than $US2billion in retail sales to legal marijuana, citing a study by Cannabiz Consumer Group.
However, there are concerns that industry heavyweights are taking the wrong approach to tackling the threat by buying up craft breweries and failing to collaborate effectively. 

“You guys are literally infighting — this is just a civil war,” said Walt Dickinson, a cofounder of Wicked Weed, acquired by AB InBev earlier this year.

“Meanwhile this armada of boats is coming across the Atlantic to crush us and we are shooting each other with, you know, muskets and slingshots,” Dickinson continued. “I was just hoping we could get back to just talking about beer, but I guess we’re not there yet — but hopefully soon.”
Last week, Constellation Brands acquired a 9.9% stake in the Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth and is planning to initially develop a range of non-alcoholic cannabis drinks. 

“Our company’s success is the result of our focus on identifying early-stage consumer trends, and this is another step in that direction,” Constellation Brands CEO Rob Sands said in a statement.
Meanwhile,  Lagunitas — a craft beer brand acquired by Heineken — created a marijuana-infused beer in California earlier this year.

Could putting beer and weed - or hemp - together be the next step in the battle to keep the beer market buoyant?