COSTA MESA, CA – A California company became one of the first to develop methods of brewing beer infused with hemp derivative cannabidiol, or CBD.
New reports came Tuesday from Market Insider that Sipp Industries submitted plans they’ve developed since 2017 for a CBD beer to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
According to the reporting, their first batch of the beer appeared back in 2017 but has gone through multiple reworks of the batch recipe. TTB is the main regulator of both alcohol and related substances, and require documentation of recipes like Sipp’s before sales are allowed. [1]
Sipp Industries subsidiary, according to Market Insider, is Major Hemp, a company which took the lead on the CBD-infused beer. The first brew using their new recipe is called the Major Hemp Brown Ale, which they brewed in a partnership with Sleeping Giant Brewing out of Colorado.
The news of the Major Hemp recipe being sent to federal agents in February may be a big step forward for the industry, but the hype around CBD beers started years ago as the broader hemp community expanded.
For instance, Beer Advocate reported way back in the fall of 2017 that Lagunitas had partnered with a cannabis company to release the CBD beer, SuperCritical IPA. [2]
Even earlier than when the big beer name of Lagunitas got involved, California got its first ever CBD beer from Coalition Brewing in 2016.
So, what makes the news about Major Hemp interesting? It’s one of the first major brands to register a new recipe with the TTB at the federal level after the Drug Enforcement Agency laid off hemp products due to their rescheduling with the 2018 Farm Bill. [1]
While other aspects of regulations and oversight have yet to be ironed out, the industry is working hard to use third-party lab testing and other mechanisms to ensure quality to customers.
Moves to create more of these beers are much less hampered than in the past. The Ringer reported in June of 2018 about a string of breweries that were persecuted to varying extents because of confusing webs of bureaucracy. [3]
Congressional liaison for the TTB Tom Hogue gave Beer Advocate an interview on the previously confusing situation. “There are three layers — at least two, but potentially three,” he said. “Federal law, state law, and you may have local ordinances.” [2]
With luck, Minneapolis-St. Paul’s beer-intensive culture will pick up on the hemp trend. According to their website, for instance, the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild has over 140 member breweries within the state, leaving ample room for experimentation on the new horizon of hemp. [4]
Sources
[1] https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/sipp-industries-submits-cbd-beer-formula-to-the-alcohol-and-tobacco-tax-and-trade-bureau-1028022942
[2] https://www.beeradvocate.com/articles/16508/cannabis-infused-beers-on-the-rise/
[3] https://www.theringer.com/2018/7/6/17539392/cbd-craft-beer-hemp-cannabis-legislation-coalition-brewing-down-the-road
[4] https://www.mncraftbrew.org/