Boston Beer Company officially announced its foray into a new frontier today: non-alcoholic cannabis-infused beverages.
Boston Beer — whose brands include Truly Hard Seltzer, Twisted Tea, Samuel Adams, Dogfish Head, and Angry Orchard — announced plans to establish a Canadian subsidiary “to serve as a dedicated research and innovation hub” focused on non-alcoholic cannabis drinks.
“Our mission since day one has been to offer drinkers the highest quality, best tasting products, and they continue to seek new options,” Boston Beer CEO Dave Burwick said in a press release. ”Innovation is core to what we do, beginning with craft beer, then hard cider, hard iced tea, and now Truly Hard Seltzer. We believe non-alcoholic cannabis beverages could represent a new frontier of innovation and want to be ready for future opportunities in the US.”
The move will allow Boston Beer to test cannabis beverages in Canada, where the product has been federally legal since October 2018, as regulations in the U.S. and worldwide “continue to evolve,” the company said.
Although cannabis has not been legalized or decriminalized federally in the U.S., 17 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational use of cannabis.
Leading the new subsidiary will be Paul Weaver, who last served as director of innovation for Canopy Growth Corporation, the Canadian cannabis firm that Constellation Brands holds a 38.6% stake in.
“Quality ingredients and craftsmanship make quality products, and our success begins with respecting the plant and respecting the growers,” Weaver said in the release. “This is just the beginning of our journey and, like any craft, requires a continuous commitment to learning.
“We know cannabis is new for many of our drinkers and they deserve the best, which is why we’re taking the time to do this right,” he continued.
Boston Beer is hardly the first craft brewer to wade into the cannabis industry. In November, Aphria announced it had struck a deal to acquire Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered SweetWater Brewing for $300 million.
Aphria CEO Irwin D. Simon explained at the time that the deal would allow SweetWater to introduce its cannabis lifestyle-friendly beer brand to Canadian drinkers, and allow Aphria to explore the use of a non-alcoholic version of SweetWater’s seltzer brand as a vehicle to introduce THC-infused beverages. Aphria and Tilray, which Anheuser-Busch formed a joint venture with in Canada, have since merged, forming the world’s largest cannabis company.
Molson Coors’ partnership with Hexo, Truss, led to the roll out of Veryvell, a line of sparkling CBD-infused drinks available exclusively in Colorado, earlier this year. Veryvell launched in Canada last year, though the formulations for those products also contain THC. Truss also offers a full slate of THC- and CBD-infused beverages in Canada.
Meanwhile, Canopy Growth forged a partnership last month with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits to distribute its portfolio of CBD-infused beverages in the U.S.
Since Constellation Brands’ initial investment in Canopy in 2017, the company has recognized a $1.1 billion unrealized net gain. For the company’s 2021 fiscal year, it recorded an $802 million increase in the fair value of its Canopy investment, according to its 2021 full year and fourth quarter earnings report.
In California, cannabis company Pabst Labs, formed by former Pabst Brewing Company employees, rolled out a non-alcoholic seltzer infused with THC under the Pabst Blue Ribbon brand through a licensing deal with the beer company. The lemon-flavored seltzer is only available in California in 5 milligram and 10 milligram versions.
Heineken-owned Lagunitas has long played in the cannabis drinks space.