Latest news with #seltzers
Forbes
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Cheech And Chong THC Seltzers Highlighted At Tales Of The Cocktail
Cannabis culture icons Cheech & Chong will present awards at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans ... More later this month while highlighting their High & Dry hemp THC seltzers. In what is being described as 'a groundbreaking cultural first for both the cannabis and spirits industries,' New Orleans' Tales of the Cocktail has named High & Dry THC-infused seltzers from iconic comedy duo Cheech & Chong as the first cannabis beverage sponsor for the Spirited Awards. The nonprofit organization Tales of the Cocktail Foundation works to empower the global hospitality industry through education, advocacy and community support. At its annual conference held in New Orleans each July, the group brings the hospitality industry together for an event 'that blends education, networking, and celebration like no other,' according to organizers. Cheech & Chong's High & Dry seltzers come in a variety of flavors and feature 5mg of THC per can. The conference also honors leaders from the global cocktail industry with its coveted Spirited Awards in categories such as World's Best Cocktail Bar, World's Best Cocktail Menu and Tales Visionary Award, among others. Cheech & Chong's High & Dry Seltzers are hemp-based THC-infused canned beverages designed to deliver the psychoactive effects of cannabis in a palatable, drinkable formulation. A growing category that is gaining market share, hemp-derived THC beverages have become a common sight at liquor stores and bars in some states since the legalization of hemp agriculture and products via the 2018 Farm Bill. First Cannabis Beverage Spirited Awards Sponsor This year marks the first time that the Spirited Awards has embraced a cannabis brand as an official sponsor of the event. As part of the festivities, weed culture heroes Cheech & Chong (Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong) will present the Spirited Awards for the Best Broadcast, Podcast or Online Video Series and the Best Cocktail and Spirits Publication. The High & Dry seltzers will also be highlighted throughout the Tales of the Cocktail experience, giving bartenders and other industry professionals an opportunity to sample the products and learn how they integrate with the cocktail world. 'We're not just bringing drinks-we're bringing the culture,' Chong, co-founder of Cheech & Chong's Beverages, said in a statement from the company. 'High & Dry is all about fun, connection, and new experiences. And Tales of the Cocktail is the perfect place to share it.' Hemp-THC Drinks A 'Whole New Category' In Cannabis Consumption In an exclusive interview, Marin says that hemp-derived THC beverages including the High & Dry Seltzers and the company's High Tea THC-infused iced tea offerings make cannabis accessible to a wide range of consumers. 'It's a whole new category, it's a brand-new way of enjoying the herb,' says. 'And we want to go to where the people are, and make it easier, so you can get your you're drink at a grocery store, you know? And that makes it a lot easier for when you go watch your kid play soccer.' Cheech Marin (l) and Tommy Chong Cheech & Chong's THC infused seltzers are available in a variety of flavors, as are the High Tea canned iced tea drinks. When asked what sets his THC-infused beverages apart from the others in a market crowed with weed drinks, Marin notes one important difference. 'Well, you know, they're called Cheech and Chong,' he replies with a chuckle. 'And everybody knows that name. So, we hope that this stands for high quality and enjoyability and accessibility and you know, we kind of want to spread the news. At a certain age, you get kind of wary of smoking, you know, and I know the age. Hemp or THC in a liquid form, that's a lot better.' Tales of the Cocktail kicks off on July 20 in New Orleans and runs through July 25.
Bloomberg
31-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Craft Beer Brewers Ponder THC Drinks: Friend or Foe?
Atlanta-based New Realm Brewing Co. has always been quick to adapt to the shifting tastes of its customers. In 2021, the just four-year-old company opened a distillery and released a series of ready-to-drink canned cocktails. The brewery debuted AlphaWater to cater to the hard seltzer craze that same year. They followed that with a nonalcoholic IPA in 2023. But in February 2025, New Realm introduced a beverage line that had posed a dilemma even for them: Higher Realm and Liquid Weed THC-infused seltzers. Thanks to a regulatory loophole created by Congress seven years ago, hemp-derived THC beverages are now being sold legally in liquor stores and online across the country—and yes, they'll get you high. This new, psychoactive drinks category is competing with craft beer for precious (and shrinking) shelf space and putting small brewers to a tough decision: should they partake?
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rochester's breweries going with the flow in uncertain times
May 10—ROCHESTER — Beer production in Minnesota was up 10.8% in 2024, but the signs the industry is in uncertain times are apparent at Rochester's small craft breweries. LTS Brewing Co. planned months ahead to import European malt to ensure its brewers can produce popular autumn seasonal beers. Forager Brewery established a production spinoff business in Wisconsin in response to Minnesota alcohol production rules. A quarter of the beer produced at Little Thistle Brewing Co. in 2024 was sold outside the brewery's taproom which cuts into the business's revenue. Kinney Creek created an entire line of seltzers for outside sale — those now account for the bulk of its sales. And for Thesis, the last successful year in which the brewery made a profit was 2022, said Adam Fredericksen, Thesis co-owner. That was the brewery's peak production year since it opened in 2019. One main pressure on the business is people's drinking and going-out habits have changed. "Younger people are drinking less alcohol," Fredericksen said. That's a trend all Rochester breweries reported seeing when asked. As a result, the businesses are adjusting. Right now, half of the digital menu boards at Thesis Beer Project don't display beer choices. "We opened this place in part for a love of beer," Fredericksen said. "Right now, part of making this place successful is straying away from that." It's not a new trend for breweries to diversify to serve non-beer drinkers. Kinney Creek Brewing doubled its capacity in 2021 with its line of hard seltzer drinks. "We have been able to create what started as a craft beer passion into a craft beverage movement, with something for everyone to enjoy," said Donovan Seitz, Kinney Creek founder and owner. Most of Kinney Creek's seltzer is sold in cans off site. In the taproom, seltzer and beer flow about equally, Seitz said. "Although seltzers have been a big part of our business, we still pour just as much, if not more, craft beer in the taproom compared to seltzer," he said. "At our core, we still stick our roots creating locally crafted and fire-brewed beer." Kinney Creek isn't the only Rochester brewery turning toward outside sales for survival. By one measure, the beer business is booming at Little Thistle Brewing Co. The brewery produced 811 barrels — 25,141 gallons — of beer in 2024. That's the most a Rochester-based brewery has produced since prohibition and one barrel more than Little Thistle produced at its previous peak of 810 barrels in 2021. The Minnesota Department of Revenue's annual numbers show overall beer production in the state is up. Some hailed that as a sign of the health of Minnesota's craft beer industry which was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. "Frankly, most folks haven't recovered from the pandemic," said Bob Galligan, director of government and industry relations for the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild. "But of course an increase of production is a good sign." While that itself is good news, Galligan added the overall picture is more complex. "I certainly wouldn't say that we have 'recovered' or bounced back," he said. "Some specific breweries have seen decent bumps but most are still down compared to 2024." Steve Finnie, Little Thistle co-founder and co-owner, said looking only at overall output doesn't tell the whole story. "It's misleading," Finnie said. Little Thistle sent about one-quarter of those 811 barrels of beer out the door to be sold elsewhere in 2024. That's the highest percentage of off-site sales since the brewery opened in 2018. Selling that much beer outside of the taproom, even having a canning operation at all, wasn't in the owners' original business plan. That's in part because beers served in the taproom have a higher profit margin. Retailers take a cut of the sales proceeds from beer sent out the door of the brewery. It also costs more to buy and fill cans than glasses, and it takes staff time to fill those cans and deliver them to retailers, Finnie said. "The reason we distribute is because we have to," he said. "It's what's keeping the business going." Thesis Beer Project is bringing a new 12-ounce canning machine online to put more of its beer in cans as well. Like Finnie, Fredericksen said that wasn't part of his original business plan either. "We make it work, but we make it work because we have to make it work," he said. Another Rochester brewery took to not only taking its beer outside the taproom but making it elsewhere, too. Forager Brewery owners spun off Humble Forager, which produces beer in Wisconsin for distribution. Minnesota law distinguishes brewpubs as breweries that serve both food and beer. State law doesn't allow brewpubs to distribute the beer they produce. Minnesota brewpub license holders also aren't allowed to own both a brewpub and a distribution company. In a creative work-around in 2019, Forager owners and husband and wife Annie Henderson and Austin Jevne decided to split the business. Henderson maintains ownership of Forager, and Jevne oversees Humble Forager, which produces beer in Waunakee, Wisconsin. That beer is canned, kegged and distributed for sale and isn't reported as part of Forager's production numbers, since it's a separate business. As a result, on paper, it appears Forager's production has dropped after peaking in 2019 at 757 barrels of beer. Forager's in-house production fell to about half that in 2024, at 385 barrels. In 2020, Rochester's only other brewpub, Grand Rounds, closed its downtown restaurant and brewery to move beer production to Pine Island, Minnesota. Although Minnesota laws have been revised in recent years, including in 2022, when lawmakers raised the cap on growler sales and allowed smaller breweries and distilleries more off-sale options, some laws, including restrictions on brewpubs, are still stifling the industry, Frederiscksen said. Allowing breweries to serve food or make ciders would help the industry statewide, he said. Inflation in 2024 put pressure on the brewing industry, and this year threats of tariffs proposed by the Trump administration on supplies and ingredients including grain and stainless steel threaten to put more pressure on the industry. Proposed tariffs against Canada could mean higher malted grain prices. A 25% levy on aluminum cans will also add costs to the industry. "We get emails everyday about whether this price is going up, or these things will get more expensive, or suggesting we should stock up on this or that," Frederiscksen said. "At this point it feels like there are so many factors out of our control." Tariffs sometimes get announced, delayed or changed, which makes it hard for smaller producers to plan ahead, said Brandon Schulz, co-owner of LTS Brewing Co. "It's not being rolled out in a controlled way," Schulz said. Schulz ordered grain and brewed LTS's annual Oktoberfest beer ahead of schedule in an effort to stay ahead of possible tariffs. Uncertainty makes it tough to plan and hangs over the industry, Finnie said. However, he knows the craft brewing industry isn't the only one facing challenges in 2025. "If you think about it, nonprofits are also feeling a squeeze," he said. In March, Little Thistle kicked off monthly community pint nights. On the first Friday of each month, a nonprofit is invited to the taproom to share its mission with customers and receive a portion of taproom proceeds on the day. Little Thistle hosted Paws and Claws animal shelter in May. Finnie said it's a way to build community, have a positive influence and support organizations and people who are feeling uncertainty right now. He said the brewery's first community pint night in support of Planned Parenthood March 27 showed that people want to come out in person to support causes they believe in. At Thesis, Fredericksen said he's renewing commitment to live music after previously pulling back on the frequency of shows there. "What we're doing for live music is really important to me," he said. "It's really fulfilling." Live music and events tend to fill the taproom, unless Thesis is competing with another event, he said. "It seems like either you're doing the coolest thing in town and people show up for it or somebody else is doing the coolest thing and everybody is there," Frederiscksen. Seitz also pointed to Kinney Creek's community events and hosting nonprofits as an important way to bring people out and build community. Kinney Creek is teaming up with Camp Companion on June 14 for their own pet adoption event, among other events planned this summer. LTS keeps the event calendar full as well, with chess tournaments and other game nights as well as live music. "What this small group of breweries in this town do for the quality of life here, it's hard to quantify," Fredericksen said.
