Cannabis Beverages Making a Splash

At Hall of Flowers, Cannabis Beverages Showcased the Bright Potential in This Booming Category

 The Tasting Panel is pleased to announce that in 2022 we will begin to include coverage of cannabis beverages in our pages. We believe that as federal legalization looms, the beverage industry is uniquely positioned to work with and within the cannabis industry. Our goal is to provide our readers—the leaders of the wine and spirits trade—with the information they need to start learning about this category, now! For more information about how your brand can be included, please email [email protected].

 By Rachel Burkons

You might be surprised by what a cannabis convention looks like in this modern burgeoning industry. Erase the images of throngs of young men doing their best Bob Marley impression and replace them with a diverse, stylish crowd of entrepreneurs leaping head-first into a sea of new industry opportunity. At Hall of Flowers, which took over the Sonoma County Fairgrounds for two days in late September, tastemakers, media, and buyers from across the country gathered to explore, sample, and share the industry’s most exciting and creative brands and products.

And while classic categories like flower and vapes continue to be powerhouses, continued innovation in cannabis edibles and drinkables is leading to a spate of new products in those categories. Products like Tsumo, offering infused tortilla chips, and Hervé, a line of glamorous macarons infused with 10 milligrams of THC, showcase the depth of the edibles market as it continues to expand beyond the gummy and chocolate bar.

But one of the most exciting segments to explore at Hall of Flowers was cannabis beverages, a still-nascent category that’s being charged by rapidly changing technology. Driven by nano-emulsified infusions that allow lipid cannabinoids to seamlessly disperse into a liquid, today’s cannabis beverages offer a variety of benefits that consumers will love. Nanoemulsion technology also gives these products a more rapid onset and shorter duration than your classic cannabis infused edible. Like alcohol, the effects may be felt in as few as five to 15 minutes; but unlike alcohol, these products also have a shorter duration, with an “offset” of 45 minutes to two hours. This overall experience gives the consumer more control and makes these products truly sessionable—without the concerns of over-consuming.

With the exciting potential for this category in mind, The Tasting Panel set out to the Hall of Flowers floor with the goal of exploring the coolest new cannabeverages on the market. Read below for our category-by-category breakdown of some of our favorites. Please note that cannabis infused beverages may not legally be classified as “wines” or “beers” – but we will designate them as such below.

• • Cannabis Beers: Longtime stars of the “hop-inspired” category HiFi Hops is a collaboration between powerhouse Absolute Extracts and Lagunitas, and the brand’s three SKUs offer a beer-like quality that consumers will love‑—and at three different doses that cater to the cannacurious. Ceria, an established brand in Colorado, launched its California product line at Hall of Flowers. Under the helm of former Molson-Coors and Blue Moon Master Brewer Keith Villa, the Ceria Indiwave IPA was impressively beer-like, despite the challenges associated with its production. Unlike HiFi Hops, which uses a hop water base to provide its hop-forward characteristics, Ceria is brewed like traditional beer, then dealcoholized, a process that can make achieving true-to-category flavors difficult, but which Ceria handles like a charm.
  • Cannabis Seltzers: Seltzers have made their way to every category of beverage and cannabis is no different. From Le Chronique’s French-inspired line of sparkling seltzers, to Voila! which uses clean classic flavors and California mountain-sourced water to produce a bright, easy-drinking quaff, this category is sure to continue to see upward potential and growth. Gem + Jane is another cannabis seltzer making waves, specifically among women, the brand’s key audience. The Gem + Jane seltzer line comes in five flavors and features minor cannabinoids, such as THCV.
  • Cannabis Wines: As with beers, cannabis wines must undergo a complicated dealcoholization process, and this growing category has few entrants at the moment. Two of the wines in market are House of Saka and Rebel Coast, which each take a different approach to their products and target audience. In addition to its Pink and Red selections, Napa-based House of Saka offers Spark, a sparkling mimosa packaged in a 375 milliliter bottle, which offers a bright, fun take that any cannacurious consumer could fall in love with. Rebel Coast on the other hand, captures the canned trend with its line of sparkling sauvages.
  • Cannabis Sodas: From stoner classics like Keef Brands to newcomers like Olala, classic, bright soda flavors like root beer and orange soda will always be a hit. Taking a modern and elevated approach to the category is Wunder, which offers flavors like Blood Orange Bitters and a lightly-sweet, low-cal option that feels more like a RTD cocktail than a soda. Wunder is also available in low and high doses, making it one of the more versatile brands in the market.

• • Dry Powders: While not necessarily in the “beverage” category, it’s also worth noting that there were two interesting products at Hall of Flowers that, while not liquids themselves, are designed to be consumed in drink format. Both MyHi and Purejuana offer powdered cannabinoids designed to be mixed and dissolved into a variety of beverages. This form factor offers a discrete on-the-go consumption method consumers will love.

Additional cannabis beverage categories to watch include cider, spirit-like elixirs, tonics, and teas. Stay tuned to learn more!