New
Beer aficionados and hemp advocates across the country can
now toast a pint of New Belgium’s Hemperor HPA.
Except in Kansas ,
where the craft brew — like hemp — is banned.
The “hemp pale ale” three years in development blends hemp
and hops for an earthy take on the traditional India Pale Ale. It’s available
now on draft and will be released nationwide in bottles in late May.
Hemp as a beer ingredient remains largely taboo, as federal
guidelines restrict certain parts of the cannabis plant from being used as an
ingredient in beer. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the
government’s gatekeeper for beer labels and formulations, has final say on any
brew that wands to add hemp or its byproducts.
The TTB won’t approve formulas or labels for products that
contain controlled substances, said Tom Hogue, the agency’s director of
congressional and public affairs. “TTB defers to (the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration) in its interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act.”
But Colorado-based New Belgium found a work-around: The
Hemperor adds hemp hearts, part of the plant legalized by the 2014 Farm Bill,
and is brewed with a proprietary process utilizing compounds from other
materials that emulate the aromatic terpenes found in hemp.
The formulation passed the TTB’s test, but the Hemperor’s
realm won’t include include Kansas
anytime soon.
“Because the beer had a trace of hemp in it, it is not
allowed in Kansas ,
and the registration request was denied pursuant to an opinion issued by the
Kansas Attorney General,” said Rachel Whitten, spokeswoman for the Kansas
Department of Revenue.
A natural pairing, denied
Take the case of Dad & Dude’s Breweria in Aurora , Colo.
The brewpub received TTB approval for a beer featuring hemp-derived, CBD-rich
extract in June 2016.
But the family-run operation’s grand plans for its General
Washington’s Secret Stash came to a screeching halt six months later, when the
DEA filed the notice for an impending rule maintaining marijuana, hemp and
their derivatives as Schedule I substances.
The TTB deferred to the DEA and revoked its decision on Dad
& Dude’s.
The brewpub’s saga was included in the Hemp Industries
Association’s challenge of that DEA rule. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in San Francisco
heard oral arguments in the case in February, and the fate of the federal rule
now rests in the hands of a three-judge panel.
“Given the evolution of laws and the broadening of the
definition of industrial hemp since then, it would follow logically then that
TTB’s policy, too, should evolve accordingly, but is what remains an ongoing
issue today,” said attorney Ryan Malkin, who specializes in alcohol and
cannabis issues for the Hoban Law Group, the Denver-based firm representing the
hemp industry in its case against the DEA.
A number of breweries have contacted Hoban Law to inquire
whether they’d be able to legally make a beer using cannabis or its byproducts,
according to the firm.
And that’s not just craft operations. Large-scale brewers
have also shown interest in making beers with marijuana or hemp byproducts,
such as cannabinoids and terpenes, Malkin said via email.
It’s a natural pairing given the similarities between hops
and cannabis with respect to flavor and aroma profiles, he said.
“Some brewers have even submitted formulation and label
applications to the TTB,” he said.
Beer with a story — and a cause
The Hemperor was conceived over a beer tour.
A couple of plant genetics researchers from Colorado State
University were visiting New Belgium’s Fort Collins, Colo., taproom and started
chatting up the staff at their hometown brewery.
The university is one of several research institutions
delving into the hemp plant, discovering its potential in agriculture and
industry, a result of Colorado ’s
2013 industrial hemp program and the enactment of the Farm Bill.
As the academics took in the smells and flavors from the
hop-laden beers, they spoke of the unique aromas coming out of hops’ biological
cousin, recalled Ross Koenigs, New Belgium’s research and development specialist.
He hopped in a car for a whiff of CSU’s hemp greenhouse.
“Sure enough … the smell was absolutely phenomenal,” he
said. “It really blew us away.”
New Belgium
scoured the state of Colorado ’s
hemp farms in search of interesting hemp species and a cultivation outfit with
enough scale to supply the brewery’s national distribution needs. Koenig found
a couple of choice species, brewed up some experiments and then took the
formulation to the TTB.
The federal agency deferred to to the DEA, which views
cannabis flower and leaf as Schedule I substances, and New Belgium’s
application was denied.
“Basically, what we had to do was find a bit of a
work-around,” Koenigs said.
New Belgium The Hemperor HPA hemp beer
New Belgium
announces The Hemperor HPA hemp beer. (photo provided by New Belgium Brewery)
That work-around involved looping in some buddies in
olfactory technologies and learning to emulate the actions of hemp terpenes
without actually utilizing the forbidden parts of the plant.
New Belgium
is keeping many details of that proprietary process close to its vest, but
Koenigs said the Hemperor’s R&D efforts were unlike any beermaking efforts
that came before. For instance, the terpene emulation work had to occur
off-site, as the federally illicit plant could not be brought onto the
brewery’s premises.
New Belgium
supplemented the hemp hearts — which added a spiciness — with a combination of
hops to generate the green, citrusy vibe and the resinous nose.
“Certainly, we took quite a bit of time just to actually get
it right and actually get it to scale,” Koenigs said. “(It was) close to nine
months to a year to make sure the brewing technicals were all buttoned up.”
New Belgium
did consider adding a “0” to the Hemperor’s April 2 launch, but officials
didn’t want to stray too far away from the heart of the issue: using the beer
to advocate for the larger cause of hemp.
New Belgium
partnered with Hemp 4 Victory and GCH Inc. to help lobby for federal
legalization of industrial hemp.
New Belgium
is never one to shy away from a cause, and saw an opportunity to use its
standing as a powerhouse in craft beer to bring attention to the cause and
virtues of hemp agriculture, along with the need to modernize laws that hinder
the plants cultivation and uses, Koenigs said.
If those federal laws change — be it via Rep. James Comer’s
(R-Ky.) Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2017, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.)
plans for the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 — more New Belgium hemp beers could be
on the way — maybe even in Kansas.
“We’re locked, loaded and ready,” Koenigs said. “We just
need somebody to tell us we can legally do it.”
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