Page 22 - Food & Drink Magazine April 2020

A brewing high
East 9th Brewing started experimenting with hemp in beer back in 2017. Kim Berry asked co-owner Benjamin Cairns about the brand’s latest hemp initiative.
BREWING company East 9th Brewing has set itself apart since it was launched 10 years ago with Australian firsts, brews with political statements and its first hemp beer three years ago. In a new collaboration with cannabis culture digital media platform Merry Jane, it is expanding its range and brew horizons.
QTell us about your first hemp beer in 2017.
In April that year, Australia and New Zealand announced a legislation change allowing hemp in food and beverage products would come into effect that November.
As soon as we heard the news, we sourced some hemp and started to develop a hemp beer.
There was a bit of trial and error using hemp as an ingredient but in the end, it was theadditionofground-hemp
seeds that provided us with the taste-profile that we were after. The hemp delivers unique
nutty characteristics and provides a lovely creaminess in its mouthfeel.
700
INDEPENDENT BREWERIES TODAY, COMPARED TO 120 TEN YEARS AGO.
Over following months, we perfected our session ale – Doss Blockos ‘Hempire’ Hemp Ale – with perfect timing.
The kegs were distributed and tapped in venues around Australia on 12 November, the daythelawschanged.
QWhat is Merry Jane and how did the collaboration begin? Merry Jane is a media platform headed by Snoop Dogg.
It centres around cannabis culture and normalising its use. We pitched our idea of creating a line of hemp ales with Snoop’s team and it became a reality.
Our first brew Doss Blockos ‘Merry Jane’ Mango Kush (strain #1) was released at 4:20pm on 31 January 2020, the exact time recreational cannabis became legal in Australia’s Capital Territory.
We have another three more beers in the pipeline for this year, each influenced by different strains of cannabis.
have our eye on for the future. The rise of CBD/THC food and beverage products is something that can’t be ignored. At the moment it is illegal to mix alcohol and CBD/THC in the one product, so beers containing CBD/THC are non-alcoholic.
We’re seeing the US charge ahead, with many US states legalising recreational cannabis and in Canada where it’s now fully legalised.
QThe craft beer space is a crowded one, what does making these types of beers do to set you apart?
Innovation has driven our business from the start. It started a decade ago with our first brand, Doss Blockos. Its ‘brown-paper bag’ packaging was like nothing else in the market, and the brand positioning was also unique at the time.
The original Dos Blockos was a squat home in NYC’s Lower East Side during the 1990s, and the Doss Blockos brand pays homage to the creatives and activists that lived there and fought live life on their
own terms.
After Doss Blockos, we released two Australian firsts, Lick Pier Ginger Beer, an alcoholic ginger beer, and the alcoholic Root Beer Future Memoirs of a Root Beer.
The independent beer landscape has changed a lot since we launched 10 years ago. At the time, there were around 120 independent beer companies in Australia.
Now there are around 700. It is incredible.
At a trade level, the on- premise and retail world has also evolved. Venues and liquor stores are dedicating so much more airtime, and floor space to independent brands.
It’s not just about the big names anymore, it’s also about offering brands and products that are unique and interesting. As a result, consumer have become more open and accepting of new products.
Today’s consumer is drinking less than ever before so they are more discerning in the choices theymake. ✷
Q
What is the process of
brewing a hemp beer? Do they contain any cannabinoids (CBD/THC)?
There are no CBD/THC in our beersbutitissomethingwe
22 | Food&Drink business | April 2020 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
BEVERAGE BUSINESS