Province Brands of Canada has announced that it will release a hemp-based beer in Canada in the first half of 2019, which it claims is the world’s first beer brewed from cannabis.
Cambridge Bay Imperial Pilsner is a 7% ABV beer made from a mash derived from the stalks, stems and roots of cannabis plants, which is then fermented in the presence of hops and brewer’s yeast to create an “authentically crafted cannabis beer”.
Provine Brands says that the drink is not infused with CBD or any phytocannabinoids, and any phytocannabinoids present in the beer are at levels comparable to those found in the hemp seeds, hemp seed oil or hemp protein.
Cambridge Bay Imperial Pilsner is a different product to Province Brand’s forthcoming non-alcoholic, THC-infused beverages – though the brewing method is the same – as the non-alcoholic cannabis beverages will be made by mashing and fermenting marijuana biomass.
Dooma Wendschuh, co-founder and CEO of Province Brands said: “We got tired of waiting for Canada to legalize marijuana beverages.
“Honestly, developing our patent-pending process to brew a beer from cannabis has been so challenging that I never would have imagined we could possibly be ready to launch a commercial product before Canada allowed the sale of marijuana beverages.
“But thanks to our phenomenal research and development team and our Master Brewer, Rob Kevwitch, we accomplished the unimaginable, so we just had to put something on the market.
“The world may still have to wait for Canada to legalize marijuana edibles and beverages, but consumers shouldn’t have to wait to taste the phenomenal flavour of the world’s first beer brewed from hemp in place of barley.”
Rob Kevwitch Province Brands’ master brewer added: “Every brewer we talked to said this could not be done. They said we’d never be able to get any alcohol out of the cannabis (or hemp) plant. Well, we showed them that not only can we get alcohol from the plant but we can get a lot.”
“We’re starting with a 7% ABV Imperial Pilsner, but this process is so versatile, we can make any style of beer from hemp or marijuana: alcoholic, non-alcoholic, lager, ale, stout, IPA, bock, porter…anything.”
Earlier this year, Province Brands secured CAD 11 million ($8.4 million) in a Series A funding round, which the company said it would use to construct and purchase new equipment for its cannabis brewery in Ontario.
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