Five Major Beverage Makers that are Serving up Cannabis this Summer
Look out for these infused beverages on store shelves.
While they aren’t as big as flower, concentrates, or edibles, cannabis beverages are only beginning to gain greater market share within the legal cannabis market. Overall sales rose from 0.9% of the total US market in January, 2021 to 1.1% in January of this year, according to cannabis data analytics company Headset. While offerings in the Drops, Mixes, Elixirs and Syrups category made up the most sales within the cannabis beverage market (27.7% between January, 2020-January 2022), cannabis beverages came at a close second at 26%. And new entries continue to pour into the market, with some of the biggest beverage brands in the world finally releasing long-awaited THC and CBD colas, iced teas and non-alcoholic beers into the market. Just to whet your whistle, we’ve listed five of the biggest brands currently jumping into the market. We are certain they will all pack a real punch.
Lagunitis Brewing Company: As the first mover in the space, Lagunitis perhaps take the cake for the most thoroughly entrenched legacy beverage brand in the space. Partnering up with AbsoluteXtracts in 2017, one year after California legalized cannabis, Lagunitis lent their hops to AbsoluteXtracts for a vape, while AbsoluteXtracts lent their cannabis to what eventually became Hi-Fi Sessions, a sparkling beverage now on sale in California and Colorado. Hi-Fi Sessions has three distinct offerings, the lightweight >2:2 mg THC/CBD Cloudberry, the midrange 5:5 mg Hoppy Balance, and the heavyweight Hoppy Chill (10:>2 mg).
Boston Beer Company: Kickstarting the craft beer movement back in 1984 with the release of Samuel Adams Ale, Boston Beer will be premiering its inaugural THC-infused iced tea line, named TeaPot, in selected Canadian provinces this July. Partnering up with Entourage Health Corporation and Peak Processing, who will respectively grow and infuse the iced tea for the company, the company’s first release will be Good Day Iced Tea. This iced tea combines lemon black tea with five mg of THC extracted from an Entourage strain named Pedro’s Sweet Sativa. The company intends to release future iced teas with effects that will correspond to different times of the day. And while the product is only accessible in Canada for now, Boston Beer fully intends to bring it back to the US as soon as law permits.
Jones Soda: Anyone who’s ever entered an urban deli has probably seen the distinctive labels and exotic flavors of Jones Soda Co. It’s all on display in their latest line of cannabis-infused beverages, available for sale now at selected dispensaries in California. Dubbed Mary Jones, the soda spinoff comes in Root Beer, Berry Lemonade, Green Apple and Orange & Cream and contain 10 mg of THC alongside the iconic B&W label photos and quirky bottlecap quotes well-known to Jones Soda consumers (exclusive to Mary Jones is an online t-shirt design shop, where consumers can create their own tees and sell them on the brand’s MaryMart website). Future products include 5 mg soda bottle shaped gummies, a 100 mg canned soda and a 100 mg syrup.
Pabst Blue Ribbon: Since launching their High Seltzer line of infused seltzers in California back in 2020, Pabst Labs has introduced three flavors into the mix: Mango Blood Orange, Strawberry Kiwi and Passion Fruit Pineapple. Each serving contains 10 mg, and according to their website, “works quicker than the average edible.” However, the Pabst company itself does not share anything other than an agreement with the unaffiliated Pabst Labs to give them their brand for free. As former PBR employee and Pabst Labs brand manager Mark Faicol told the Los Angeles Times, “What I think it’s really affording [PBR] is an opportunity to learn about the [cannabis beverage] space with a partner that they really trust.”
Molson Coors: Through the Truss brand, MolsonCoors and the CPG cannabis company HEXO have created the top-selling cannabis beverage in all of Canada — XMG, a zero-calorie cannabis drink in several flavors which accounts for a 25% dollar share for the entire category. This summer, they’ll launch 15 new flavors , each containing 10 mg of THC. They include Little Victory Celzer Lime and Raspberry, Bedfellows Sour Razpaartner and a brand new XMG soda line which includes Cream Soda, Root Beer, Orange Soda and Cola Flavors.
Check out this recipe for the ultimate party addition: How to Make Your Own Jamaican Jell-O Shots