One of the largest opportunities in the cannabis beverage is largely untapped (no pun intended): THC beer.

And it’s not because people don’t want it, people haven’t thought of it, or that people haven’t tried to make one before.

It’s because there are multiple complexities that make THC beer harder to manufacture than even typical cannabis beverages.

But despite this, THC beer is one of the cannabis beverage subcategories that I am most bullish on for the next few years. With the explosive popularity of NA beer like Athletic Brewing Co coupled with the ever-growing demand for THC beverages, it seems to me like we have a perfect storm brewing (this time, pun intended).

It will be an uphill battle, there will be many problems to solve along the way, but with a few brands that launched in the past year plus a few more launching in 2025, I think we will finally start to see people pioneer this cannabev format.

Today I will discuss the challenges, immense opportunities, and existing (or nearly existing) brands in the THC beer space, which I believe will be one of the most exciting social beverage innovations to watch in the next few years.

The Challenges

1) Taste

The good news is that consumers have already been introduced to great tasting NA beer, and understand that this is a promising category. The bad news is that the gap in quality between leaders like Athletic Brewing / Heineken / Guinness and the rest of the pack is pretty massive, and its still not easy for everyone to brew NA beer.

Athletic Brewing revolutionized the NA beer game by inventing a proprietary method to brew NA beer that actually tasted like real beer. While the details remain a trade secret, from everything we can tell they use a brewing process very similar to nested fermentation.

This means that instead of brewing real alcoholic beer and then burning off all the alcohol, they instead very slowly and carefully brew it up to just under 0.5% ABV. This allows the products to still have NA beer status, while also preserving the flavor and mouth feel that most would expect from a real beer.

Why does this matter?

Basically what I’m saying is, if Athletic Brewing Co has sprinted far ahead of the rest of the pack, and likely is the first (and best) NA beer most people have tried, they are going to expect Athletic-level quality when they try a THC beer.

While this isn’t impossible, the brands who pioneer this space can’t just make a sort-of-beer-flavored-drink — it needs to taste like the real deal. Brewing expertise and know-how is a must.

2) Formulation & Regulation

A lot of people have asked me: if Athletic Brewing makes such an incredible NA beer, why don’t they just drop THC in it and start crushing the market?

Well, there are two things wrong with that idea.

The first is that at this point, Athletic Brewing is pretty dedicated to the full sober play. Jumping into THC just wouldn’t totally fit their brand in my opinion.

But the second is even more important: Athletic’s beer as is would not be a compliant product if you just added THC to it. Here’s why:

While you might think that NA beer is free from any regulations, you’d be wrong. The TTB oversees any beverages that are classified as “Malt” or “Cereal” beverages. You can take a look at these definitions in the slides below:

Athletic’s beer falls under these classifications, which means their products are under the purview of the TTB.

The TTB does not allow THC from hemp or cannabis in its beverages because:

1. Cannabis is federally illegal.

2. Hemp legality is all over the place.

3. You need their formula approval for products that full in their purview, and they won’t approve anything with THC in it due to the Controlled Substances Act.

Wait, so how the f*ck does anyone make a THC beer then?

Well… its complicated.

At first, the interpretation of this was that the beer would have to be 0.0% ABV, and that you could not use any malted ingredients.

There are two ways to do this:

1. Make a hop/wheat “beer” flavored drink.

2. Brew a real beer, and burn off the alcohol entirely until there is no alcohol content.

While this works, the downsides to this is that the product usually doesn’t taste great. I’ve tried a few NA beers and THC beers that used this method, and the flavor profile is just not quite there.

But then, some innovation happened at GoBrewing.

They figured out that as long as you didn’t use any malted ingredients, you could still brew something that had a 0.5% ABV that was legal and tasted pretty good. Founder Joe Chura stated in a LinkedIn comment “From the TTB (literally): Since it does not contain malted barely and is below 0.5% alcohol. Regulatory jurisdiction for this product and labeling would fall under the FDA.”

Now you might understand why its so damn hard to make a product like this. But when there’s a will, there’s a way, and I’m confident that brands will keep coming up with innovations like the one mentioned above.

3) Education

This will probably be the least of your problems if you’ve already figured out how to make a THC beer that is legal and tastes good, but undoubtedly education with this product category will take some time.

Consumers

The confusion I face when I explain Athletic Brewing to people is still astounding even in 2025. Getting them to wrap their heads around a product that looks like a beer, tastes like a beer, doesn’t have alcohol, but still gives you buzz is going to be a bit of a lift. Not impossible, but it will take time.

Retailers

Retailers will have the same learning curve. Already I’ve heard of some brands facing criticism from larger retailers about having a product with 0.5% ABV (usually from juice) that also has THC. Retailers will need assurance that this is 100% legit and legal, and that the government won’t come after them for thinking they’re selling alcohol & THC in a can.

The Opportunities

Attract a New Consumer Demographic

In my mind beer will always be the OG social beverage. It’s been around for thousands of years, and is typically one of the first alcoholic beverages people try because it is so approachable. Just because you see the headlines of declining beer sales doesn’t mean it’s going anywhere: 34% of Americans who consume alcohol drink beer most often.

While the THC beverage market is growing every month, the biggest gaping hole I see in it is products for middle to older aged male drinkers.

There are so many men out there who just love their Bud Light, Miller Light, Coors Light and won’t drink anything else. Sure some of them might try a seltzer, but I have met so many dudes in my life time that just won’t drink anything but beer.

But… I’m willing to bet that some of them would give it up if there was a viable alternative, but the problem is that traditional NA beer doesn’t quite hit the mark for them. Just like everyone else, they need a way to take the edge off, and so far light beer remains their favorite solution.

I believe that THC beer will change the cannabevs from leaning more towards the canna-moms to being a category that has something to offer everyone.

The Perfect Product

For years, we’ve dreamed of a world where our favorite alcoholic drinks had great-tasting, non-alcoholic versions.

But food science is hard. We suffered through countless bad NA beers before brands like Athletic finally cracked the code. Wine is improving, but spirits still have a long way to go.

But beer? Beer is different. NA beer now actually tastes like beer.

Now imagine that same great-tasting NA beer but infused with THC.

It’s familiar. Everyone knows beer. You’re not asking someone to take a gamble on a mystery flavor or some made-up seltzer. This is beer, but better.

It’s lighter. Most NA beers are about half the calories of regular beer, and THC-infused beers should follow suit.

And most importantly, it still gives you a buzz without the hangover, the regret, or the fog.

THC beer is everything people wished beer already was: the taste, the ritual the buzz, but avoids the downsides.

Increased Diversity & Legitimacy to the Cannabev Category

I have long criticized the fact that almost every brand entering the cannabev category starts with a seltzer.

While I know its the easiest format to manufacture, and that brands are just riding the wave of High Noon, White Claw, and Truly, it gets boring after awhile!

The market is a sea of seltzer and mocktails and its time for something new.

What I love about beer is there are so many styles to choose from: lager, stout, ale, pilsner, IPA, sour… the possibilities are endless!

Right now, I’m sure many retail chains are tired of getting pitched THC beverages when so many of them have no differentiation from each other. Unless you are a big brand or first mover, trying to get on the shelf as a brand new seltzer in 2025 will be difficult.

But if new products like THC beer start to evolve, these stores will actually have a legitimate reason to make more shelf space for the cannabev category, and this could help grow these products from a single shelf in a store to an entire section!

Past, Existing, & Emerging Brands

Since there haven’t been many brave enough to venture into this space, I wanted to take a chance to highlight past, existing, and emerging brands. It’s wayyy to early to tell who is going to win here or who is doing it right, so I’ll let you form your own opinions and try them for yourself.

Defunct Brands/Products

Two Roots Brewing Co

High Style Brewing

Ceria Brewing Co

New Frontier Brewing Co

Bauhaus

Existing Brands

Inde Local

Tripleswitch Brewing Co

Easy Man

Emerging Brands

FABRIC - Launching June 2025

FLOAT HOUSE - Launching TBD 2025

Last week I shared my thoughts on why Boston Beer should take the leap and join the hemp beverage market, and establish itself as a leader. Miss it?

Check it out below 👇

About Me

Hey! I'm Daniel Crocker, and I'm a cannabev enthusiast who's spent over 2 years in the space. Right now I live in Washington DC, and I work at BRĒZ as the Head of Content Strategy. I publish a new edition of Spill the T (HC) every Tuesday, so make sure to subscribe if you want to stay up to date.