
Photo Via Gathering Place Brewing Company - gatheringplacebrewing.com
Gathering Place Brewing Company
Last fall’s Black Friday (Nov. 29) was better than usual for Joe Yeado, founder of Gathering Place Brewing Co. In addition to treating weary shoppers to special batches of Grim Maker Belgian Quad (10.7% ABV) and Affogato Stout, an imperial milk stout laced with Guatemalan coffee and styled after Italian gelato (8.2% ABV), Yeado introduced Blossom, a beverage that infuses sparkling water with THC derived from the cannabis plant to create what he described as “an elevated seltzer in every sense of the word.”
That introduction makes Gathering Place, with locations in Riverwest and Wauwatosa, the latest in a handful of Milwaukee-area craft brewers to dance with the devil, or at least what some might call “the devil’s weed.”
“We’re in the wild west here, and it’s an exciting new product line for the industry as a whole,” says Yeado. “We had been considering it for about a year, but the conversations got more serious last summer. Seltzers came on the scene about 6 years ago, but the addition of THC makes this an entirely new product, and we wanted to be sure we were playing in the space as the industry develops in Wisconsin.”
THC stands for tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive ingredient in the cannabis plant. Thanks to a broadening of permitted cannabis products courtesy of the U.S. Farm Bill of 2018, THC products are legal in Wisconsin provided that the THC level stays at or below the Delta 9 level, defined as 0.3% of volume. Yeado gets his THC in an emulsion form specifically used as a food and beverage additive, from Perfectly Dosed, a Chicago-based cannabinoid ingredient provider that serves hundreds of craft breweries nationwide.
In Compliance
“We receive the emulsion in compliance with local legal thresholds and dose it to a certain volume of liquids,” Yeado explains. Last fall, Gathering Place produced two flavors at two different levels of strength—Strawberry Lemonade (5 milligrams) and Cherry Limeade (10 milligrams). The higher the milligram number, the more potent the beverage.
“There are breweries that make stronger drinks at higher milligram levels, but the industry as a whole seems to be coalescing around the 5 and 10 milligrams,” says Yeado.
Those who have tried it say it brings about a sensation of relaxation, he explains. “It goes through the digestive system, so there is a time delay after drinking it. The idea is to have some, wait 20 to 30 minutes, then decide if you want more,” Yeado says. “Much like a beer.”
The production time for Blossom and its variants is two-three days, in contrast with beer, which takes three-six weeks to brew. But the emulsion is more expensive than grain and hops, Yeado adds. Gathering Place sells its beer carryout packs for $11-$12, whereas a four-pack of Blossom retails at $20.
“We have to cover our costs, but we want these products to be approachable for those who want to try them,” he explains.
All Ages, All Fans
What’s more, there are no single stereotypical users, the brewer says. Fans of THC beverages span all ages and racial groups. Some of the seltzers are even calorie-free by using artificial flavors and colors, but Blossom uses real fruit juice which brings minimal calories to the drink.
“Some middle-aged moms are beginning to replace their afternoon glass of wine with THC seltzer,” Yeado says.
In addition, Gathering Place has gone the next step and has its products evaluated by third-party labs to test the finished product’s potency. Each seltzer package has a QR code that can be scanned by the consumer that will link back to the batch report that describes the product so consumers can make a wise choice.
The fact that Wisconsin is surrounded on all sides by states that have some form of legal cannabis brings hope to Yeado and other producers that someday the Badger State will catch up with its neighbors and legalize recreational cannabis.
“We’re hoping things are changing in Madison and that Wisconsin state law will somehow find its way into the 21st Century,” he explains. “We’re well positioned when and if that happens. I mean, when Iowa’s getting out ahead of us you just have to stop and scratch your head,” Yeado adds.