WV breweries join hemp beer promotion

Two of the first commercial West Virginia beers featuring hemp seeds among their ingredients have been brewed by state breweries. Bridge Brew Works introduced Doobie this past week, and Bad Shepherd Beer Company will introduce its The Allegheny Rocket on May 4.

Interest in using hemp seed as an ingredient in brewing beer has been growing nationally, gaining traction largely from the fascination with hemp’s connection to marijuana, even though hemp seeds used in food or brewing contain none of the psychoactive THC drug found in pot. The only high you’ll get from these hemp beers will come from the alcohol.

Hemp seeds do add a subtle, nutty flavor to beer, but not much else in the way of flavor. Due to the high cost of hemp seed compared to brewers malt, don’t expect more than a small dose of hemp seeds in a batch of beer. Most hemp beers, including both of these WV hemp beers, pair hemp seeds with a big addition of dank-flavored American hops to build a sensory connection to the dank taste and aroma of marijuana, even though the beer contains no weed.

Doobie

Bridge Brew’s Doobie is a hemp IPA brewed with West Virginia hemp seed added to the mash. It tastes much like a malty, dank-style West Coast IPA. While brewer Adam Herrold wouldn’t specifically identify all the beer’s ingredients, he called the beer “something different, something new.” Herrold says they used a hopback device to ensure the beer got loads of dank hop aroma and flavor. One hop he did admit to adding was Simcoe, which is known as among the dankest hop varieties. Bridge Brew made a 10-barrel batch of their 7.6% ABV beer.

Bridge Brew Works introduced Doobie to the market last Thursday during an event held at Arrowhead Bike Farm in Fayetteville. Folks had no problem drinking the beer, which poured a beautiful golden color with a thick white head.

Bike Farm co-owner Rich Ireland said the event was the first in a series of Bikes & Brewers events that they will hold at the farm this year. He was very happy to get the chance to kick off sales of a new local beer.

The Allegheny Rocket

Bad Shepherd describes its Allegheny Rocket as a hoppy IPA loaded with dank hop flavors. It weighs in at 7.2-percent ABV. The Allegheny Rocket will be introduced at the Charleston brewpub on May 4.

“We were chomping at the bit to get this beer brewed,” said Bad Shepherd head brewer Ross Williams. “We used shelled seeds, the hemp hearts, which have no THC or CDB. He added the hemp hearts to the malts in his mash and let them steep.

“The nice thing too is they have a lot of vitamins and minerals and oils that provide nutrients for the yeast, and probably a little bit of fermentables,” he added. “We’re trying to get it pretty dank with the right hops and dry hops. We used Amarillo, some Galaxy, and some Citra, but mostly Amarillo.”

Bad Shepherd with its related Black Sheep Burritos and Brews restaurant will donate $1 per pint for the first keg of The Allegheny Rocket sold to help marijuana advocates lobby the state legislature for laws more friendly to the consumption of marijuana and to help the state’s struggling economy. The name of the beer, The Allegheny Rocket, comes from the name hemp farmers in West Virginia have given to the economic potential of hemp and eventually legal marijuana as cash crops in the Mountain State.

A rapidly growing interest is seen in the industrial uses for the hemp plant, especially in the production of therapeutic hemp oils. Some are promoting hemp farming as a positive economic opportunity that could help revive rural areas of West Virginia.

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Bridge Brew Works Facebook link
Bad Shepherd Beer Co. Facebook link