Company: CERIA Brewing Co.
Website: www.ceriabrewing.com
Design Snapshot: An idea for a THC beer by the brewmaster who created Blue Moon at MillerCoors first came to life through its packaging. “You always start with the package,” says Doug Christoph, chief marketing officer at CERIA Brewing Co. Each 10-ounce bottle contains 5 mg THC.
The company released Grainwave, a dealcoholized Belgian-style beer, in Colorado this winter, with a lager (2.5 mg THC) and an IPA (10 mg THC) to follow. Working with Trinity Brand Group, the development team decided on an aluminum bottle for a premium look. Aluminum complies with laws requiring opaque packaging, and it keeps the THC from dissipating and losing its functionality, unlike a clear glass bottle, Christoph says. Plus, it chills fast and stays cold longer. The label features Ceres, a goddess of the harvest, with cannabis leaves in her headband and a tagline of “cannabis pro omnibus,” meaning “cannabis for the people.” The elegant colors and styling are meant to appeal to new or light cannabis users and to stand out from a distance in dispensaries. A standard bottle cap meets Colorado’s child-resistant packaging requirements, but Christoph notes that when the company moves into Nevada, for example, a different closure might be needed.
