SIPP Industries Inc (SIPC)

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SIPC, CURRENT AND FUTURE PLANS.
WESTWORD
Sleeping Giant and Major Hemp Collaborate on
New Hemp-Seed Beer
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017 AT 11:56 A.M. BY JONATHAN SHIKES

In February, a Colorado Springs hemp supplier called Major Hemp, in partnership with Denver’s Sleeping Giant Brewing, will roll out kegs of a new beer made with hemp-seed powder. Major Hemp will start with fifty barrels, or about 95 kegs, which it plans to distribute in the Denver area. If the reaction is positive, the company says, it would like to take the beer to other states.

“Initially, we will focus on affluent areas like LoDo, where there is a high concentration of bars and pubs that will have an interest in this,” says Ted Jorgensen, the president of Major Hemp, a subsidiary of California’s Sipp Industries. “Then, depending on the success of the beer, which looks good, we will go ahead with a much larger brew and possibly put some beer in cans.”

Major Hemp Brown Ale, as the beer is called, was brewed by Sleeping Giant, a contract brewery that makes beer for more than fifteen companies inside and outside of Colorado; some of its local clients include the Post Brewing, Weldwerks, Black Shirt Brewing and 38 State. Sleeping Giant has no brands of its own, which means there's no danger of the brewery competing with its clients.

Hemp seeds have been used in commercially made beers for twenty years.

Major Hemp worked with Sleeping Giant to develop a recipe that uses a proprietary water-soluble hemp powder; each twelve-ounce beer will contain about 100 milligrams of hemp.

“They came to us a few months back, brought us some hemp powder and asked us to consult with them from tip to tail,” says Sleeping Giant founder Matthew Osterman, adding that he also spent time researching both the legality and the market potential for hemp beer. “I think it is a segment that has legs," he notes. "Hemp beers were pioneered twenty years ago, but they are a little more buzzy now because of all the ways that marijuana regulations are changing.”

“Humboldt Brewing in California started making a hemp beer in the late ’90s. They were ahead of the curve, we think. But timing is everything and I think the timing is now,” Jorgensen adds.

Unlike marijuana, hemp doesn’t contain a significant amount of THC and is therefore non-psychoactive. Hemp is legal to use in products in the United States, and Osterman stresses that Major Hemp Brown is made from hemp seeds rather than cannabidiol oil, or CBD, which is extracted from the stalk, leaves and flowers of the hemp plant. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently reclassified CBD, which many people believe to have health benefits, as a scheduled drug in the same class as heroin, even though it does not contain THC.

The Hoban Law Group in Denver and the Hemp Industries Association are fighting that classification on behalf of several companies that use CBD in their products. Most CBD-product companies are continuing to operate while the the legal action is taking place.

Major Hemp’s Jorgensen would also like to make a CBD beer, but he is waiting for clarification from the DEA. “CBD is much easier to brew into a beer than hemp, so we would do it immediately once we got the green light. We already have the best CBD available,” he says.

For now, though, he is focused on the Major Hemp Brown, which will be distributed by Denver startup wholesaler Colorado Craft Distributors and could hit tap handles in February.

“There are not a lot of hemp beers out on the market, so it's unique, and it sparked our interest,” says Colorado Craft Distributors co-founder Tom Jasko. “I got a taste of the beer and loved it.... Hemp is part of our culture here in Colorado, and I think it will be a nice change of pace.”

If Major Hemp and Sleeping Giant produce a second batch, it would likely be 100 barrels — some of which would be canned — and it could be the same brown ale or an IPA. After that, Major Hemp will look to reproduce the beer at contract breweries in California and possibly in New York and Illinois.
http://www.westword.com/restaurants/sleeping-giant-and-major-hemp-collaborate-on-new-hemp-seed-beer-8747928