Hemp Flavored Ales. More Than Eye Catching Packaging.

Imagine this scene. A group of friends are sitting around a campfire, sharing stories, strumming a guitar and enjoying good music, each other’s company, and very much enjoying their favorite hemp-based recreational product. As soon as one of the friends finishes one, they reach for another…..beer. Yes, beer. Exactly what product were YOU thinking of?

I’m guessing hemp is more often a conversation piece for people who are actually drinking beer instead of an actual ingredient. But brewers will occasionally use toasted hemp seeds as exactly that. Understandably, one of these beers might be quickly dismissed by the novelty of it all, and yes, you’re more likely to be drawn into trying hemp flavored beer by that incredibly familiar green leaf that’s likely on the label, but consider trying it for the taste. Beers brewed with toasted hemp seeds as are usually described as having a very smooth and distinctively nutty or earthy characteristic, and a taste similar to pine nuts is sometimes used to describe it.

Recently, “Humbolt Brown”, a brown ale flavored with toasted hemp seeds brewed by Nectar Ales in California started turning up here in Roanoke in bottles. It seems fitting – on their own, brown ales can be earthy, nutty, and often have roasted malty, nutty or coffee like flavors. Adding the nut-like hemp seeds would only seem to add to the depth of flavor. So far I’ve noticed it at Awful Arthur’s in downtown Roanoke, and just happened to run into it, at all places, a 7-11 in south Roanoke.

So try and remove any stereotypical images that have so far popped into your head. These beers ought to catch interest from more than just the tie dyed crowd. The next time you and your beer loving friends are looking for something different to try, this one might be it, even if at first it’s just for the novelty. Try it for the taste, even if everyone somehow votes to put on Europe ’72 on the stereo.