New Belgium Gets Trippy With New Hemp Beer Campaign

hemp, New Belgium Gets Trippy With New Hemp Beer CampaignNew Belgium’s new Hemp/IPA hybrid, The Hemperor, something they’re calling a HPA, is continuing its nationwide campaign that’s blatantly targeting beer lovers who also enjoy weed.

And why not?

Described by New Belgium, as ‘the world’s dankest ale’ The Hemperor is all about mimicking marijuana’s aroma and terpene flavors, not its psychoactive buzz.

And given that, in spite of the advances that recreational pot has made (at least on a state level), hemp as a beer ingredient remains largely taboo, it’s impressive that New Belgium was able to craft this new hybrid to begin with.

After two years of effort and legal machinations, the brewery found a workaround in the 2014 Farm Bill which legalized hemp heart. And that’s what New Belgium used to craft their HPA which they also reportedly brewed with “a proprietary process utilizing compounds from other materials that emulate the aromatic terpenes found in hemp.”

And even though The Hemperor contains no THC (the compound in cannabis that gets you high) it’s still banned in Kansas.

Similar legal constraints tempered some aspects of New Belgium’s advertising campaign…which trumpets the ale’s cannabis associations every chance it gets.

Adweek is reporting that ‘full-page ads are running in Rolling Stone, where there will also be a takeover of the magazine’s new digital Cannabis Channel.

And New Belgium has enlisted the talents of Erich & Kallman, an award-winning San Francisco-based advertising company, to create a series of animated ads that lean heavily on stoner culture and Monty Python-esque humor to make their IPA standout from the countless number of craft beers vying for the public’s attention today.

Due to federal restrictions on hemp advertising there won’t ever be a TV buy. But these uber-clever and decidedly trippy ads will broaden their exposure on digital and social platforms beginning this week…

 

About AmericanCraftBeer.com

AmericanCraftBeer.com is the nations' leading source for the Best Craft Beer News, Reviews, Events and Media.
Scroll To Top