CERIA Brewing Company was organized in January 2018 by co-founders Keith Villa of Blue Moon fame, and his wife Jodi after a 29 year career as brew master at Miller Coors. The two originally formed CERIA, Inc. (rhymes with “area”) to introduce a line of non-alcoholic craft beverages to be infused with THC, a key psychoactive ingredient from cannabis plants that affects how one feels by creating the unique sensation – the “high” – associated with marijuana. Since the introduction of the non-alcohol cannabis beer in 2018, the company has expanded their product portfolio to include Non-Alcohol craft beer as well
For almost a year, the Villas have been on a mission to redefine the way society thinks about and engages with cannabis. Their answer is to combine it with beer, one of the most socially acceptable beverage categories worldwide. To that end, CERIA Inc., doing business as CERIA Brewing Company, will launch a limited edition First Release of de-alcoholized Grainwave Belgian-Style White Ale in Colorado in mid-December. Each 10-oz. (296 ml) serving will contain precise 5 mg doses of fast-acting THC with a similar onset time as alcohol. It is anticipated that future CERIA releases will contain infusions ranging from 2.5 to 10 mg of THC as the brand launches new beer styles and expands from Colorado to California, Nevada, and other states where the use of recreational marijuana has been legalized. The Villas, both University of Colorado graduates and native Coloradans, note that CERIA Grainwave, containing malted wheat, oats, Hallertauer Tradition hops from Germany, along with both blood orange peel and coriander, will come in at 64 calories, two-thirds less caloric than traditional craft beer
Over the summer, CERIA, which made Colorado history with the state’s first THC-infused beer in December 2018, announced it will be entering the non-alcohol beer market with Grainwave NA Belgian White Ale. Grainwave NA will first be introduced before the end of 2019 and eventually will be available nationwide. CERIA also will begin to offer an IPA in two versions, one infused with 10 mg. of THC and 10 mg. of CBD for sale in cannabis legal states, as well as a non-alcohol version. CERIA, Inc., a Delaware C corporation, dba CERIA Brewing Company, is headquartered in Arvada, Colorado. For more information: Ceriabrewing.com, @ceriabrewing #ceriabrewing. Intercontinental Beverage Capital (IBC), based in New York, is providing CERIA Brewing Company with services in the areas of business strategy and planning, brand development, operations, commercialization and investment guidance. For more information: Inbevcapital.com. CERIA tapped brand strategy and design firm Trinity Brand Group, Berkeley, Calif., to develop its brand identity system, packaging, website and product naming. For more information: Trinitybrandgroup.com.
Constellation Brands has once again promoted Mallika Monteiro. Last Friday, the New York-headquartered maker of Mexican import brands Corona, Modelo and Pacifico appointed Monteiro as executive vice president and chief growth and strategy officer. Meanwhile, Ceria Beverages, which makes THC-infused, non-alcoholic beers, has appointed Greg Miller as its first vice president of business development.
CERIA Brewing, the craft brewery that made history in December 2018 with Colorado’s first THC-infused craft beer, has announced it will be entering the non-alcoholic (NA) beer market with non-infused Grainwave NA Belgian White Ale, which will be sold in 12 oz. aluminum cans.
In episode 37 of the Brewbound Podcast, Villa discusses his days of brewing and selling the iconic Blue Moon brand, and shares his outlook for the future of cannabis-infused drinks.
Colorado-headquartered Ceria Beverages plans to begin selling its THC-infused, non-alcoholic beers in Southern California within the next 90 days, according to co-founder Keith Villa.
Industry headwinds, brewery acquisitions, the emerging cannabis sector, and the seemingly never ending battle between big and small beer makers were the focus of Brewbound’s most-read stories of 2018.
CERIA Brewing Company, the Colorado craft brewery founded by Keith Villa, Ph.D., the former brewmaster of Blue Moon, has announced three key supply chain partners that have been essential for the company’s launch of Colorado’s first THC-infused craft beer. The company officially launched its Grainwave Belgian-style White Ale in mid-December.
Keith Villa, the legendary brewmaster who retired from MillerCoors earlier this year and launched Ceria, Inc., a cannabis company, is most known for creating the iconic Blue Moon Belgian-style wheat ale. So it’s only fitting that his first play in the cannabis-infused beverage space would be a de-alcoholized version of his popular brew. Called Grainwave, Villa’s first THC-infused non-alcoholic craft beer, a Belgian-style white ale, will hit Colorado dispensaries in mid-December.
Blue Moon inventor Keith Villa, who retired from MillerCoors in January after a storied 32-year career, isn’t leaving the beer business after all. Much of the press following his departure from the country’s second-largest beer company centered around the launch of Ceria Beverages, a startup focused on releasing a line of non-alcoholic craft beers containing THC. At the same time, however, Villa and his wife, Jodi, had quietly launched Donavon Brewing Company in their hometown of Arvada, Colorado.
CERIA Beverages, the THC-infused craft beer launching in late 2018, has appointed former Coca-Cola and MillerCoors industry executive Douglas C. Christoph as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
The Brewbound Podcast features interviews with beer industry executives and entrepreneurs, along with highlights and commentary from the weekly news. New episodes every Thursday.
