Pabst Blue Ribbon entering cannabis market with infused seltzers

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Another major brewer is jumping into the marijuana sector.

Pabst Blue Ribbon on Wednesday announced the formal launch of Pabst Labs, a new licensed marijuana business in California that will produce and sell THC-infused, nonalcoholic seltzer beverages.

The line of drinks, called Pabst Blue Ribbon Cannabis Infused Seltzer, will initially be distributed in a “select” number of retail stores in California, according to a news release.

Consumers will also be able to order seltzers directly through the company website, shop.pabstlabs.com.

“Though this is a limited initial launch, we’ve had a really enthusiastic and positive response from dispensaries and customers and are looking forward to a wider rollout in the coming months,” Pabst Labs Brand Manager Mark Faicol said in the release.

Faicol also suggested that the entry of “an established brand” into the infused beverages market could “help kick-start the cannabis drinks category,” a niche that has long lagged behind marijuana products such as flower, vape cartridges and edibles.

Pabst is the latest major beer maker to leap into the cannabis business:

The biggest to date has been Constellation Brands, which made headlines in 2018 with a $3.8 billion investment in Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth. Constellation’s beer portfolio includes Corona and Modelo.

California-based Lagunitas Brewing Co., also in 2018, entered a partnership with AbsoluteXtracts, another California marijuana company, to begin making nonalcoholic THC-infused seltzers.

Molson Coors entered the Canadian marijuana industry in 2020 by partnering with Hexo Corp.