New Chattanooga Beverage Company Ushers In The Future
THC seltzers from Louisiana-based Crescent Canna can be found in Riverside’s new facility.
A new beverage company in Chattanooga (TN) is representative of a model for the industry, leveraging craft brewery roots to make drinks for a new generation.
As the brewery space continues to see contraction while drinking habits evolve, a lifeline for the struggling sector is the burgeoning THC beverage category. This summer, Chattanooga, Tennessee based Riverside Beverage Company opened its doors as a partnership between two local entities, Hemp Rolls and Snapdragon Cannabis Company. The new outfit operates out of the former production facility of local craft stalwart, Hutton & Smith, whose beer for the wholesale channel will continue to be made there under agreement. Nashville's Volunteer Botanicals will help provide technical and logistical expertise for the beverage group, rounding out this unique offering.
Riverside is part of a growing trend of new business models for the craft beer sector, which includes creating and canning beverages that aren't actually beer. In a sign of where the industry is going, the new company recently acquired significant brewery tanks and equipment from Jekyll Brewing of Alpharetta, Georgia, which permanently closed all of its locations this past May. Barrel tanks that used to house IPAs and brown ales will soon hold THC seltzers and other hemp-derived drinks, symbolic of a changing industry that more and more is moving into alternatives to complement craft beer.
"With ABC laws changing the industry (the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission recently was given full jurisdiction over THC drinks), we saw a moment to redefine what the beverage space could look like," said David Powers, CEO of Hemp Rolls and Riverside Beverage Company, in a press release provided to BevNet. Powers also noted that Riverside could be a good option for national players like Crescent Canna looking for additional packing facilities closer to their customers.
The new company was formed in July.