Dive Brief:
Boston Beer Co. is creating a subsidiary that will oversee research and innovation into nonalcoholic cannabis beverages. Located in Canada, where cannabis use is legal, the company will develop and test products as it watches regulatory developments in the United States and worldwide.
The company has hired Paul Weaver as director of cannabis to oversee the innovation hub. Weaver is the former director of innovation for Canopy Growth and also served more than six years at Molson Coors Beverage in a similar capacity.
With the establishment of the research and innovation hub, Boston Beer is putting a formal stake in the still developing but promising cannabis beverage segment to line up its next big growth opportunity after the wild success of hard seltzer.