Yarra Valley company Maku produces hemp beer

Four beer-loving Yarra Valley businessmen are on a high after fusing an unconventional seed with hops to create a commercial brew thought to be the first of its kind in Australia.

Adam Guskich, Dale White, Michael Smith, and Todd McClellan are toasting their success with a new fusion beer mixing hemp and hops. Picture: Steve Tanner

Four beer-loving businessmen are on a high after creating what could be Australia’s first commercial beer made out of hemp.

The Yarra Valley Hemp Company and Croydon’s The Public Brewery have joined forces as Maku beer.

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Adam Guskich, Todd McClellan, Dale White and Michael Smith at their brewing HQ in Warrandyte South. Picture: Steve Tanner

Their first beer, the Hemp Session Ale, is made out of traditional ingredients including hops, malt and water — with toasted hemp seeds also added into the brewing process.

The seeds are sourced from Tasmania and contain less than one per cent of tetrahydrocannabinol — a cannabinoid found in cannabis plants — and can be legally consumed in Australia.

The beer, likened to a summer ale, is produced on The Public Brewery owner Dale White’s farm in Warrandyte South and went through more than a year of product testing.

“It’s a proper alternative beer,” Mr White said.

“There’s a lot of sour beers and fruit-driven beers trending, and this is an extension of those niche styles.”

Mr White said Maku was working on a second hemp beer — a darker, English-style ale — for release in winter.

Details: maku.com.au