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LaFayette, N.Y. — Ayrloom, a line of cannabis-infused seltzers produced at Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards in LaFayette, has quickly emerged as the beverage category leader in New York’s new legal weed industry.
But a change enacted last week by the New York Cannabis Control Board will set some new limits on sales of certain Ayrloom beverages and similar products around the state.
The board closed a loophole that had allowed shops to sell cannabis beverages derived from hemp containing levels of the psychoactive compound THC that are comparable to those made from marijuana. Hemp, like marijuana, is a member of the cannabis family.
The new rules will limit the sale of higher-level THC beverages to the state-licensed recreational marijuana dispensaries, of which there are now 21 across the state.
Other shops, such as those that sell CBD and other cannabinoid products, will have to take the higher THC level products off their shelves. Ayrloom is now sold in about 100 of those shops in the state. The CBD shops fall under different state regulations than the recreational marijuana dispensaries.
Ayrloom, which also makes edible gummies and vape products, has been producing two variations of its seltzer. Both contain 5 miligrams of THC per serving, and have a THC-to-CBD ratio of 1-to-1.
The difference is that the Ayrloom seltzers made from marijuana have been and will continue to be sold at the licensed dispensaries, while those made from hemp have been available at the less-regulated CBD and similar shops. (The hemp-based products have also been available through online ordering, but Ayrloom is discontinuing that).
The new rules limit hemp-based beverages for sale at the CBD stores and similar outlets to 1 miligram per serving, and a 15-to-1 ratio of CBD-to-THC.
“What this package does … is essentially make sure that intoxicating hemp products are not in the cannabinoid market, and the intoxicating products are more appropriately regulated in the adult-use market,” said Patrick McKeage, deputy director of the Office of Cannabis Management, at last week’s CCB meeting after the changes were adopted.
In the Syracuse area, Ayrloom’s marijuana seltzers will continue to be sold at Flynnstoned in Armory Square, which is currently the only licensed marijuana dispensary in Onondaga County. CBD shops that carry Ayrloom, like Syracuse Hemporium in Mattydale, will eventually have to discontinue them.
Syracuse Hemporium owner Jim Charon said he has not yet heard from state regulators about the change or when it will take effect.
Ayrloom’s production facility opened in 2022 on Beak & Skiff property along Route 20 adjacent to its 1911 Established distillery and tasting room. That is a few miles from the big Beak & Skiff visitors center on Route 80 in Onondaga.
The company intends to follow the new rules and comply with all the state’s cannabis laws, said Eddie Brennan, president of the family-owned Beak & Skiff and its affiliated companies, such as Ayrloom and 1911.
The sting of losing the business at the CBD shops and online sales is tempered by the recent growth in the licensed marijuana dispensaries, Brennan said.
“We look forward to continuing to grow the cannabis beverage category in NY State from licensed dispensaries,” Brennan said in a email to syracuse.com. “I firmly believe that cannabis beverages are the future of the cannabis industry. It is the form (of cannabis) that is socially acceptable and most familiar. We look forward to continuing to break the stigma around cannabis one customer at a time.”
It is possible in the future that Ayrloom could make some lower-level hemp-based beverages that comply with the 1 milligram / 15-to-1 ratio, Brennan said.
Ayrloom’s 12-ounce sparkling waters are available in black cherry, pink grapefruit, and pineapple mango.
While Beak & Skiff is producing marijuana gummies and vapes, it expects the beverage category to be its main focus, Brennan said. The company has a long experience producing beverages like hard cider and distilled spirits.
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.