Building Disco Fizz for the LGBTQ+ & Beyond with Ben Zumsteg

Hemp THC Beverages & Saving Asheville, North Carolina | Regulate Don't Ruin NC

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2547712/fan_mail/new] Three craft beer veterans explain why hemp derived THC beverages are the most important shift hospitality has seen since the craft beer boom, and why a federal ban could gut the industry by the end of the year. In this episode of the Ready To Drink Podcast, Nate Fochtman sits down with Chris Frosaker, founder of Hi-Wire Brewing and owner of Joyful Noise Listening Lounge, and Andrew Ross, co-owner of The Whale Craft Beer Collective. All three came up in craft beer, and all three are now building around hemp THC beverages. The conversation covers why craft breweries are positioned to lead the hemp beverage category, how lab tested and accurately dosed drinks make THC beverages the most transparent option on the shelf, and why a pharmacist sees regulation as a harm reduction win. It also gets personal. Both Nate and Andrew share how hemp beverages helped them step away from alcohol, get healthier, and stay socially connected. This is part of the Regulate Don't Ruin NC series. North Carolina is deciding right now whether emerging hemp beverages get a real regulated framework or get pushed back to the gray market. The choice affects retailers, manufacturers, and consumers across the state. Educate yourself, then sign the petition at RegulateDontRuinNC.com This series is proudly sponsored by Tryon Distributing, Crescent 9, and Torch Drinks. Subscribe for new Ready To Drink Podcast episodes on the brands, operators, and policy shaping the future of adult beverage. Follow Ready To Drink Podcast: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | ReadyToDrinkPodcast.com Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2547712/support] Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com

Crescent 9 Built Something From Nothing, Now The Government Wants To Take It Away

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2547712/fan_mail/new] Nate Fochtman sits down with Joe Garrity, Co-Founder and CEO, and Joshua Katzenstein, Chief Revenue Officer of Crescent Canna and Crescent 9 THC Seltzer - one of the fastest-growing hemp beverage brands in the country, now sold in 20 states. What started as a scrappy CBD startup in New Orleans in 2019 became a brewery, a 40-person operation, and the number one brand in Nielsen data across multiple markets. Now, like every operator in this category, they are staring down a federal ban that nobody voted on, nobody debated in committee, and nobody can get a straight answer about. Joe and Josh pull no punches. They talk about what it felt like to build something from nothing, nearly lose it in Louisiana to a politically connected opposition, and win anyway - because constituents picked up the phone. They talk about what this ban is actually costing real people, why the grassroots pressure worked once before and has to work again, and why hemp beverages deserve a seat at the table that flour and gummies have made harder to pull up. This episode is part of the Regulate Don't Ruin NC campaign, sponsored by Tryon Distributing, Crescent 9 & Torch Drinks - a call to action for North Carolina residents, retailers, distributors, and consumers to make their voices heard before it is too late.  If you live in North Carolina, sign the petition and get involved at RegulateDontRuinNC.com. Topics covered: Crescent 9 origin story, building a hemp beverage brewery from scratch, pricing strategy against craft beer, the federal hemp ban, the Louisiana grassroots fight, Mitch McConnell and the Farm Bill, hemp beverage safety data, the child safety argument examined, why beverages must lead the legislative path forward, and what operators need consumers to do right now. Follow Ready To Drink Podcast: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | ReadyToDrinkPodcast.com Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2547712/support] Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com

How Hemp Beverage Emulsions Work and Why Regulation Is the Real Product | Alexander Choi, Perfectly Dosed

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2547712/fan_mail/new] Alexander Choi, Co-Founder and CEO of Perfectly Dosed, joins Nate Fochtman on the Ready To Drink Podcast to break down the ingredient infrastructure powering the hemp beverage industry. From a class project at the University of Chicago to supplying emulsions for hundreds of breweries across the US, Choi walks through the full origin story of Perfectly Dosed, the science of cannabinoid emulsification, and why getting regulation right matters more than any single product launch. Topics covered in this episode include how emulsions work and why they determine onset, peak and offset of effects, the founding story behind Perfectly Dosed and its pivot from edibles to beverage ingredients, the role craft breweries are playing in scaling the hemp beverage category, why co-founder Glenn spent years testifying across 28 states to shape legislation, the federal regulatory landscape and how operators should think about the current uncertainty, and what authentic brand building actually looks like in an emerging category. Perfectly Dosed has supported production of over half a billion hemp products and continues to work across the supply chain with breweries, distributors and retailers. If you are a founder, operator or investor watching the hemp beverage space, this episode covers the full stack from molecule to market. Find Alexander Choi in Linkedin | Check out PefectlyDosed.com  Follow Ready To Drink Podcast: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | ReadyToDrinkPodcast.com Ready To Drink Podcast is hosted by Nate Fochtman, founder of The FreeMind Group, a strategic advisory firm serving beverage brands since 2008. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2547712/support] Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com

The Beverage Lawyer Who Won't Sugarcoat It | Shauna Barnes of Barnes Beverage Group

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2547712/fan_mail/new] Shauna Barnes is the founding partner of Barnes Beverage Group, a full-service national law firm built exclusively for the beverage industry. She started in craft beer, built the legal department at Dogfish Head during its fastest growth years, and now runs a 15-person firm alongside her husband Brandon helping brands navigate formation, distribution agreements, labeling, trademarks, and the current hemp regulatory storm. In this episode, Shauna and Nate get into what it actually costs to go national,  regional or statewide (more than you think), why landing a distributor is the beginning not the end, what brands need to do right now to survive the federal hemp ban, and the lessons Dogfish Head taught them both about building something with soul. They also talk about the craft beer shakeout happening in across the country, the vultures in the beverage space, why beverage ain't it if you want a cushy paycheck, and what it means to be a lawyer who tells you the truth even when it costs her the billable hour. Shauna's firm: DrinksLaw.com  Find her on LinkedIn: Shauna Barnes Follow Ready To Drink Podcast: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | ReadyToDrinkPodcast.com Ready To Drink Podcast is hosted by Nate Fochtman, founder of The FreeMind Group, a strategic advisory firm serving beverage brands since 2008. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2547712/support] Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com

Building Disco Fizz for the LGBTQ+ & Beyond with Ben Zumsteg

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2547712/fan_mail/new] Ben Zumsteg is the founder and CEO of Disco Fizz [https://discofizz.com/], a sparkling functional non-alcoholic beverage built for the dance floor. A first-time CPG founder with 15 years of brand strategy experience behind him - working with clients like L'Oreal, Ralph Lauren and Four Seasons - Ben stopped drinking on New Year's Day 2023 and spotted a gap nobody was filling: the LGBTQ+ community had nowhere to turn in its own spaces when it came to non-alc options worth actually ordering. In this episode, Ben walks through how he commissioned original quantitative research on LGBTQ+ drinking habits (the only study of its kind), how that data pointed him toward moderate-caffeine functional energy rather than a mocktail and why he named the brand Disco Fizz on purpose - "inherently queer, never exclusively".  Nate and Ben also dig into brand distinctiveness, the "slap a rainbow on it and leave after Pride" problem, tiered caffeine formulation strategy, the premium packaging decision to go matte black with bare aluminum and why being for someone means you have to be okay with repelling someone else. Ben is pitching at BevNet Live [https://www.bevnet.com/events/bevnetlive]and recently landed a spot in Paris Hilton's Pride Shopping Guide [https://shop.parishilton.com/products/disco-fizz-lemon-hibiscus-chill-yuzu-mango-heat-multipack-4pk]. Disco Fizz is currently rolling out on premise in New York City with DTC and retail to follow later in 2026. Find Disco Fizz: discofizz.com | Instagram: @drinkdiscofizz Follow Ready To Drink Podcast: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | ReadyToDrinkPodcast.com [http://readytodrinkpodcast.com/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2547712/support] Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com