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"Holy Hell."

That was the reaction when Jack Peat, founder of Abstrax Tech dropped the numbers on our latest clip. Imagine turning 500 lbs of hop pellets into 2,500 lbs of aroma equivalent while simultaneously increasing your beer yield by 30%.

Less biomass means less beer soaked up in the tank + much more shelf stability.

Catch the full episode of the Ready To Drink Podcast tomorrow to see how Quantum extracts are changing the game for brewers everywhere.

Check out AbstraxTech.com

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Co-founder Josh Crozier shares the story behind the naming of Appalachian Girls Cannabis Co, how it represents the spirit of Southeastern Ohio and the female cannabis plant.

It is about more than just a label, it is about representing a region historically exploited for its natural and human resources, while honoring the female cannabis plant that produces the intoxicating buds.

Based in the heart of Southeastern Ohio and grown with Hocking Hills spring water, this brand is built on purity and Appalachian pride.

Check out AppGirlsCannabis.com

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PR has a PR problem.

It is something we are all trying to figure out right now: what is the right angle and what can we actually do to stand out? But the truth is, consumers are questioning transparency and authority more than ever. They see right through the kitschy skits and superficial campaigns.

Those of us who have been in this career have a real opportunity to get the stories of the humans out there.

This is the year founders need to focus on sharing true, emotional, collective narratives. We still need to talk about our products, but we all must bring the human story back to everything we do so that we can authentically connect with consumers and build lasting trust.

How is your brand bringing the human story to the forefront this year?

More stories at ReadyToDrinkPodcast.com + YouTube + Spotify + Apple Podcasts

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Over 32 million Americans walk into a grocery store every single day. Half of the U.S. population conducts a transaction at a convenience store on a daily basis.
If we want to build a sustainable, normalized hemp and cannabis industry, this is exactly where these products need to live.

Fifteen years ago, I was running craft beer development for a wholesaler, the industry loved to villainize approachable brands like Blue Moon and Goose Island. I was the guy on the island defending them. Why? Because they were the entry point to the journey.

If someone asked me about craft beer, the first drink I handed them was a Blue Moon. They would say, "Okay, I can do this." Then the second drink could be a little more obscure, and the journey naturally progressed toward your Surleys and Revolution IPAs.

You cannot go to step seven without going to step one.

Right now, parts of the cannabis industry are fighting to lock all THC products behind dispensary doors. But if you cold-plunge a new, sober-curious consumer straight into a high-potency product or a heavily regulated dispensary environment on their first jump, you turn them off. When you don't allow that consumer journey to flow correctly, they are gone from the entire industry.

Hemp-derived THC beverages are our Blue Moon. They are the approachable, low-dose, commoditized entry point.

To introduce the mainstream consumer to this space, we need these beverages sitting in age-gated, easy-access retail venues - grocery stores, convenience stores, and bottle shops. That is how you build the journey. That is how you grow the entire pie.

Education. Regulation. Normalization.

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In this episode of the Ready To Drink Podcast, Nate Fochtman sits down with Adam Peabody, co-founder of Reddi Beverage and Flora. Like always, there was no script, no prep and no agenda - just two humans with deep roots in the hospitality and adult beverage industries having a completely organic conversation about the reality of the hemp THC beverage space.

Adam went from wrestling guys at the door of a Chicago club to running high-end hotel beverage programs and now he operates an 11,000-square-foot manufacturing facility dedicated to non-alcoholic THC-infused spirits and mocktails. We get into the grit of building a CPG brand from scratch, the early days of hand-dipping wax seals on bottles in an apartment and why Flora formulates their drinks from a liquid-first, bartender's perspective rather than just chasing the seltzer trend.

But the real meat of this episode is the controversial truth that a lot of people in the cannabis industry do not want to hear: intoxicating hemp beverages do not belong in the dispensary channel. If we want to truly normalize THC and build a sustainable industry, we have to meet the consumer where they are and that is in America's bars, restaurants and traditional retail stores. Beverage is the ultimate entry point and putting it behind the double-locked doors of a dispensary only hurts the movement.

This is real talk about the future of adult beverages, the 2018 Farm Bill and how we normalize and scale this category the right way.

Check out Adam and the incredible liquids his team is producing at drinkflora.com and reddibeverage.com. You can also connect with him directly on LinkedIn.

As always, look people in the eye as you walk down the street, say hello to a stranger and hold the door for somebody. Put some real positivity out into this crazy world. Subscribe to the channel so you never miss an episode.

Connect with Adam Peabody: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-peabody/

Website: DrinkFlora.com + ReddiBeverage.com

Connect with Nate Fochtman: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natefochtman/

Website: FMGStrategy.com + ReadyToDrinkPodcast.com + TheLeadersArenaPodcast.com

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Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com

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The hemp-derived THC market is moving fast, but who is actually building the infrastructure to sustain it?

In this episode of the Ready To Drink Podcast, Nate sits down with Thomas Winstanley, EVP & General Manager of Edibles.com. Thomas shares his journey from the regulated cannabis market into the hemp space, explaining why hemp is the ultimate "Trojan horse" for mainstream consumer accessibility.

We cut through the noise and talk about the real business of THC: why older demographics are driving growth, the reality of the dispensary vs. liquor store distribution models, and why the future of the category relies on functional wellness outcomes - not just "getting high."

Understanding traditional distribution models is key to integrating hemp beverages into the mainstream market, a major topic in today's episode.

What we cover in this episode:

- The launch and strategy behind Edibles.com as a trusted, curated marketplace.
- Why the "Nancy Reagan era" demographic is the fastest-growing consumer base for hemp products.
- The critical differences between regulated cannabis & hemp and why putting low-dose beverages in dispensaries hurts everyone's bottom line.
- The fight for smart state and federal legislation (including the Pennsylvania hemp beverage bill).
- Why the future of THC regulation needs to look more like the traditional alcohol Three Tier Distribution System.

Connect with Thomas Winstanley:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-winstanley/

Website: https://edibles.com/

Connect with Nate Fochtman: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natefochtman/

Website: FMGStrategy.com + ReadyToDrinkPodcast.com + TheLeadersArenaPodcast.com

Support the show

Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com

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The hemp-derived THC market is moving fast, but who is actually building the infrastructure to sustain it?

In this episode of the Ready To Drink Podcast, Nate sits down with Thomas Winstanley, EVP & General Manager of Edibles.com. Thomas shares his journey from the regulated cannabis market into the hemp space, explaining why hemp is the ultimate "Trojan horse" for mainstream consumer accessibility.

We cut through the noise and talk about the real business of THC: why older demographics are driving growth, the reality of the dispensary vs. liquor store distribution models and why the future of the category relies on functional wellness outcomes... not just "getting high."

Understanding traditional distribution models is key to integrating hemp beverages into the mainstream market, a major topic in today's episode.

What we cover in this episode:

• The launch and strategy behind Edibles.com as a trusted, curated marketplace.
• Why the "Nancy Reagan era" demographic is the fastest-growing consumer base for hemp products.
• The critical differences between regulated cannabis and hemp, and why putting low-dose beverages in dispensaries hurts everyone's bottom line.
• The fight for smart state and federal legislation (including the Pennsylvania hemp beverage bill).
• Why the future of THC regulation needs to look more like the traditional alcohol Three Tier System.

Listen to the Ready To Drink Podcast | Subscribe on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

Watch the Ready To Drink Podcast | Subscribe to The FreeMind Group on YouTube

Connect with Thomas Winstanley: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-winstanley/

Website: Edibles.com

Connect with Nate Fochtman: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natefochtman/

Website: FMGStrategy.com + ReadyToDrinkPodcast.com + TheLeadersArenaPodcast.com

Support the show

Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com

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I failed at getting sober. A lot.

We always tell people, "Don't be afraid to fail," but we rarely talk about what failure actually looks like in practice. On a recent episode of The Leaders' Arena Podcast, I sat down with someone who has seen my failures and successes firsthand: Coach Rick Hendrickson.

I’ve known Coach since I was seven years old in Berkeley Springs, WV. He was my high school wrestling coach, later my boss for many years and ultimately, family.

During this episode, we talked about my journey to hitting three years of sobriety. The reality is, getting to this point required a massive amount of "shedding." Shedding old mindsets, old habits and sometimes, shedding people. Not to place blame, I own my decisions, but because resetting your life requires absolute accountability.

It also required doing the hard, uncomfortable work. After going through five different therapists, I finally found one who was a recovering alcoholic. We did immersion therapy. I would go sit at a bar, order a beer, stare at it and actively force myself to confront every negative thing it had caused in my life.

It rewired my brain so completely that recently, when I had to taste a single drop of a cocktail recipe for a client, my brain registered it as rubbing alcohol.

Sobriety isn't just about stopping. It's about completely clicking your mind into a different place.

I am incredibly grateful to Coach for being a mentor through the years of false starts, so I could finally get to the finish line.

Listen to the Ready To Drink Podcast | Subscribe on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

Watch the Ready To Drink Podcast | Subscribe to The FreeMind Group on YouTube

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Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com

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Is the Bourbon industry actually afraid of hemp drinks?

Chris Fontes, founder of DrinkHighSpirits.com, joins Nate Fochtman on the Ready To Drink Podcast to dismantle the myth that "fizzy hemp water" is stealing bourbon’s lunch.

The truth? Bourbon drinkers are loyalists. They aren’t swapping a $400 bottle of whiskey for sparkling hemp water. According to Chris, the decline in alcohol consumption isn't about competition - it’s about health, aging and the simple fact that "it hurts to drink" as we get older.

Watch the full unscripted breakdown of the hemp beverage revolution.

Listen to the Ready To Drink Podcast | Subscribe on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

Watch the Ready To Drink Podcast | Subscribe to The FreeMind Group on YouTube

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Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com

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"I don't know what the hell I'm doing... but I made the drink I wanted to drink."

Shannon Urban-Denise, co-founder of ROAM, explains why her family-owned hemp beverage company is ditching chemicals and artificial sugars for real Italian purees and craft-brewed quality.

With under 90 calories, ROAM is proving that "Clean Label" and "High Potency" can live in the same can. Plus, hear why she views batch-to-batch color variation as a badge of honor for using real fruit.

Check out RoamDrink.com

Watch the full unscripted story on Ready To Drink Podcast available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Wherever You Podcast.

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Presented by The FreeMind Group - FMGStrategy.com