Sebago Brewing Co-Founder Urges Congress to Regulate THC Drinks

Kai Adams, who helped start Sebago Brewing Co. and launched the Gorham-based hemp drink brand Mystic Cove, called on Congress to write rules for THC beverages rather than eliminate them, in an opinion piece published by Mainebiz on Oct. 13.

Adams wrote that a federal limit of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, set to take effect on Dec. 11, would effectively end the category, and that most customers do not realize the change is coming. Empty shelves would cost Maine retailers and distributors sales and cut state tax revenue, he said.

Sebago Brewing, founded in 1998, runs four brewpubs and a production brewery, serves more than 12,000 guests a week and employs 225 people with annual payroll of nearly $5 million, according to the piece. The company introduced Mystic Cove in February 2025 with four 5-milligram flavors after installing a high-speed canning line and fielding requests from guests and cannabis companies.

Adams said batches are lab tested for potency before shipping and that brewpub staff follow a service policy limiting guests to one or two cans depending on whether they are also drinking alcohol. He argued the drinks should be age-verified, labeled, taxed and distributed like beer, a framework the Hemp Beverage Alliance is pressing Congress to adopt.

This story was first reported by Mainebiz.