HEMP BEER HITS BRITAIN - BUT YOU WON'T GET STONED

THE country's first hemp beer is being consumed in London's bars and clubs.
But anti-drugs campaigners need not worry - you would need to drink 3,000
bottles to get stoned.

A German company has teamed up with an English importer to bring the
grass-flavoured drink to Britain.

Asbjorn Gerlach, one of the founders of the Berlin-based Bier Company, said:
"Hops and hemp are very closely related. In 1996, when growing hemp became
legal, we decided to try making beer.

"Using hemp as a flavouring agent in beer is a very old idea and was popular
in the Middle Ages. The drink has a slightly fruity, grassy flavour but
tastes very similar to lager."

The strain of hemp used for beer-making is a sister plant of cannabis and
contains only minute amounts of the drug. Mr Gerlach said: "You would have
to drink so many bottles that it would kill you before you got stoned. We
are not promoting cannabis - we are promoting hemp.

"We have called the beer Turn because we want people to turn their minds to
the idea of using hemp. It is good for the environment. To make paper it
takes 12 hectares of rainforest but only one hectare of hemp."

Brian Haddow, an Englishman living near Munich, was already exporting
chocolate from Germany to Britain when he came across the new 4.9 per cent
brew and instantly had the idea of introducing it to the rest of Europe.

Mr Haddow and his nephew Paul set up in business and have so far exported
Turn to England and Denmark. It is also bound for France, Italy, Spain and
Poland.

Paul Haddow said: "Brian is a real fan of German beers and hemp beer tastes
very similar.

"We are targeting the 18- to 32-year-olds in trendy London bars and clubs.
After that we want to take it to the rest of the country.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett