When River North Brewery founder Matt Hess first discovered amburana wood, he immediately wanted to use it in a recipe. The wood, which comes from trees native to South America, offers a distinct profile with spicy notes of cinnamon. Hess thought it would aptly complement one of the brewery’s signature high-alcohol beers.
After receiving some amburana samples, Hess’ team made an imperial saison aged on amburana wood spirals. It turned out well enough that River North decided to enter the beer into the 2023 Great American Beer Festival competition.
However, the Brewers Association, which organizes the event, derailed those plans.
Beers made with amburana aren’t eligible for the competition, the trade group said, because the wood is considered a banned ingredient per the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which sets formula- and label-approval guidelines for breweries.
Hess was surprised, especially considering recipes featuring amburana had won awards in the past. In 2018, for example, a Kentucky brewery won GABF gold for a blended stout that had, in part, been aged in amburana barrels. Closer to home, Denver Beer Co. won multiple GABF awards for amburana-aged beers in 2020.
Hess isn’t sure when the BA started blocking amburana beers from competition, but he knows why. “That wood has been banned because it contains trace amounts of coumarin,” Hess said. Coumarin is a flavor compound that naturally occurs in some plants, but studies have shown that high amounts of coumarin can be toxic to certain animals.
Indeed, the Food and Drug Administration, the country’s foremost authority on food safety, banned coumarin in consumable food products many decades ago. The TTB defers to the FDA when determining if a brewery’s product is legal to sell should it include novel ingredients. The BA follows those guidelines to determine if a beer is eligible for its competitions.
“In the case of amburana wood, TTB has told us that FDA unequivocally communicated to them that amburana wood used to age beer… is not GRAS (generally recognized as safe),” Marc Sorini, general counsel at the Brewers Association, told The Denver Post.
Here are five ingredients you might be surprised are banned as food additives, including in beer. It’s worth noting that indigenous and Asian cultures historically used several of these plants for their medicinal properties.
Amburana wood
Amburana wood comes from trees native to South America. It contains coumarin, a compound shown to have toxic properties in pharmaceutical studies. The FDA banned coumarin in food in 1954. Drinkers may see amburana wood, commonly called Brazilian oak, used in spirits like whiskey and cachaça. It’s unclear why the wood is permitted for use in liquor but not beer. Still, that hasn’t stopped many brewers from trying it out.
Cannabis
Cannabis-infused beverages are widely available in the U.S. and many breweries make them, though not in Colorado. So how is it that cannabis ended up on this list? In short, a convoluted network of conflicting regulations at both the state and federal levels.
Cannabis plants contain many compounds called cannabinoids, some of which are psychoactive like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and others that aren’t, such as cannabidiol (CBD). Both hemp and marijuana are cannabis plants, distinguished only by their THC content. Marijuana, a federally scheduled drug, is high in THC; hemp is low in THC and was legalized nationwide in 2018.
As a rule of thumb, alcohol and THC are not allowed to commingle in a single beverage.
THC-infused beers exist in states where marijuana is legal, but they are regulated like edibles. In Colorado, those beers may not contain alcohol and they are prohibited from being served at bars. Non-alcoholic seltzers infused with CBD and THC from hemp have become popular in states where marijuana remains illegal. Because many seltzers do not meet the TTB’s definition of a malt beverage or fermented beverage, they often fall out of the agency’s purview, Sorini at the Brewers Association said.
Tonka beans
Like amburana wood, tonka beans contain coumarin. The FDA banned the use of coumarin, tonka beans and tonka extract in food in 1954 after “pharmacological investigations showing that it has toxic properties,” the federal register states. Tonka beans have a flavor profile — including notes of vanilla, clove and almonds — that chefs and brewers love, but to try a beer made with them, you’ll have to go to Canada or Europe.
Safrole (sassafras)
Despite its historic use as a root beer flavoring agent, oil derived from the root of the sassafras tree, called safrole, was banned in 1960. The FDA cited long-term pharmaceutical studies that found the compound caused liver cancer in its decision.
Sweet flag (calamus) plant
Sweet flag is a grass-like plant that grows near swamps and rivers. In 1968, the FDA banned it because studies found cancer-causing chemicals in some varieties. The agency banned the use of all calamus in food until studies prove specific varieties are not harmful.
