For anyone who has followed the Tallahassee Beer Society since we first became "a thing" in July 2017, you know three things to be absolute truths when it comes to where we stand on certain hills:

• You know we really dislike Big Beer, particularly Natural Light — and that we have had MANY public battles with them on social media.
• You know not to even THINK about bringing a pumpkin beer around us.
• And lastly, you know that we are NOT particularly fond of hard seltzers (square up, White Claw!). It's a product that has infringed on craft brewery's turf in recent years. And while you might think it must be easier for a brewery to make a mildly sweetened alcoholic seltzer instead of a double dry-hopped IPA with malt, barley, wheat, lactose and fermented fruit, it's actually a totally different - sometimes even more difficult - process. 

Several local Tallahassee-area breweries like Proof, Deep, Ology and Georgia Beer Company have brewed and sold hard seltzers because they understand that not everyone who visits the tasting room drinks — or even likes — beer. Crazy, we know.

But, nevertheless, it's not uncommon these days to see breweries offer additional options like wine, sangria, cocktails, spiked lemonades and even hard seltzers as a way to expand their selection and attract more customers. Who knows, maybe those customers will even find a beer on tap they like during their visit. That's OUR hope, anyway!

Taste a JoyFace at Proof

So why all this seltzer talk?

This week those two worlds will collide in Tallahassee when one of the co-founders of one of our local breweries — Proof Brewing Company's Angela Burroughs — launches her own brand of seltzers: JoyFace Collective.

Except this Tallahassee-made product will have two important differences from the seltzers you're used to on the market right now:

1. JoyFace Collective is an all-natural "wellness" seltzer made with a CBD isolate derived from hemp

2. It's also non-alcoholic

(We'll pause briefly to explain what CBD is, for those who may not know. Per the Harvard Health Center: "CBD stands for 'cannabidiol.' It is the second most prevalent of the active ingredients of cannabis — or more commonly known, marijuana. While CBD is an essential component of medical marijuana, it is derived directly from the hemp plant, which is a cousin of the marijuana plant. While CBD is a component of marijuana — one of hundreds — by itself, it does not cause a "high.")

JoyFace Collective, which is currently the only non-alcoholic CBD seltzer brand in North Florida, will launch Saturday, June 26, at Proof Brewing with a tasting event from 2-10 p.m. There, Angela and JoyFace will debut the first two flavors: lemon-lime and peach. And while Angela will be the face and workhorse behind this new venture, Proof Brewing — the company — will still be very much involved in all facets, despite Proof and JFC being two separate companies.

JoyFace Collective will be brewed, produced and canned in-house at Proof's location at 1320 South Monroe — which will also be the only place you can get it in the early going.

JoyFace will soon be distributed to Tallahassee retail stores and be available for shipping, but for the time being, Proof's tasting room will be the only purchase point.

Product based on 'wellness'

And Angela couldn't be more excited about adding JoyFace Collective to Proof's portfolio.

"In my opinion, the best part of life is real growth and personal evolution. JFC, as a company, is the embodiment of something beautiful coming out of an incredibly challenging moment in time," Angela said. "JFC is focused on wellness, a positive state of mind, and offers a whole new realm of possibilities as far as enjoying a healthy lifestyle goes. We plan on offering new flavors in the near future, and JFC will listen to our clients and continue to produce what they love as well as experiment with fresh exciting new (joyful) options!"

We'll be the first to admit that we don't have a lot of experience with non-alcoholic, all-natural, wellness seltzers — OR drinks with CBD infused in them. JoyFace's website, however, does a good job of explaining just what to expect with this product.

"JoyFace Collective is natural seltzer with CBD isolate derived from hemp. It's a low-calorie, high-quality wellness beverage for a better you. Our water-soluble formula allows for increased bioavailability to work with your body. JoyFace wants you to live in the moment refreshed," the website reads.

"We focus on three guiding principles at JoyFace Collective: Quality. Consistency. And transparency. That means we put every effort into providing the best quality product, from the water source to the highest quality hemp-derived CBD. JoyFace seltzers are lightly essenced with flavors we love that are light and refreshing. In addition, we source our nano emulsified CBD isolate from licensed US-grown hemp that is third-party and independently lab-verified to match the amount of CBD on the label that you can see."

CBD isolated from hemp oil

The one question we had after reading that is, "What, EXACTLY, is a 'CBD isolate'?" So we asked Angela, and here's what she told us: "CBD isolate, in the most simple explanation, is CBD isolated in extraction from all other components in hemp oil — or literally CBD isolated from hemp oil. Proof uses a proprietary nano-emulsified water soluble form of CBD isolate. It has no aroma or flavor, but CBD isolate is the purest form of the chemical compound CBD found in the cannabis plant. Each can will contain 20 mg of pure bioavailable CBD from hemp and natural flavoring."

The new JoyFace product also has other highlights, including: 

• It's produced and canned in recyclable packaging
• It's THC Free
• It's low-calorie
• And it's pesticide-free & non-GMO

Again, for a group called the "Tallahassee BEER Society" that isn't particularly into hard seltzers, we find this new product and business venture from Angela and Proof pretty fascinating. After all, Angela's explanation that this idea was born out of a tough year for everyone — and, at its core, JoyFace is a product designed to help bring joy back into people's lives — is pretty awesome.

And it's always cool to see our breweries branch out into other ventures, like when they launch food concepts, or when Proof and Ology made hand sanitizer during the pandemic, or Ology's foray into opening Tallahassee's first distilling operation, or even Eastpoint Beer Company producing non-alcoholic "Dog Beer" from the leftover wort (which dog's love, btw!)

We're excited about this new "craft" coming out of the Craft Capital — and we wish Proof and Angela all the best of luck with it!

Danny Aller is the co-founder, along with Matthew Crumbaker, of the TLH Beer Society. Reach the Beer Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or email: tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.