Keith Villa developed Blue Moon Belgian White beer back in the 1990s, and now he’s turning his attention to marijuana-infused non-alcoholic “beer.”
Villa’s company, Ceria Beverages, is working with ebbu, a cannabinoid research company, to be the first to produce a non-alcoholic craft beverage infused with marijuana’s primary psychoactive chemical, THC.
Several beers infused with cannabidiol (CBD), THC’s non-psychoactive cousin, are on the market, but Villa is looking for something different.
“CBD is not the component that most consumers look for,” Villa told Brewbound. “It certainly has its merits… But the THC is what gives people that buzz, which is similar to the alcohol buzz that people get from beer, spirits and wine. A lot of consumers of cannabis look for that buzz.”
The aim is to provide an alternative — that will be a bit more expensive — to alcoholic beer that can create sensations like chill or euphoria. The product is expected to launch later this year in Colorado.
“This is really about brewing great beers that beer drinkers love,” Villa told USA Today. “You’d just swap out an alcoholic beer for one of our beers.”
other beers with marijuana
According to Beer Advocate, cannabis-infused beers are on the rise in marijuana-friendly states such as California, Oregon and Vermont. For example, Lagunitas Brewing Co. of California last summer released SuperCritical, an IPA made with THC-free cannabis terpenes.
Coalition Brewing in Oregon has put out several beers with cannabidiol (CBD), THC’s non-psychoactive cousin, like Two Flowers IPA, Herbs of a Feather and Charlie Brown.
“The idea behind Two Flowers is to show the biological, industrial, and cultural similarities of these two plants, and how they can be used together to create pure deliciousness,” Coalition owner Kiley Hoyt told Beer Advocate. “CBD beers are not some chimera of intoxicants.”
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See also, Fruit Flavored Beer On The Rise In America.
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