Do you ever come home after a long day at work and feel torn between which substance you want to use to escape reality? It’s OK, you’re not alone. It’s a tough choice, especially in Colorado where thriving microbreweries and marijuana dispensaries both play essential roles in defining our culture (and economy). Starting this fall, you’ll no longer be faced with such a heavy decision because our state will be the first to sell a craft beer infused with THC.
Remember back in college when the luxury of having a million different microbrews to choose from didn’t exist, so instead you drank Blue Moon with a slice of orange because you still needed to assert that you’re above drinking whatever cheap, light beer was flowing out of the keg? Well, back in January, Keith Villa, the guy who created Blue Moon Brewing Company and worked as the head brewmaster for 35 years, announced his retirement from Molson Coors.
Fortunately for us, retirement must have been hella boring for Keith ’cause he spent the entire time experimenting with craft beer and marijuana in preparation for his next venture. Now, he’s teaming up with his wife, Jodie, to officially launch their new brand: Ceria Beverages. Actually, now that I think about it, three months of concocting drinks and researching how to get the masses lit sounds like the best retirement ever. Sign me up.
Based in Arvada, Ceria’s company goals this year include rolling out the first ever line of cannabis-infused craft beers. “I’m ready to introduce another high-impact brand to the industry again,” Villa said in a press release. To me, that just sounds like a humble brag about how he has the resources, skills and experience required to disrupt the industry, expand his legacy and become even wealthier. That’s fine. I’m excited about these drinks and still plan on giving him all my money.
Anyone with firsthand experience can tell you that simultaneously consuming alcohol and marijuana can be an iffy situation to put yourself in, but don’t worry about getting too faded — thanks to state laws that restrict alcohol and cannabis from being distributed in the same place or used in the same products, all of Ceria’s beers will be nonalcoholic and infused with THC, the psychoactive chemical compound present in cannabis.
According to the website, the drinks will come in different strengths, like light, regular and full-bodied, as well as feature a “variety of sensations.” The light beer will offer about one to six milligrams of THC per 12 oz. bottle. Regular beers will be in the 10 milligram range, while the full-bodied offerings will be in the 15 milligram range. And in the most Colorado move ever, the drinks will have a labeling system similar to ski slopes: a green leaf for beginners, a blue leaf for intermediate users, a black leaf for experienced users and two black leaves for “the ultimate experience.”
To be clear, marijuana-infused drinks already exist, so this isn’t a new concept. Coalition Brewing previously introduced Two Flowers IPA, but it only gives you a mellow feeling, not a high, because it’s infused with the non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD). So there are a few things that make Ceria standout. First, the drinks will be brewed just like an alcoholic craft beer to maintain its beer taste and aroma, but with the alcohol removed and replaced with THC, instead of CBD. But the thing that really gives Ceria a leading edge over competitors? The beers are designed to deliver a consistent user experience with the same onset time as alcohol. How cool is that?
Ceria’s drinks will have less calories than traditional beer due to the elimination of alcohol, so feel free to tell your friends who are smug about their health and alcohol choices.
To deliver upon the fast-acting, consistent, trusted psychoactive experience, Ceria is working closely with Ebbu, a leading cannabinoid research firm also based in Colorado. Ebbu has developed a set of cannabis formulations that inspire specific sensations, all of which can be consistently dosed and delivered in a true water-soluble format.
If successful, Ceria plans to sell the drinks in other legalized cannabis states by the end of the year.
