Drinkable Weed - the New Craft Beer Trend
Another potential American success story
There's another potential American success story in a small garage near Golden.
"Apple Computer started in a garage. Microsoft also started in a garage," says Keith Villa. "This location is exactly 10 minutes from the front door of Coors. I've driven it for 32 years."
Villa's name may sound familiar. He founded the Blue Moon Brewing Company under the Coors brand in 1995.
"My right to fame is that I started the Blue Moon Brewing Company," said Villa. "It took Blue Moon a while to catch on. And then, in 2001, people just couldn't get enough.
Now, Villa is brewing what could be the next big thing in the Colorado craft beer market.
"THC drinks," said Villa. "We have a Belgian wheat beer and an IPA, which we call microdosed products.
He calls his company Ceria.
"If you remove the alcohol from the beer, beer is actually very healthy," said Villa.
He and others are rushing to the cannabis-infused beverage market, the drinkable weed.
"We use exactly the same process as we do when making regular beer or lemonade," said Matt Baumgartner, Managing Director of Keef Brands.
He believes cannabis-infused beverages represent untapped potential.
"Also, there are a lot of people trying to get away from alcohol and looking for a replacement," said Baumgartner.
Like the beers from Ceria, the seltzers and lemonades from Keef are different this time.
"I think it's the best tasting root beer out there," said Baumgartner.
Keef mixes everything from root beer to raspberry club soda.
"I think the sky is the limit," said Baumgartner.
And at Ceria the beer tastes like, well, beer.
"The taste is what it is," says Villa.
It's certainly very different from the smelly, grass-infused drinks a few years ago.
"We break up the grassy flavors that you used to have and get rid of them," says Matt Vincent, co-founder of Durango-based Oh Hi Beverages.
Colorado is once again taking the lead when it comes to weed.
"A socially pleasant way to enjoy cannabis," said Vincent. "It's not smoking. It's better for you. In fact, it works a lot faster."
He also said that drinkable products are very different from edible products.
"How many times have you heard, 'I ate a gummy bear. I waited an hour. I didn't feel it, so I ate three more," said Vincent. "Because of the way the THC is incorporated into the liquid, absorption begins the moment it reaches the mouth.
"We know that with an edible drink you might have gotten off the rails," said Baumgartner. "But you can actually dose yourself with a drink."
"This will go through you and you will get the effects in about 10 to 15 minutes," said Villa. "Similar to alcohol. It's a similarly relaxed feeling. You're not stoned, but it's a really relaxed feeling."
"It's nano-emulsified into a very, very small particle," said Baumgartner.
Most of these drinks contain only 5 to 10 milligrams of THC, and some even contain as little as 2.5 milligrams.
The price is also right.
"Somewhere between $ 5 and $ 7," Baumgartner said.
Of course, these beverage manufacturers are still operating in a sensitive area with strict regulations and laws that vary from state to state.
"If you want to create a brand that exists in multiple states, you have to be creative," said Denver attorney Bob Hoban.
Beverage makers still can't ship these products across state lines, so Keef, Ceria, and Oh Hi must be made and canned in every state they are sold in.
"We had to rebuild a complete supply chain in every single state," says Hoban.
But Hoban, who is one of the leading cannabis lawyers in the world, believes the US is facing big changes in this country.
"There is a belief that we will be leaving cannabis prohibition in the United States very soon," Hoban said.
Our Canadian neighbors to the north have already legalized marijuana, and Mexico is about to do the same.
"It will be the largest country in the world with legalized cannabis," Hoban said of Mexico. "And then the United States sits in the middle here and we leave dollars on the table.
Hoban said US legalization could begin as early as next summer with the Safe Banking Act passed in Congress.
"I think this is the first step towards federal legalization," Hoban said. "That opens the way for banks and institutional investors who are otherwise on the sidelines.
In the meantime, those on the front lines like Oh Hi, Keef and Ceria could write another American success story.
"I haven't felt this good since I started Blue Moon," said Villa.
"It reminds me of what craft beer was 25 years ago," said Vincent.