We’ve already heard of beer brewed with cannabis, but how about beer brewed with terpenes? To bypass any illegalities, Lagunitas recently did just that with the help of CannaCraft, a California-based company that makes cannabis vape cartridges called AbsoluteXtracts.
If you’re not familiar with terpenes, they’re the super-fragrant oils found in cannabis that help give strains their unique smell and taste, and while they’re a key component of many of today’s most popular strains, they don’t actually contain any THC. In other words, they’re legal, which makes crafting a beer with them completely legal too, no matter what state you’re in.
“Lots of people have had the beer at this point, and NO ONE has experienced any psychotropic effects (to the dismay of some!),” said Lagunitas’ Director of Communications Karen Hamilton.
So what kind of beer is it and how is it made? Kial Long, Vice President of Marketing for AbsoluteXtracts, says that the beer is created “using a combination of dozens of terpenes that we isolate and refine during cannabis extraction.” A number of terpene blends were prepared “with the Lagunitas-style taste in mind,” after which Lagunitas brewer Jeremy Marshall went through and eventually selected one—a mix of Blue Dream and Girl Scout Cookies. He then picked six different kinds of hops, including Tomahawk, Zeus, and Summit, to match and balance out the flavors of the terpenes.
The result? The aptly named “SuperCritical,” a dank and pleasantly pungent IPA-style beer with grassy flavor and a nice amount of earthy, bitter hops. And while it certainly won’t get you high, it will get you buzzed with an alcohol percentage that measures in at 6.8 percent by volume.
Unfortunately, you can only taste the beer at select bars across California, as Lagunitas is viewing this first batch of just 60 barrels (120 kegs) as an experiment. But as Hamilton said, “There may be more SuperCritical coming in the future, and this time to other areas in the U.S.” Here’s to hoping. And hopping.
