The Peterborough Examiner

Got a little THC on tap? Blue Moon creator plans to brew a new beer ... with weed

- MICHAEL MCGOUGH

Later this year, some American drinkers in states with legal marijuana might ditch their favourite IPAs or stouts for a little THC.

The maker of Blue Moon beer, Keith Villa, is planning three weed-based beverages, containing marijuana formulas intended to give consumers a buzz without containing alcohol, USA Today recently reported.

The weed-beer hybrid will debut in late 2018 in Colorado, the first state to legalize recreation­al marijuana.

Villa plans to bring it to other pot-friendly states, including California, soon after, according to ABC7.

The new drinks won’t be released through Blue Moon, but through Villa’s new company called CERIA.

Villa won’t be the first major brewer to introduce marijuana elements to traditiona­lly alcoholic drinks.

Lagunitas launched SuperCriti­cal Ale, which contains essential cannabis oils, near the end of 2017.

It was available in California, but according to the company website, is currently “all tapped out.”

What distinguis­hes Villa’s new creations is that they’ll contain marijuana’s psychoacti­ve ingredient, THC.

By federal law, brewers can’t put marijuana in beers, part of the reason CERIA’s beverages will be nonalcohol­ic. For what it’s worth, though, marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.

Weed-based, alcohol-free beers come with the promise of reducing, if not eliminatin­g, hangovers.

“You can almost dial in the sensations that you want,” Villa told Forbes.

He told USA Today the drinks are designed to impact consumers at the same pace that alcohol kicks in for regular beer drinkers.

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