Dopey beer: just a conversation piece?

Tony Magee, the founder of Lagunitas Brewery, has made his enthusiasm for cannabis very well known. So it was only a matter of time before Lagunitas would launch a cannabis beer. Before you rush over to California to try it, be warned: the beer does not get you high. However, if you drink enough of it, the alcohol may.

Besides, the first run of kegs was only 100 and they’re basically all gone. Lagunitas did a limited distribution to about 60 locations that have their products on tap and by the time you read this, the beer may have sold out already.

At this point, mass-marketed Cannabis-infused beers don’t actually contain any THC. But, allegedly, they do taste like marijuana. Cannabis-infused beer is made with terpenes. They give marijuana its pungent smell. To make their current line of weed beers, brewers add selected terpenes in the hopping process to give the beers a subtle, dank weed-like flavour.

Called SuperCritical, the beer is a collaboration between Lagunitas and CannaCraft’s AbsoluteXtracts. Brewed with Yakima hops and cannabis terpenes from northern California, the IPA has 6.6 percent ABV and is the newest addition to Lagunitas’ “One-Hitter” series.