Heineken Unveiled Its First Beer Made By Using Marijuana Instead Of Alcohol
Marijuana has been legalized in several U.S. States, including California, and others continue to vote for the legalization of medical and recreational cannabis use. This has led to a new industry, generating more money into the United States economy via dispensaries selling varying strands of marijuana as well as edibles. In Canada, a brewery has already tried their hand in making marijuana beer. Their venture brought a heady beer which had traces of the alcohol replaced with cannabis. The Irish Post reports that Heineken is making what could be seen as a major move in the drinking and cannabis industry by replacing not just some, but all traces of alcohol with THC.
The beer giant company is putting the product out under Heineken-owned Legunitas brewing company. This new Hi-Fi Hops contains absolutely zero alcohol. Instead it is made entirely with THC, which is the psychoactive ingredient inside marijuana. Heineken is describing their newest beer as “cannabis-infused hoppy sparkling water.” Another fact about the Hi-Fi Hops drink is that the brew contains zero calories.
Distributed in two distinct varieties, this new marijuana beer will be sold with one having 10mg of THC and the other containing 5mg of THS and 5MG of CBD. CBD is the naturally occurring cannabinoid thought to have therapeutic qualities. Currently this product can only be purchased through a few licensed marijuana dispensaries in the state of California. The cost is around $8 USD or £6.20 for a single can, which is resealable so that consumers can sip on the drink over an extended period of time.
Heineken’s Lagunitas new sparkling beverage also has zero carbs, meaning anyone on a carb-restrictive diet could consume Hi-Fi Hops guilt free of breaking their macros. This beer is made with what the company says is some of Yakima’s finest hops, then infused with THC from their partnership with those at AbsoluteXtracts.
The facility producing this new Lagunitas beer, Hi-Fi Hops, is being led by William Silver, who happens to be the former dean of Sonoma State University’s business school and is now over at Santa-Rosa-based CannaCraft Inc. CannaCraft Inc. is a cannabis-extracting manufacturer. Recently, Lagunitas SuperCritical Ale, which contained aromatic compounds of essential oils extracted from marijuana plants but contained not actual THC in the beer, was the company’s first move toward a full marijuana beer.
CEO of Lagunitas, Maria Stripp, gave a statement to reporters, elaborating on the company’s vision for Hi-Fi Hops, cites The Cannifornian.
“Hi-Fi is not the first chapter in the love affair between cannabis and Lagunitas, but it is one of the most exciting. The idea of having a no-calorie beverage infused with cannabis seemed like a perfect next step in our product innovation, and a natural way to marry our past with our future.”
