A Canadian company is claiming to be the first in the world to come up with a cannabis beer but there are already cannabis beers on the market, so what makes this one so different?
The new beer is the latest creation from Ontario-based Province Brands and what makes it stand out from any other beer is that it is actually brewed from cannabis, as CEO Dooma Wendschuh told the Guardian:
“Our beer is brewed from the stalks, stem and roots of the cannabis plant.”
Pretty much all of the cannabis beers available on the market right now are usually brewed like a traditional beer and then infused with THC or CBD later.
An alternative to alcohol?
The alcohol industry has historically fought cannabis legalization tooth and nail as they fear that cannabis could eat into their profits as consumers substitute beers for cannabis, and they’re not wrong. That’s why some of the biggest alcohol companies have invested millions of dollars into Canadian cannabis companies.
Mr. Wendschuh even says that was his goal when he explains the rationale for his company’s new drink:
“If I could create an alternative to alcohol, that’s something that would change the world. That’s something I’m very passionate about.”
Cannabis and hops actually have a lot in common
It took a lot of hard work to get to this point, and the first few brews tasted horrible, “like rotten broccoli”, Mr. Wendschuh admitted, but after teaming up with a chemist, they were able to find the right mix of ingredients.
It’s not inconceivable to think of a beer brewed from cannabis as cannabis and hops are both in the Cannabinaceae family and share many terpenes in common. Terpenes are compounds found in the essential oils of many citrus and conifers and are responsible for skunky, earthy, or citrus-y smell of cannabis and hops.
The canna-brewed beer is non-alcoholic and gluten-free, and averages 6.5 mg of THC a beer, which puts it on the lower side of the edible spectrum as many consider 10 mg of THC a standard dose.
The beer hits quicker than an edible
Mr. Wendschuh described the taste as “dry, savoury, less sweet than a typical beer flavour,” adding, “the beer hits you very quickly, which is not common for a marijuana edible.”
As anyone who’s had an edible knows, it can take anywhere from 30 min to over an hour for the effects to kick in, which is another way that this new beer stands out, and perhaps that can be partly attributed to the bubbly nature of the drink because, as champagne-drinkers can attest, carbonated drinks have a way of getting you drunk faster. There’s something about the bubbles that gets the alcohol into your bloodstream faster, and it’s even been proven by science!
Sources
The Guardian: ‘It hits you very quickly’: Canada brews first cannabis beer.
New Scientist: Champagne does get you drunk faster.