420 is fast approaching, meaning stoner-friendly activities will abound on Friday, April 20. Recreational marijuana is still not legal here in New York, but one thing that caught our eye for Friday is a beer festival in Portland, Ore. featuring CBD-infused beers.
The festival is called Two Flowers CBD Beer Fest, named for festival organizer, Coalition Brewing’s Two Flowers IPA, which is Oregon’s first CBD-infused beer. The “two flowers” part connotes cousin herbs, cannabis and hops, which are part of the same plant family (the hemp family).
CBD, which stands for Cannobidiol, is a chemical compound found in cannabis (the one that’s not THC, which causes the psychoactive effects of feeling “high”). CBD is said to have similar aromas and flavors (and, some believe, medicinal qualities) to hops, causing a beer-friendly “natural synergy…[that] augments and showcases the positive and enjoyable aspects of both plants,” Coalition Brewing says.
Two Flowers IPA, a West Coast-style IPA developed with Half Baked Labs, contains 3mg of CBD per 12oz glass.
Why aren’t there more weed beers? It’s illegal to sell a product that contains both THC and alcohol; it is not illegal, however, to infuse alcoholic beverages with CBD, a legal dietary supplement sold in all 50 states.
Other cannabis-infused brews to look out for Friday (and any time you feel like saying there’s cannabis in your beer) are New Belgium Hemperator IPA; Lagunitas Supercritical; or, coming soon to a lab near you (or more accurately, to ebbu, in Colorado), is Ceria, a non-alcoholic THC-infused beer created by the founder of Blue Moon.
Photo (L-R): Kiley Hoyt and Elan Walsky, owners and founders, Coalition Brewing.
