The Denver Post is reporting that THC-infused, nonalcoholic beer will hit local dispensaries as soon as Friday. Ceria Brewing Company’s Grainwave Belgian-Style White Ale is set to become available at Green Solutions’ dispensers across Colorado by the end of the week.
Priced at $7.95 for a 10-ounce bottle, the product contains 5 milligrams of THC per serving, which is about one half the amount of a typical edible marijuana item. “You should feel good but you won’t get stoned,” Ceria brew-master and co-founder Keith Villa told The Post when describing the potency of Grainwave. Villa also has two other Ceria products he plans to unveil soon, an American light lager containing 2.5 milligrams of THC per serving, and an IPA containing 10 milligrams.
The creator of popular Belgian white ale Blue Moon, Villa is currently highly invested in expanding the cannabis-infused beer market. “We truly believe it will change the industry,” Villa said of his product. Labeled “de-alcoholized cannabis beer,” Grainwave is brewed as a normal beer, with the alcohol being removed before the product goes to market. Villa created it with the help of Keef Brands, a cannabis-soda company that has been selling its drinks at dispensaries since 2014. Praising Villa’s idea, Keef CEO Erik Knutson declared that, “It’s definitely a cool alternative for people who are maybe at a point in their life where they don’t want to drink alcohol anymore.”
Colorado has a long history of beer-brewing and was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana. While many have been anxious to merge these practices, federal law still forbids infusing alcoholic beverages with THC. This opens the door to two options for those looking to merge beer and marijuana culture: create a beer infused with a non-psychoactive element of cannabis, or create nonalcoholic beer infused with THC.
While Villa has chosen to pursue the latter option, Dad and Dude’s Breweria in Aurora has picked the former. This past summer, the brewery relaunched its “cannabidiol” product, aka CBD-infused beer. While CBD has been called a holistic healing agent and praised for its anti-inflammatory properties by some, the Federal government started cracking down on the substance in 2017. However, Dad and Dude’s started putting out George Washington’s Secret Stash, a CBD-infused IPA in July, and it’s been very popular at the brewery in the following months. President and co-founder of Dad and Dude’s, Mason Hembree, is hopeful that with an upcoming farm bill that would legalize hemp, currently awaiting President Trump’s signature, they will be able to keep it on tap.
“There are a lot of people going for it,” remarked Hembree, describing the popularity of his CBD beer. At the moment, he holds a provisional patent for the brewing method used to make it and hopes to obtain a permanent one to slow down large competitors.
What Could Cbd-Infused Beer Mean for Personal Injury Law?
While cannabis may be legal in the state of Colorado, statistics indicate that drivers who smoke marijuana before getting behind the wheel are twice as likely to be involved in a crash. This is an additional risk to motorists on top of drunk drivers, who are responsible for a new fatality every 51 minutes in America.
What might THC-infused beer mean for the average driver? Will it cause accidents to those who drink it and then drive? What will the affect be on overall DUI rates in the state? The fact is that even beer that contains a very small amount of THC can be dangerous. Moreover, if users believe the dosage is small, they may ingest more, and not realize how high they are getting. This could put them and other motorists in a very dangerous situation, should they decide to get behind the wheel.
Call Denver Trial Lawyers ® if You Have Been Injured
If you have been injured in an accident coming from a dispensary or brewery that sells cannabis-infused beer, contact our Denver personal injury attorneys at Denver Trial Lawyers ® for skilled legal representation. With over 100 cases taken to jury trials and 175 years of collective experience, you can rest assured we have the knowledge and skills necessary to take on your case. We also have a proven track record of success, securing over $350 million in verdicts in settlements for clients across the United States. For compassionate legal advocates who will always fight for you, the choice is clear. Contact Denver Trial Lawyers ® today.
Our firm operates on a contingency fee basis, which means that unless we obtain compensation, you will not be billed. Dial (303) 647-9990 to speak with a personal injury lawyer, or contact us online to schedule a consultation.
