Cannabis-infused beer is coming to Colorado

The man behind Blue Moon Belgian White Ale wants consumers to drink more beer.

So his new suds sub out alcohol for THC.

Brewmaster Keith Villaon Wednesday unveiled his latest beer venture: Ceria Beverages, an Arvada, Colo.-based firm developing a line of non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused craft beers.

Ive been seeing firsthand where consumers are drinking less and less beer and opting instead for wine, spirits, sparkling water or even cannabis, said Villa, who retired in January from a 32-year brewing career with MillerCoorsThis is an alternative to regular, alcoholic craft beer.

Ceria partnered with Colorado cannabis firm ebbu to dial in cannabinoid formulations providing consumers sensations such as relaxation, bliss or uplift.

The firm specializes in tailoring cannabinoid extracts and formulations for firms launching cannabis-infused consumer products or medicines. CEO Jon Cooper told The Cannabist he started ebbu tosolve a vexing issue for cannabis consumers: The Blue Dream they were buying from one
dispensary could generate wildly different sensations than the Blue Dream bought at the next shop down.

The companys recent breakthroughs in cannabinoid infusions delivering consistent and specific sensory experiences really gives a person control over the experience that theyre having, he said.

On its face, Ceria will look much like a craft brewer. Villa will develop a couple of types of beer likely an American-style light lager, perhaps an imperial IPA, and most definitely a Belgian-style wheat and then put them through a de-alcoholization process.

The alcohol-free suds will then be sent to a licensed cannabis manufacturing facility where they will be infused with a proprietary formulation of water-soluble cannabinoids. From there, the brews can be shipped to licensed dispensaries.

While cannabis beverages currently represent a sliver of the market share of state-legal marijuana products, sales of infused colas and waters have steadily increased. During the first six months of 2017, cannabis beverage sales in Colorado, Oregon and Washington totaled $13 million, up 26 percent, according to BDS Analytics.

It remains illegal for alcoholic products to contain marijuana or certain parts of the hemp plant, leaving brewers to come up with craftysolutions.

Though Villa said he was initially anti-legalization, he came around and has been dabbling with the concept of cannabis-infused beers since Colorado launched legal sales of adult-use marijuana in 2014.

As a beer professional, it really opened up a lot of ideas, he said ...