Scientists in a small Canadian laboratory are testing enzymes and experimenting with fermentation, nothing new for this particular company except for one thing: they are developing the world’s first beer brewed from cannabis.
While most cannabis beers on the market are brewed from barley and infused with marijuana oil, this one is a bit different, explained the company behind the weed-beer startup, per The Guardian.
“That’s not what we do. Our beer is brewed from the stalks, stem and roots of the cannabis plant,” said Dooma Wendschuh of Province Brands.
“The idea came from thinking, can we create something that can serve the role that alcohol serves in our society, and can we do that using this monumental sea change that is happening in our world right now?”
There were initially doubts that cannabis could be brewed into beer. “The things that we would come up with just tasted horrible,” Wendschuh said. “They tasted like rotten broccoli.”
With the help of a chemist, he eventually hit on the right combination of hops, water, yeast and cannabis. Any alcohol produced during the processing is removed, resulting in a non-alcoholic, gluten-free beer that offers a high.
“I don’t think there was anywhere else in the world where we could do this business. Canada is already leading the world in creating an industry around medical cannabis and we expect them to continue to lead the world in trading and industry around adult-use cannabis,” Wendschuh said.
The aim was to create a product that, when consumed, will be roughly equivalent to a single dose of alcohol. So far the company’s experimental products have averaged about 6.5mg THC per beer.
“The beer hits you very quickly, which is not common for a marijuana edible,” he said.
Wendschuh added that the beer product will be safer and healthier than alcohol but cautioned moderation. “You should not drink them five times a day, you should not drink them first thing when you wake up in the morning.”
Although he described his beer as a first step in upending an industry that has become ubiquitous. “If I could create an alternative to alcohol, that’s something that would change the world,” he said. “That’s something I’m very passionate about.”
