Blue Moon’s Brewer Launches Marijuana-Infused Beer
After years of working for MillerCoors and its predecessor, Blue Moon, Villa is retiring to launch his own cannabis-infused craft beer. The brewer plans to release the drink in Colorado this fall and hopes to expand to other states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Currently, marijuana use is illegal at the federal level, but Villa hopes to change that. The launch of his cannabis-infused beer comes as cannabis usage is becoming more popular and gaining traction in the US.
Keith Villa, the brewmaster for Blue Moon, has launched his own company, Ceria, Inc., dedicated to developing cannabis-infused craft beer. Along with his wife, Villa will brew cannabis-infused non-alcoholic beers that choice cannabis seeds contain THC, the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana that produces a high. The new beer will be brewed in the same way as craft beer with alcohol, but will be de-alcoholized before being infused with marijuana.
The new beverage will feature cannabis extract in 5mg doses, and will have similar onset times as alcohol. It will cost $9 a bottle, and will be produced under the guidance of Villa. The brewers will be collaborating with Keef Bottling, a Colorado-based cannabis-infused beverage company. The company also plans to distribute its marijuana-infused beverage throughout the US.
Keith Villa is the brewer behind the popular Belgian-style beer Blue Moon. Villa retired from MolsonCoors in 2018 and started his own company, Ceria Brewing Co., to develop cannabis-infused beers. The brewer has partnered with keef bottling, the Sleeping Giant lastest about marijuana Brewing Company, and O’Fallon Brewing in Missouri to create a cannabis-infused beer. The company has since launched the Grainwave Belgian-style white ale. With its cannabinoids, the beer will have a richer orange character and a different type of bitterness.
While there are a number of barriers that still need to be crossed in order for cannabis-infused beer to be legal, the first step in making it legal is bringing a thriving industry into the mainstream. The company behind Blue Moon, the crafty witbier, is launching three different types of cannabis-infused beer. The cannabis-infused beer is made by brewing the beverage the same way as a conventional beer and then de-alcoholising it. It will be available in three different THC strengths – ranging from a zero-to-high.
Until federal legalization, Villa plans to focus on a limited distribution in Colorado. However, he hopes to expand his distribution to California and Nevada in the near future. In the meantime, he plans to introduce the cannabis-infused beer in other states as well. It has become a trendy trend to consume cannabis-infused beers, which are legal in some countries but do not contain THC. Hemp CBD-infused beers, on the other hand, have a taste similar to marijuana but do not contain any THC.
Cannabis-infused beer isn’t marijuana in the traditional sense of the word. They are brewed with marijuana oil, but do not contain any of the psychoactive ingredient THC. The ingredient used in marijuana-infused beer is hemp seed, a member of the cannabis family. Critics view this gimmick as a gimmick, but a South African brewery has already seen success with hemp seed beer.
Villa has partnered with the brewing company Ceria to create a cannabis-infused beer. The drink will be marketed as a “socially-acceptable” alternative to beer. Meanwhile, Villa’s wife Jodi has been working with MolsonCoors for 32 years. The beer’s brewing style is similar to Blue Moon and the company is launching the marijuana-infused version in Colorado next month.
Legal cannabis use in Colorado has led to a booming industry for marijuana-infused beverages. Last December, Ceria sold out its marijuana-infused beer in four hours, contributing to amazing growth estimates for the cannabis space. Currently, beverages make up 5% of the edibles market in the U.S., but are expected to grow more than 10 times to $374 million by 2022.
The new cannabis-infused beer will be available for sale in Colorado dispensaries. Villa and Jodi Villa are co-founders of Ceria, a Denver-based cannabis-infused brewery. The beer will cost about $9 per 10 oz. bottle or $36 per four-pack. Villa will be serving as both the brewmaster and CEO of Ceria. However, the cannabis-infused beverage will likely be sold in Colorado and other states where recreational use is legal.