Select Californians can now enjoy Lagunitas SuperCritical, a non-psychoactive IPA infused with cannabis-derived terpenes.
Beers like Lagunitas’ famous IPA are made with very specific hops varieties as reported by Fritz Hahn from The Chicago Tribune. The very compounds that give beer its flavor are also responsible for the unique and pungent aromas and flavors of cannabis. In a monumental partnership with CannaCraft, Lagunitas has officially dropped their first beer with a recipe that includes cannabis derived terpenes. Previously there has been one Southern California beer that uses terpenes from Jetty Extracts, but this is the first offering from the iconic Northern California company.
Before this groundbreaking launch, Lagunitas and other brewers would craft beers that resembled the flavor profile of our favorite cultivars. Brews like Lagunitas the Waldos, Oskar Blues’ Pinner Throwback IPA, and DC Brau’s Smells Like Freedom were all built to remind us of some classic cannabis flavor profiles.
With the help of CannaCraft, a company that powers AbsoluteXtracts, Lagunitas Brewer Jeremy Marshall had access to multiple terp cultivar profiles to choose from while creating SuperCritical. He painstakingly selected a combination of Girl Scout Cookies and Blue Dream terpenes and then paired them with a combination of six different hops. The recipe was crafted with the classic Lagunitas flavor in mind while also building on the foundation of these rich cannabis terpene profiles.
Lagunitas is running their terpene infused recipe as a test batch, for now, they’ve produced just 60 barrels. These 120 kegs of SuperCritical have been delivered to bars throughout California, mostly centralized in the Bay Area. It is important to note that these alcoholic beverages will remain completely non-psychoactive. All of the buzz that will be related to the intoxicating effects of alcohol, none of it is cannabis derived. What we do get from the cannabis is all of the flavor that we know and love. A flavor that is already considered by many to be a great combination with a Northern California craft brew.
