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Beer packs cannabis punch

Some cannabis-based beverages introduced recently are intentionally low in THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that produces the feeling of being high; that is not the case with CERIA Grainwave Belgian-Style White Ale.

CERIA Grainwave is in a 10-oz aluminum bottle.
CERIA Grainwave is in a 10-oz aluminum bottle.

Launched in Colorado this past December by CERIA Brewing Co. of Arvada, CO, Grainwave contains 5 mg of THC and is meant to deliver the recreational high that other cannabis-based products now legal in Colorado are known for. It comes in impact-extruded aluminum bottles supplied by Exal. A 10-oz bottle sells for about $9.00. Graphics are delivered by way of a pressure-sensitive paper label. The bottles are also available in four-count paperboard cartons priced at about $36. Keith Villa, Co-Founder and Brewmaster at CERIA, hopes to expand distribution to California and Nevada soon.

Villa, it’s worth noting, is the one who invented Blue Moon Belgian White Ale some 20 years ago, a beer still popular and owned by MillerCoors. For CERIA Grainwave, traditional brewing techniques are used, including high-quality malts, hops, and spices. Then the alcohol is taken out and cannabis extract is carefully added so that the precise amount of THC is in every beer. CERIA Grainwave contains 5 mg of THC. Soon to join Grainwave in cannabis dispensaries, says Villa, is an American lager with 3 mg of THC and an IPA with 10 mg of THC.

The firm’s mission is neatly articulated on its Web site: “Beer has always had an essential role in our culture at the center of celebrations, connections, and even relaxation. Now, with the opening of markets and minds to the amazing experience of cannabis, we are marrying beautifully crafted beers with the magic of cannabis, proudly bringing into the mainstream an experience both happily familiar and entirely extraordinary.”

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