Brewing beer with thc in it

[Baked Alaskan]

I used to give my trim to my neighbor and she would somehow brew it into beer. I, of course, quit drinking before she started brewing. My friends said you catch a buzz from the thc.

Has anyone done this or is it being done in Colorado or Washington on a retail scale?

 

[m314]

I haven't done it at the brewing step, but it's easy to add THC to a beer. Make hash oil (I prefer using 99% isopropanol for edibles / drinkables), dissolve the oil in Everclear 190 to make a tincture, and add the tincture to the beer either before bottling or before drinking. My tinctures are strong enough that you only need a few drops for a dose.

 

[jayjayfrank]

cannabis is related to hops right?

so shouldnt you be able to use it the same in the brewing process?

 

[m314]

cannabis is related to hops right?

so shouldnt you be able to use it the same in the brewing process?

Some posters in the Cannabis Brewing section tried that with bad results. Maybe there's some trick I haven't read about that would make it work.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/forumdisplay.php?f=107

 

[m314]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=4015173&postcount=8

Apparently the trick is to brew a high alcohol beer and add the buds after fermentation. I had read that and forgotten about it somehow. Must have been high or something.

 

[Stoner4Life]

beer & a joint sound great 'bout now.......

 

[Baked Alaskan]

Some posters in the Cannabis Brewing section tried that with bad results. Maybe there's some trick I haven't read about that would make it work.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/forumdisplay.php?f=107

Ha, I did a few thread title searches but nothing came up about brewing or beer. Next time I will do more searches.

Thanks for the link.

 

[GrowingHigher]

THC isn't water soluble.

You can use cannabis as an alternative to hops for brewing, but it probably wont get you high.

If you want to make psychoactive beer a better approach may be:
Brew beer as normal, even use hops as normal.

Dry herb at 150F for 30-40 min to decarboxylate THC. Then either

1. Heavily dry 'hop' your beer with bud. High alcohol beer should work best. (method M314 links to)

2. Make green dragon by steeping buds in everclear for several weeks. Spike your beer after fermentation with concentrated everclear.


Humulus lupulus and Cannabis are both in the Cannabaceae family

 

[Hundred Gram Oz]

There was a guy on here back in 2004 that used to brew beer and cider with cannabis. I think he won an award at the first ICM 420 cup, for his brew. His name was BastardBrewer

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

Here ya go:

http://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/how-to-make-pot-infused-beer-thrillist-nation

Weed-infused beer is a real thing, and we tell you how to make it

Now that weed is legal in Colorado to residents (and tourists!) over 21, a beer nerd on the subreddit /r/COBeer has begun brewing with it, as Coloradans have quickly tired of eating, vaporizing, and smoking it. According to user brad1775, marijuana-infused beer is "fantastic tasting stuff". Unless you're a homebrewer who's reading this from a place where weed is legal, do not try this at home. FEDS WATCHING!

Brad was nice enough to give us one of his favorite recipes for an IPA, which you can see here. If you don't homebrew and you'd like to learn more about this revolutionary beer, we've created a handy FAQ.

This beer tastes horrible, right?
No, it tastes good! This dude has worked at a homebrew shop, is a homebrewer himself for many years, AND he currently works for a local edibles manufacturing company in Colorado. He's got the perfect skill-set to make this awesome.

What sort of high does weed beer give you?
You'd get the same high as you would eating an edible (like a pot brownie), since both beer and food go through your intestines. Smoking your weed is so 2000-and-late.

Which style of beer will taste best with weed in it?
He's tried a whole slew of them, and has found any style of beer with hops in it works best: IPAs and Imperial IPAs being ideal. Turns out that weed and hops are "close relatives in the field", which makes them natural bedfellows in beer.

This is seriously illegal, right?
Since it's illegal to commercially sell a beer with any drugs in it, then yes. If the feds change their mind on marijuana being a dangerous Schedule 1 drug, this could eventually open the doors for legal weed beer, but homebrewing is definitely the fastest way to have some in your lifetime.

How much pot do you need to make this beer?
The recipe is right here. It only requires 3/4oz to produce a 5gal batch of beer. That's about 50ish beers. You can throw one helluva house party. Even better than the ones hosted by Kid 'n Play.

What strain should you make the beer with?
Blue Dream is available widely, and goes well with his recipe.

Is it super strong?
Yes. Each 12oz beer is like eating the equivalent of a strong brownie. But you might wanna only drink them on the weekends, as the effect lasts 12hrs.

You ever see the back of a $20 bill... on weed?
For real! It's mad trippy!

Take me to the recipe, I'm ready to brew!
Brew away.

Here is the recipe:

 

[GrowingHigher]

Thanks for the recipe. That's a lot of hops.

Do you know the point of the potassium metabisulphate? is that just to disinfect the Cannabis that is used to dry hop?

I would still heat up the entire amount of Cannabis to activate as much of the THC as possible if the goal is psychoactivity though.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

I don't know why it's added. Went to the wiki page for the ingredient, and this is what it had regarding it's use in brewing beer:

Beer

Potassium metabisulfite is sometimes used in the brewing industry to inhibit the growth of wild yeasts, bacteria, and fungi. This is called 'stabilizing'. It is also used to neutralize chloramine that has been added to tap water at the source as a disinfectant. It is used both by homebrewers and commercial brewers alike. It is not used as much for brewing beer, because the wort is almost always boiled, which kills most microorganisms. It can also be added to strike water (the water used to mash the malted barley) in order to remove chloramines which can cause phenolic off flavors in beer.

Sounds like it is being added because the weed after the wort has been boiled may contain some microorganisms.

Did you see at the end of the recipe, the dude mentions how much THC should be in each bottle of beer. I have no idea how that amount would affect a person who is a regular toker, but is it possible that amount is sufficient to create a good social buzz?

 

[m314]

THC isn't water soluble.

You can use cannabis as an alternative to hops for brewing, but it probably wont get you high.

If you want to make psychoactive beer a better approach may be:
Brew beer as normal, even use hops as normal.

Dry herb at 150F for 30-40 min to decarboxylate THC. Then either

1. Heavily dry 'hop' your beer with bud. High alcohol beer should work best. (method M314 links to)

2. Make green dragon by steeping buds in everclear for several weeks. Spike your beer after fermentation with concentrated everclear.


Humulus lupulus and Cannabis are both in the Cannabaceae family

That green dragon recipe definitely works. I made it that way for over 10 years. The only problem is that it can ruin the flavor of a good beer.

I prefer using 99% isopropanol now. Do an overnight soak in 99% isopropanol, strain, and evaporate. 2 or 3 overnight extractions will get almost all the cannabinoids from the bud or trim. Take the resulting oil, and do an ethanol purge. Just dissolve it in Everclear 190 and let it evaporate again. Redissolve the oil in Everclear to make a tincture as mild or as concentrated as you want.

This kind of tincture adds a pleasant mild flavor to beer. Other drinks too. I prefer it to the overwhelming "green" flavor I got with long ethanol extractions.

 

[shithawk420]

Wow that's a lot work.is it even worth it?I like a skunky beer

 

[Moppel]

There was a guy on here back in 2004 that used to brew beer and cider with cannabis. I think he won an award at the first ICM 420 cup, for his brew. His name was BastardBrewer

Bruce the Basterd Brewer. And some of his stuff was called Basterd Brew. Very tasty stuff....strong too.

 

[shithawk420]

I think I remember him.didn't he have something to do with Arrogant Bastard pale ale?great stuff

 

[EastCoastHaze]

i think i might have just found a new hobby

 

[EclipseFour20]

Last summer I had the pleasure of being invited to the "backroom" at a winery (sorry, promised to keep the place a secret) where the winemaker made "pot wine". He added 1 lb of the highest quality cannabis chopped to "pea size" to a barrel (about 55 gallons) of "new wine" and barrel aged it for 12 months. The wine, syrah, was a bit earthy with a peculiar taste but palatable...and, very potent; everyone's eyelids were at half staff. I don't know if he decarboxylated the herb--I doubt it since the wine had no nutty flavor (something that happens when the herb is decarboxylated).

So the professional winemaker's routine was 1lb of cannabis, approx 55 gallons of fermented wine, and age it for 1 year in wood. Hmmm, anyone but me think a nice Belgium styled-ale that is barrel aged with killer cannabis (not trim--but flowers cut to pea size) might be the ticket. Its been about 10 years since I made beer/ale--maybe it's time to do it again.

Cheers!