Local craft breweries are starting to take full advantage of the state's recent legalization of THC edibles by developing THC-infused seltzers.
At Minneapolis-based Indeed Brewing, Director of Experiences Ryan Bandy says they're working through the regulatory process right now, and hope to begin selling the product in cans at the brewery within a few weeks.
WCCO's Laura Oakes spoke with Bandy about how THC beverages compare to alcohol, and what those new to the world of THC edibles should know before cracking one open.
OAKES: So for somebody who isn't yet familiar with THC and how it might affect them, and they do know how alcohol affects them but they don't know about THC yet. What would you say? How would you compare the two?
BANDY: Well, I mean, I think it definitely hits everyone differently, the same as with alcohol. We are making a two milligram dose seltzer which is pretty low. It's on the low end. So I think the effect will be pretty light. It might just kind of like loosen you up a little bit. I would say, it's not totally different than alcohol, but it's certainly different a different high. I guess it's hard to explain from like a personal thing. I would say to people that have never tried to actually to try a little bit of it, give it a few hours and kind of feel how it how it affects you. Because it's going to be different for everyone. We've been laughing, that it lightens you up a little bit, makes you smile a little brighter. Especially at a pretty low dose, the effects, you can feel them but they're not drastic.
OAKES: Another thing that I think I know about THC, unlike alcohol, it doesn't give you any kind of a hangover. It just kind of wears off and you feel fine. Do you think that people who haven't tried THC yet might feel a little more comfortable trying it in beverage form like this rather than purchasing gummies? If you're drinking it with friends rather than consuming it as a gummy, is that kind of part of the marketing here?
BANDY: Yeah, for sure. And that's what we're very excited about. For us, we're all about creating positive beer experiences we call them. And that doesn't necessarily mean just literally the normal beverage of beer, it's about the experience that one has around the table with people sharing drinks, sharing stories and cheers-ing and all the actions that come along with that. So we're very excited to open up that space to THC fans and people that might want that experience where, you can drink maybe half of it, or you can split the drink if it's only two mg, you can split it with another person and you'd be you'd be having a fairly low dose to where you might not even feel it completely. You might just be able to wade into that.
OAKES: Is Indeed Brewing worried at all that if this really takes off and people get into these THC beverages, that beer sales might suffer?
BANDY: Well, I mean, on the national scale, the trends of states that have THC that has become legal, you haven't seen much of a drop off in beer sales. Maybe a seven, eight years ago, there was some worry of that in the in the beer industry, that people would kind of consume THC rather than beers. But we haven't seen that on a national scale.
Bandy says it's still unclear if the seltzers will be available on-tap at the brewery or in actual liquor stores. For now, they'll be available for purchase in cans at the brewery only. Other craft breweries like Bent Paddle in Duluth have also started THC seltzer production.
The seltzers have been available in states where marijuana products are legal for recreational use, such as Michigan, Colorado and Oregon.
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