Pot beer could be next high for some home brewers

“I think that having it be legalized within the state, the potential for home brewers to add marijuana to their beer is higher than before,” director of American Homebrewers Association David Glass told FoxNews.com.

Glass said marijuana would most likely be used as a replacement for hops, one of the primary flavoring ingredients in beer. Hops are the closest related plants to cannabis, so they would be used in similar ways.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012...h-off-pot-beer/?intcmp=features#ixzz2CE180EVd

Kinda wish he hadn't said that.

these guys would drink it

yeah, that doesn't do much to improve our public image. now folks will start thinking home brewer = pot user.

isn't pot kind of expensive to be using as a dry-hop?

edit: nevermind, they cover the price thing in the article...

BrewKnurd said:

Kinda wish he hadn't said that.

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Why? He was just stating fact.

If anyone could see the value of wasting expensive ingredients like weed in a bad tasting beer, it would be a stoner...

Nothing more than a novelty. Hops have been cultivated to taste good in beer. Marijuana has not. The plants might be closely related but show me some MJ with a reasonable amount of alpha acids, or some hops with high levels of THC. They're no where close to interchangeable.

so when would be the best time to add marijuana? late in the boil, so they isomerize? (just like you bake pot in brownie for some chemical reason or another...)? or dry-hop?

"Glass said marijuana would most likely be used as a replacement for hops, one of the primary flavoring ingredients in beer. Hops are the closest related plants to cannabis, so they would be used in similar ways. "

Nettles are in the same family. People don't use nettles and wouldn't get the same result as hops if they did.

I have no doubt that a few people would try this, and that there are people who would pay for it, but I don't think most home brewers or beer drinkers are interested.
It certainly wouldn't give a similar taste and would cost a lot.
Probably not a good return on their pot either compared to other ways of consuming it.

sweetcell said:

so when would be the best time to add marijuana? late in the boil, so they isomerize? (just like you bake pot in brownie for some chemical reason or another...)? or dry-hop?

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Steep MJ in vodka and add during or after fermentation. The THC will not infuse the wort very well if added to the boil.

Or, save yourself the trouble and smoke, or vaporize, the MJ and drink the beer.

I wouldn't think cannabis would work very well at all, in plant form, anyway. it would take a very long time for the alcohol to extract any thc, wheras brownies etc use fat. I'm sure there's no use for mj in brewing at all unless you were to use some sort of extract simply to get the buzz.

I feel as though homebrewing and cannabis are not as far and away from eachother as some might think. MJ prohibition is taking on the same shape as prohibition in the 20's, when people thought a beer or a glass of bourbon was the devil. Now, it's the same thing just in a different color. While using it effectively in brewing doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense (to me, anyway), I certainly don't see this article as a smudge on the homebrewer image. Simply a smoke-induced tangent by some very creative brewers, and for that, I salute. :rockin:

Homercidal said:

Why? He was just stating fact.

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I agree. And rational people who care to read the whole story will see that. But others will see that statement as an endorsement of sorts.

It has been around for years, just not legally in this country. I probably would have done it back in the day, but it just sounds like bad tasting beer now.

guess it would be legal in CO and WA...at least at a state level.

Hmm, my thread got shut down ipe:

First brewery to come out with a thc-infused brew? Ska or Stone?

I´m sure somebody will came up with a way of making tasty MJ beer. If gives a bad image to homebrewing? more hops for me.

BrewKnurd said:

I agree. And rational people who care to read the whole story will see that. But others will see that statement as an endorsement of sorts.

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I'm "guessing" that the publication did some creative editing to make the article have a certain spin. Omitting other sentences and giving an inaccurate portrayal, perhaps. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out later that Glass had actually qualified his statement with others to indicate how retarded it would be. (my words, not his)

This kind of crap happens constantly in all kinds of news outlets. I just don't see anything in that article endorsing the idea.

It would be different if someone had said, "Yeah, I can see how dry hopping a beer with pot would give a smoother, more natural high. I'd definitely try it if my state allowed it! After all, I love pot, but I won't homebrew a pot beer until it's LEGAL!"

When I saw that headline on the website I just said to myself, "Here we go again, Homer."

Homercidal said:

I'm "guessing" that the publication did some creative editing to make the article have a certain spin. Omitting other sentences and giving an inaccurate portrayal, perhaps. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out later that Glass had actually qualified his statement with others to indicate how retarded it would be. (my words, not his)

This kind of crap happens constantly in all kinds of news outlets. I just don't see anything in that article endorsing the idea.

It would be different if someone had said, "Yeah, I can see how dry hopping a beer with pot would give a smoother, more natural high. I'd definitely try it if my state allowed it! After all, I love pot, but I won't homebrew a pot beer until it's LEGAL!"

When I saw that headline on the website I just said to myself, "Here we go again, Homer."

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Again, I agree, but doesn't change the fact that if he didn't say it, there's no way for the article to misrepresent it, our have it open to interpretation. I just don't see what homebrewing gains from him commenting on the topic. And it has the potential to be misinterpreted by people less wise than yourself.

I'm sure they did present things in a way that might have been creative. And yes that's what they do. Which is exactly why I would prefer he not comment at all unless to say "yeah, that would be illegal and we don't recommend it."

This is already done with wine in small quantities, generally for the winemakers personal use.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...e-fashionable-in-california-wine-country.html

BrewKnurd said:

Again, I agree, but doesn't change the fact that if he didn't say it, there's no way for the article to misrepresent it, our have it open to interpretation. I just don't see what homebrewing gains from him commenting on the topic. And it has the potential to be misinterpreted by people less wise than yourself.

I'm sure they did present things in a way that might have been creative. And yes that's what they do. Which is exactly why I would prefer he not comment at all unless to say "yeah, that would be illegal and we don't recommend it."

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The community of ideas is too beneficial to try to control what some people say for fear of it being misinterpreted.

This article doesn't hurt homebrewing in the least.

Fox News, always trying to create fear where none existed. I mean, look, now you can get high and drunk out of the same vessel. It's totally new and scary because, well, you couldn't drink a beer and smoke a J before.

Since I think weed tastes pretty bad I'm not interested in sampling some dry-weeded beer.

The only thing new here is that 2 states have made it legal.

Use of the plant as an addition to beer has been done, over and over again.

Honestly i think it was pretty stupid for the AHA director to make any comment about this.

Its just a huge open box now for Fox News and other crazy media outlets to quote him out of context that home brewers are making weed beer, like its some epidemic that will shake the foundation of America.

Gameface said:

The community of ideas is too beneficial to try to control what some people say for fear of it being misinterpreted.

This article doesn't hurt homebrewing in the least.

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Tell that to people in Alabama who can't legally brew due to misinformation and distortion.

Oh, and to be clear, I said zero about controlling what people say. Wishing he had not said something is nothing like proposing that he not be allowed to.

BrewKnurd said:

Tell that to people in Alabama who can't legally brew due to misinformation and distortion.

Oh, and to be clear, I said zero about controlling what people say. Wishing he had not said something is nothing like proposing that he not be allowed to.

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So had information been properly censored and controlled brewing would be legal in Alabama?...or illegal everywhere? My guess is more ignorance would lead to the latter.

BrewKnurd said:

Tell that to people in Alabama who can't legally brew due to misinformation and distortion.

Oh, and to be clear, I said zero about controlling what people say. Wishing he had not said something is nothing like proposing that he not be allowed to.

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This is the first thing that came to my mind. We're already fighting an uphill battle against ignorance as is; we don't need this kind of publicity to give the "moral compass*" of our state any more anti-homebrewing ammunitiion.



* - yes, there is seriously a large lobby here in Alabama that refers to themselves as Alabama's moral compass with regards to legislature. I kid you not.

Gameface said:

So had information been properly censored and controlled brewing would be legal in Alabama?...or illegal everywhere? My guess is more ignorance would lead to the latter.

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You're painting a choice of "share all information" and "censor all information", which is a false choicem and again, i never said a word about censorship, so there's no reason to pretend that's the issue at hand. As thoughtful human beings, we have the ability to consider the impact of every statement we make before we make it, and I wish Gary Glass had come to a different decision when he gave this interview. C'est la vie.

IMHO, there is zero benefit to talking about brewing pot with beer, because guess what, every stoner who brews already thought of it and many of them probably tried it. On the other hand, it provides more ammo for those opposed to brewing.

You don't agree, and that's fine.

I'm glad the writer wrote the article. I'll leave it at that. More information is better in my basic philosophical view. No need to over strategize this.

Mindless fear mongering brought to you by foxnews, nothing new. I expect the questions they asked during the interview were slanted, but goddamn those were not smart answers from Glass. Kinda played into fox's hand on that one, gave them ammo to try to induce moral panic if they so desired. I'm against censoring this kind of discussion, but honestly, be smart about what you say in public/on the record people.

Also, this isn't anything new in the slightest. Using high proof alcohol to make cannabis tinctures isn't exactly super popular, but it is out there. The legality of it hardly matters, especially in the two aforementioned states where tolerance for cannabis use isn't exactly low.

On this note though:

BrewKnurd said:

every stoner who brews already thought of it and many of them probably tried it.

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Oh please. Yes I've thought about the concept, and beyond that I have a buddy who mused over the idea of making a kush flavoured ipa/apa awhile back. Totally doable with a combination of Sorachi Ace and Columbus I think; probably give it a try eventually. Still, neither of us thought it would be a great idea to drop an ounce of weed into secondary and go from there. Nonsensical argument.

So, if MJ and hops are closely related...who's tried smoking hops?

And I though beer couldn't get any more expensive.

Red_Scooter said:

So, if MJ and hops are closely related...who's tried smoking hops?

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A number of pro brewers, at least that's what some of the early brewing network interviews indicated.

There are a couple of breweries in Germany and Switzerland that use Hemp for flavoring (without TCH). I've tried some, and they were interesting, but not exciting. I rather have some good dry hopping. But hey, maybe someone will come up with a great recipe and strain, who knows? I'm sure that when humans first added hops to their beer, it didn't taste like a winner right away either.

More options = better beer.

Totally met a guy who smoked hops. Was a total weirdo.....

jakenbacon said:

Totally met a guy who smoked hops. Was a total weirdo.....

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I've heard if you put them in your pillow that you'll have weird dreams. All I can say for sure is that if I tried it, me and my hop-smelling pillow would be sleeping on the couch in a heartbeat.

I thought that's what is in heineken?

Wow!! 4 pages and the moderators still haven't shut it down. Must be some kind of record.

I've done it and it does work. True, it isn't as bitter as hops. I used it as I would use hops and was not going for the psychoactive properties. I wanted to strictly see if the flavor and aroma would come through.

What i found was that it gave a very nutty flavor, not bad at all. Unexpectedly, it got my high as a kite for about two weeks then not anymore. Flavorwise, it was much better after a few weeks. I doubt I will do it again because quite frankly I didn't enjoy the buzz.

Mods, I hope you let this stay. I am not advocating this or stating how to do it. I am just sharing my experience, which in my state is perfectly legal.

Gameface said:

Or, save yourself the trouble and smoke, or vaporize, the MJ and drink the beer.

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100% agree.

Beer will never replace hops either. Hops add 3 elements to beer. Bitterness, Flavor, and Aroma. Flavor and Aroma are the only components that weed could replace, as it does not have a high alpha acid content (im about 90% sure this is correct).

So really there would only be two reasons to add pot to a brew

1). THC.

THC can only be extracted using certain solvents and some types of fats. Butter is the most common for extracting thc from the bud. This is why brownies as well as other baked goods so popular among the cannabis community. If your not going the baked goods route the only other option you have is to use some sort of solvent (alcohol with 25-30% abv or higher, everclear, isopropyl alcohol, or food grade glycerin - what i would use if i were to put thc in my brew). cannabis is soaked in the solvent for days to weeks being shaken daily to extract the most amount of thc, the weed is strained from the liquid, then the solvent is allowed to evaporate leaving behind a sticky tintcure with highly concentrated thc. this could be added anytime after the boil(as it will evaporate with steam).

All of this aside, adding pure thc would not add anything to the quality, flavor, aroma, body, head, or bitterness of the beer, and if anything could add off flavors to your brew. There is also the school of thought that the more inebriated you are, the less you can enjoy the subtle characteristics of good beer.

2). Flavor
Regardless of quality, the raw taste of cannabis to me is not good(imho). Maybe it could work with a double or fruit IPA, but that could be a stretch. If there is interest here, i see it being sparse at best and for most brewers ending up being a weekend project not to be repeated.

Getting drunk is not the reason most homebrewers brew, so adding another mind altering agent doesnt really make sense. If you like the taste of raw weed then by all means give it a whirl, but I'm willing to bet you wont try it more than once.

-My 2 cents.