What Is CBD Infused Beer?

 

As a CBD connoisseur you are sure to have noticed the growing range of infused foods and beverages, including CBD beer. While you can add your oil tincture to any food or beverage you desire, the oil can change the flavor and consistency. To infuse beer, tequila, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages many use a hemp powder or liquid extract.

Is CBD Legal In Drinks?

Wondering if CBD drinks are legal? This question is tricky, as the answer is both yes and no. Industrial hemp has been legal to farm, harvest, process, sell, and possess since the Farm Bill of 2018. Industrial hemp is a strain of the cannabis plant that is naturally low in the intoxicating compound THC. It is farmed to contain between 0.0% to .3% of THC, which is not enough to get you high.

Those who purchase industrial hemp either consume it orally or apply it topically. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved CBD as a wide spread supplement or food additive. The only exception is 2 prescription pharmaceuticals that contain CBD as one of many ingredients.

So, while you can purchase CBD and even be advised to try CBD by traditional and alternative healthcare practitioners—CBD isn’t on the FDA’s “generally recognized as safe list”. This means that it is illegal to market CBD topicals, oral products, food, and drinks. However, these products can be sold.

This stance is contrary being that CBD is an ingredient in 2 prescription pharmaceutical products, but both products are for rare conditions, including two rare forms of epilepsy. They are often prescribed as a last result after other methods have failed. The FDA’s reasoning is that there is limited scientific data on whether CBD is safe to consume and concerns of long-term side effects. Until CBD is FDA approved, the industry remains unregulated.

So, CBD companies must not make medical claims and cannot engage in traditional paid advertising. For example, CBD brands can have a Facebook page, but they can’t invest in paid social media ads.

Does CBD Beer Get You High?

Nope! With .3% or less THC, there’s no worry of getting high. Infusing your foods and beverages simply provides an alternative way to reach your daily milligrams of CBD. To determine your daily milligrams, start with oral products. Most adults take 10 to 30 milligrams 1 or 2 times per day.

Once you determine your daily milligrams, you can add infused foods and beverages to the mix. You can infuse any food or beverage with CBD oil, but the milligrams per serving will be a bit degraded. Keep in mind that oil does not mix well with water so you will need to whisk, shake, or stir it in. Oil mixes better if there’s a bit of fat in your food or beverage. For example, an infused latte with a shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream. The CBD will blend in better with the milk, instead of sticking more to the sides of the cup.

By purchasing a pre-infused product, you can more accurately calculate the milligrams per serving as powder and extracts distribute evenly in the product.

If marijuana is legal in your state, confirm that you are purchasing a CBD-infused beer and not marijuana-infused beer.

Does CBD Beer Have Alcohol?

It depends on the brand, but many have little to no alcohol at all. However, you can find CBD-infused wines, tequila, and spirits with varying levels of alcohol. Standard alcohol by volume (ABV) is between 3 and 14 percent, but most beers are between 4 and 7 percent. Many bars are adding infused alcohol to their menu, with pre-infused liquor or sparkling water. Or with oil tinctures.

If infused beers don’t contain alcohol, you may be wondering why they’re so popular? Brewing CBD-infused products requires a dealcoholization process similar to what homebrewers use. The flavor is similar to a non-alcoholic beer, and an excellent way to minimize your beer consumption while still enjoying a similar flavor and fizz.

So, while the CBD won’t get you high, it may contain alcohol. So, you must always drink alcoholic beverages responsibly, assign a designated driver, or use an Uber or Lyft to get home. Also, ensure that everyone you are drinking with knows that their beverage is infused with CBD. While legal in all 50 states, CBD is not currently legal at the federal level. Ensure everyone gives their consent as to not put themselves at risk for failing a drug test. While the risk is low, there’s no guarantee that you won’t fail a drug test when using CBD.

Why Infuse Alcohol With CBD?

Most turn to infused beverages as a fun way to mix things up, but there may be some functional benefits. A small study found that the combination of alcohol and CBD significantly lowered blood alcohol levels when compared to drinking alcohol without CBD. Other studies show that CBD may protect against alcohol-induced cell damage.

Can You Make CBD Beer?

Yes! If you brew your own beer, you can purchase CBD powder or nano emulsifications. And yes, you can still make your choice in pale or dark, homebrewed craft beers. The process is a bit different, so perfect a basic recipe and go from there.

What Are The Best CBD Beer Brands?

Many craft brewers are adding CBD to the mix. You may need to order these online, or perform an online search for “CBD beer near me”. Ensure you know the ABV percentage and the milligrams of CBD per beer, which is typically around 5 milligrams.

Here are a few of the best CBD beers:

• Two Flowers IPA is an infused beer by Coalition Brewing Company in Oregon. It’s described as light, crisp, bitter, and refreshing. It contains 5mg of CBD and 6% ABV.
• The British brand Green Times Brewing has 3 different infused beers, two with alcohol and one that is non-alcoholic. Each can contains 10mg of CBD.
• Smoky Hazy Hemp by Humboldt Brewing is an award-winning non-alcoholic beer. This one is made with hemp seeds for flavor, so it doesn’t contain measurable milligrams of CBD. It has a smoky flavor with citrus and pine notes.

Check back to Holmes Organics soon for more answers to your CBD questions!