Welcome to Weed Weviews, a verbal foible that’s become the very real name of this monthly column. Think of it like our Doin’ Beers series, but for weed. This month I revisited a few brands with new flavors, a beer company dabbling in THC, a super-can of weed, and a stoner cocktail. Alright, let's do this!
Toppling Goliath’s Merry Rain
About: Toppling Goliath is an Iowa-based brewery known for its Citra-hopped IPAs. TG also makes Merry Rain, a sparkling water that comes in 4- and 10-mg doses.
Where I got it/price: Got this one in the Orange Cream variety at Flipside Dispensary, though I see Total Wine also carries it. Merry Rain goes for about $20 a four pack or $8-$10 by the can.
Flavor: Yep, we’ve got an orange creamsicle here, folks. Though the flavor is a little bitter at first, it’s more vanilla-forward than citrusy, with the orange hitting the back of your throat as the vanilla lingers in your nose. Like a creamsicle, the taste is artificial, but in a pretty enjoyable way. But Merry Rain is a sparkling water, so we’re mostly talking about quiet nuances here. Orange LaCroix drinkers are gonna like this one.
Blast-off time: About 20 minutes.
Experience: I got no complaints. Ten mg THC with 20 mg CBD gets the job done.
Upstate Elevator Supply Co.’s Blackberry Zinger
About: This Vermont-based THC/CBD seller makes all kinds of drinks, gummies, and tinctures that are organic, pesticide-free, and come in really pretty packaging. (I’m a sucker for a pretty label.)
Where I got it/price: Flipside again! But plenty of local liquor stores carry these guys too, including Lake Wine & Spirits. I’m mostly seeing them online for $27-$30 for a four-pack.
Flavor: When I was in middle school, it was cool for kids to take drink-mix powder, put it in little sandwich baggies, hide it in a pocket or a backpack, and then share it with friends on the down-low. Under our desks or in the locker rows, we would lick our pinky flingers and take a dip between classes for a quick sugar fix. Think Fun Dip but with a Studio 54 for tweens cocaine vibe. Anyway, I was a blue raspberry Kool-Aid peddler, and this Blackberry Zinger tastes exactly like the powder that used to turn our fingers blue (our teachers would wonder why all our fingertips were multi-colored).
Anyway, after unlocking that long-forgotten memory I booted up my PS5 and stayed up way too late playing Spiderman. Some things never change, I guess.
Blast-off time: About 30 minutes.
Experience: Uh, see above.
Kind Creatures’ Fuzzilla
About: Made by Fargo's Drekker Flavor Labs, Kind Creatures is advertised as their “crushable” THC series. I’m not sure this bevvy fits that criteria—I guess at technically it does have a low/no ABV and is easy to drink—but at 10 mg per can you’re not going to be having more than one in a sitting (at least, I wouldn’t!).
Where I got it/price: Flipside Dispensary again! You can also find these online for about $14-$16 a four-pack.
Flavor: According to the can, Fuzzilla is a peach and lychee sparkling water. The “water” part is the focus here, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. I don’t really get any peach here; I wrote in my tasting notes that it “smells like pink.” While there are notes of bubblegum (the lychee?), it really is an easy-to-enjoy beverage with no aggressive flavoring.
Blast-off time: Fifteen minutes.
Experience: Yeah, this is a chill little drink to enjoy on a friend's patio or after mowing your lawn. It’s refreshing like a light beer, which I guess makes it kinda crushable?
56 Brewing’s Acre
About: These northeast Minneapolis brewers also have a line of THC bubblies made from Minnesota-farmed THC.
Where I got it/price: Surdyk’s for $14.99 a four-pack. Pretty dang cheap!
Flavor: Another bubbly drink with a whisper of flavor. This one is strawberry in the nose, tangerine in the back of the throat. There’s also a slight chemical aftertaste, but overall I find this one enjoyable.
Blast-off time: About 15 minutes.
Experience: This is another 10 mg can, and it did what I expect from a 10 mg’er.
