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!
Dangerous Man’s Painkiller
About: DM’s northeast Minneapolis taproom closed around this time last year, but they’re still putting out plenty of tasty beers, sours, and THC bevvies at their Maple Lake production facility, and you can find their stuff in stores or on tap at various bars and restaurants.
Where I got it/price: I found this guy while organizing my fridge, so I'm not 100% sure of its origins. Dangerous Man has a drink tracker on their site, and it looks like these go for around $8 a can in liquor/THC shops.
Flavor: So good! I'm a sucker for anything with pineapple juice, so I love this. It’s got a tropical taste on the front end thanks to pineapple and coconut, while the nutmeg hits you on the back.
Blast-off time: I drank this fast because I really liked it, so the effects of 10mg THC/5mg CBD arrived in 15-20ish minutes.
Experience: No complaints here. Dangerous Man’s THC drinks have all been good so far. Their Orange Creamsicle and Key Lime Pie flavors are also pretty great, and if you like a 10mg’er, these come on strong without completely blasting you out of the water.
Jane/Joy Microdose Gummies
About: When Jane/Joy founder/CEO Michelle Courtright was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, she turned to CBD/THC to help with pain management and chemo side effects. Seven years later, her cancer is in remission and she’s running her own company featuring low-dose gummies, tinctures, oils, and roll-ons.
Where I got it/price: These were also sent to me in a PR package, but I see online these go for $25 per 10-gummy jar.
Flavor: Really good! I think it’s watermelon flavor with a dash of strawberry, and red soda pop.
Blast-off time: About 30 minutes.
Experience: Ah, the joys of microdosing. To use liquor comparisons, sometimes you feel like a lite beer, sometimes you want a Scotch. There's a time and place for both. This is the refreshing lite beer option. I think people could comfortably hang at a lawn party or a pub with this stuff. I also found it to be pretty good when trying to kill the early phase of a tension headache.
Lupulin Brewing’s King Bee Smazey
About: This Big Lake brewery makes a variety of beers, along with cold brew and THC drinks, that can be found in stores and on tap all over the Twin Cities.
Where I got it/price: This is another fridge find, but if memory serves I bought this at Humm’s for $10.
Flavor: Do you like Ricola throat lozenges? This is the drink for you (and me). The lemon confidently walks the line between sugary and tart while the honey on the back of the throat makes me nostalgic for binge-eating candy cough drops in high school to curb coughing fits in class.
Blast-off time: Under 30 minutes.
Experience: Nice! This was an easy one going down since I enjoyed the flavor. This can is a 10mg’er, so it’s strong but, for me, it was also gentle. Think really uneventful airplane take offs and landings.
Clr!ty Seltzers
About: This Shoreview, Minnesota, biz makes seltzers in a wide variety of flavors, canned THC coffees (I’ll be reviewing those guys next month), and Soda Pot, a line of full-sugar pops.
Where I got it/price: These were sent to me in a PR package, but I'm seeing them sold by the can over at Marigold for $8.
Flavor: These buddies are a lot like a LaCroix or Waterloo, where some flavors are tasty and others are rough, and that might vary a lot depending on your preferences. (One person's refreshing coconut drink is another's sunscreen in a can.) The black cherry, tangerine, and pineapple hibiscus (surprise) were my favorites; I think those three hit what they were going for the best. Blue razzberry was a little perfume-y, the pink lemonade was fine (it reminded me of watery Hi-C when I wanted Country Time Lemonade), and I have no idea what cranberry lime tasted like, but it did not taste like cranberry or lime.
Blast-off time: Generally around 20ish minutes.
Experience: I see a lot of “fast-acting” claims these days. In Clr!ty's case, I haven’t really noticed anything faster than other brands, but I feel these are pretty dang consistent in terms of how the dosage will hit me based on my drinking pace. I wasn’t waiting around for a buzz, but I wasn’t instantly stoned, either. It was fun trying the different flavors; if you can mix-and-match at a store I recommend it.
