In a uniquely San Francisco collaboration, a SoMa brewery, a Castro bar and restaurant, and a local pot company have joined forces to create a 4/20 beer called "Toke Back Mountain." This one's sure to have potheads and boozehounds alike saying "I wish I knew how to quit you."
As "dank" IPA aromas have probably suggested to your nose before, hops and cannabis are not-too-distant cousins. Petaluma-based brewery Lagunitas mines their similarity every year with their own 4/20 beer, the Waldo's Special Ale, named for the group of Marin County stoners who coined 4/20 to refer to their daily smoking ritual. Lagunitas' ale, which you've perhaps spotted on tap and in bottles this month, is billed as "Herbaceous. Botanical. Dank. Resinous." It is, however, not made with real pot.
That leaves room for Black Hammer Brewing to claim it's the first to experiment with marijuana beer, though surely someone has tried this before, and theirs is brewed without THC — so it won't get you high. Black Hammer collaborated with Level Blends, a San Francisco-based cannabis oil purveyor, and the Castro's historic Cafe Flore, whose owners, not coincidentally, announced earlier this year that they'd like to possibly turn the space into a cannabis cafe.
"We'll be releasing the fruits of our collaboration with Flore and Level Blends on 4/20 at 4:20," Black Hammer writes to a beer release event page. "Toke Back Mountain is a fruity IPA with 5 mg of cannabidiol per serving, as well as essential oils from Red Hindu Kush." CBD, a component of marijuana prized for positive health effects like reducing inflammation, doesn't get you high. It's THC-free so it's 100% legal," Black Hammer writes, "but it certainly doesn't feel like it." It will, in all likelihood, give you a boozy buzz.
If you're not waiting for 4:20 p.m., or 5 p.m. for that matter, they'll also be pouring Toke Back Mountain at Cafe Flore (2298 Market Street) starting at noon. They apparently have a green carpet set up and a special munchies menu.
Related: Cafe Flore's New Owners Hope To Turn It Into A Cannabis Cafe (Eventually)