Oskar Blues Brewery, Veritas Fine Cannabis Launch Co-Branded IPA, Flower Strains
Published 1 day ago on April 28, 2022
Well known for its Dale’s Pale Ale and other hop-filled offerings, Oskar Blues Brewery has teamed up with Veritas Fine Cannabis to debut Veritasty, a new IPA-inspired by terpenes found in Veritas’ extensive strain library, according to a BusinessWire release.
It’s the first exclusive collaboration between the two companies since Oskar Blues founder Dale Katechis joined Veritas Fine Cannabis as a strategic partner and investor last year. The collaboration launched on 4/20, along with a celebratory launch party, called the 420 Shakedown, at the Oskar Blues taproom in Longmont, complete with live art, food trucks, market vendors and live performances from Steely Dead and members of Pretty Lights, Break Science and BTTRFLY Quintet.
“We took a completely different approach to the hemp beers that have been brewed before,” said Juice Drapeau, Head Brewer at Oskar Blues Brewery in Lyons, Colorado. “Instead of using hemp terpenes to cover up the hops that make IPAs great, we paired naturally occurring terpenes in hop strains with naturally occurring terpenes in cannabis strains from Veritas. The result is an IPA that explodes with citrusy bitterness mellowed by rich tropical fruit. It’s undeniably dank.”
The beer isn’t infused with cannabis or cannabinoids, though it heavily references cannabis with its printed phrases like “Sip, Sip, Give” and “Blue Dream” on cans.
Alongside Veritasty, the two companies launched a line of complimentary, co-branded products from Veritas Cannabis, featuring the strains and terpenes that inspired the new IPA: Cake Pop, Forbidden Melonz #2, Layer Cake, Sky 600 and Strawberry Milk.
Jordan Plunkett, marketing director for Veritas Fine Cannabis, said that terpenes are at the heart of everything the company does and, “through this collaboration, we’re excited to educate people about the parallels between two Colorado staples—craft beer and cannabis—and the role terpenes play in the experience of both.”
Drapeau told Westword that Oskar Blues looked at a variety of Veritas products and found common terpene combinations that were directly related to the hops in their portfolio.
“It’s very pillowy, soft and fluffy in its mouthfeel. It has a soft balance of malt while enhancing the hops and essential oils, too,” Drapeau said, adding that drinkers can also expect citrus, stone fruit, tropical, and woody flavor profiles from the recipe.
While terpenes are essential to the IPA’s flavor, Drapeau also told Westword that he’s never focused on terpene percentage when he brews, instead relying on his nose and tastebuds to hone in on the flavor. For this beer, he did have to get specific to ensure the beer’s terpene profile matched Veritasty’s strains.
“I’ve been in the beer industry for seventeen years, and this was a different approach for me. I usually take some hops that are pretty popular, and I’m familiar with their overall flavor and aroma description. This time I only focused on terpene makeup,” Drapeau said.
The two teams also said they hope to collaborate again in the future, if the new ownership at Monster Energy is interested. Oskar Blues sold Canarcy, the parent company of Oskar Blues and five other craft breweries, to Monster Energy earlier this year for $300 million.
“We’re still very open to it on our side,” Plunkett said. “I know with these ownership changes, things might change in the future, so we want to make sure we do it right this time.”
The Veristasty IPA is available on draft at Oskar Blues Brewery taprooms in Longmont, Colorado and Brevard, North Carolina and in canned six-packs at select retailers. The accompanying, co-branded Veritasty cannabis products will be available at select, licensed Colorado cannabis dispensaries.
For more information on the Veritasty IPA, check out the Oskar Blues site, and find out more about Veritas Fine Cannabis’ co-branded cannabis products on its website.
