Though Dogfish Head wouldn’t say how many people suggested weed as the crowd-sourced signature ingredient for its Grateful Dead inspired American Beauty Pale Ale, it seemed like the most obvious choice. 

 

Instead they went with granola, because you know, hippies supposedly subsist on the stuff when they’re not busy smoking dope and sticking it to the man. 

 

But now it looks like Seattle’s Redhook Brewery is going one better. They went ahead and added Mr. Greenjeans to their latest bottled release, befittingly labeled Joint Effort. 

 

Actually, it was just the seeds. We suspect the bud itself was put to other uses. 

 

The beer, a collaborative effort made in conjunction with fellow Emerald City brewer Hilliard’s Beer, was first released as a draft-only back in July to commemorate the passing of Washington’s landmark legislation that made marijuana completely legal for recreational purposes. And in spite of the fact that it’s not available beyond state lines, it still caught the attention of beer drinkers and “Friends of Herb” all over the country. 

 

The brewery acknowledged that the provocative custom tap handle that was sent out to bars with Joint Effort had something to do with it. And was subsequently factored into decisions to bottle it. 

 

“When we initially released Joint Effort on draught, the beer – and the bong-shaped tap handle - created a ton of excitement, so we decided with Hilliards that the natural next step was to launch in bottles,” Redhook Brand Manager Karmen Olson is quoted saying in a prepared statement. “Only problem was we couldn’t source a 22oz bottle shaped like a bong.”

 

Instead the session ale, which is brewed with hemp seeds and dry-hopped with Zeus, Cascade, and Summit hops to give it a dank, resinous aroma reminiscent of the sticky-ickies, comes to market packaged in fairly innocuous amber glass.  

 

It’s currently on shelves wherever Redhook beers are sold in Washington, but don’t expect to see it anywhere outside of the Evergreen State any time soon. At least not until more states in this great nation of ours relax laws that prohibit the use of wacky tobacky. Nonetheless, we’re willing to bet there’s a Colorado brewery with a similar beer in the pipeline right now.