The Pursuit of Wellness: Cannabis-Infused Beverages
Resident Culture Brewing Co. launches a line of swiggable highs in cans
On a gray, chilly November Saturday, my college football team has caused me much stress. (Favored by 23.5 points; won by two.) I fetch a Cümulo, a new delta-9 THC sparkling beverage from Resident Culture Brewing Co. I’ve been informed that a Cümulo will take the edge off. Down the hatch goes the mango lime, the gentle version, with only 2.5 mg of THC. It works quickly. Within 15 minutes, I feel that edge retract. Within another 15, I am edgeless, permagrinning, and heavy-lidded. Hey, whatever, man, a win’s a win.
Resident Culture, which launched Cümulo in September, is the first North Carolina brewery to develop and sell cannabis-infused sparkling water, says CEO and co-founder Amanda McLamb. “One of our core values is innovation,” she says, “so that’s something we leaned heavily into.” She and the team were inspired by military veterans who frequent nearby Crowntown Cannabis and by colleagues of theirs in southern California and Colorado, where cannabis drinks are popular.
They represent a new branch for the nascent legal cannabis industry. Cannabis beverages account for only about 1% of legal cannabis sales in the United States. But the percentage and volume are expected to grow as more states legalize consumption and consumers benefit from hangover-free
days after.
As of November, Resident Culture sold three Cümulo varieties in 12-ounce cans: mango lime in 2.5-mg and 10-mg versions and pink lemonade with 5 mg; they range from $22 to $30 per four-pack depending on dosage. (The name, of course, refers to clouds, which evoke the high.) Resident Culture has lab analyses of each version available through the Cümulo site and QR codes on the cans. If you’ve never tried a cannabis beverage, McLamb recommends a “low and slow” approach, lest you rise too far above the cloud cover.
