Why brew a beer infused with cannabis? There are plenty of reasons you might want to do it—novelty, an aversion to other consumption methods of cannabis (for nonsmokers), self-medication, or the challenge of trying something new and pushing boundaries in the use of a less-understood brewing ingredient. No matter what your reason, the wave of legalization and decriminalization of cannabis for both medical and recreational use in the United States, Canada, and more has led to a rise in interest in brewing with the close cousin of hops.
First question—what style to brew? Most cannabis strains have a pungent aroma and need a beer with various strong components—body, aroma, alcohol—that allow you as the brewer to balance those flavor and aroma contributions. As such, a New England–style Double IPA recipe is a great match with the use of marijuana in the dry-hopping process.
Use one of your favorite double IPA recipes. Cannabis is alcohol soluble at an ABV of 8 percent or higher, so stick with the double IPA over a lighter single IPA—the higher the alcohol content, the better the THC extraction, and with high-quality recreational marijuana from a legal dispensary running roughly fifteen times more expensive than an equivalent amount of hops from a homebrew store, extraction efficiency is definitely an important concern.