A new beer called Cross Joint IPA recently hit the taps at Silver Moon Brewing Co., and what caught my eye about this beer in particular is that the brewery calls it a “terpene IPA.” Silver Moon added terpenes to it to impart a distinct aroma and flavor into the beer reminiscent of cannabis.

Terpenes are naturally occurring compounds consisting of the primary constituents of the essential oils derived from many botanical sources. More simply, they are compounds that are (among other things) largely responsible for the aromas and flavors of plants.

Botanically sourced aromatics

The term “terpene” is often associated with the aromatic qualities of cannabis and some varieties of hops (the two plants are closely related). In fact, terpenes are derived from many sources, including pine trees, citrus fruits, lavender and much more.

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A number of breweries have released beers brewed with terpenes, which typically involves adding the concentrated terpene profile to the conditioning beer, similar to dry hopping. In most cases, the desired effect is a brew with the “dank” aromatic characteristics of cannabis (without actually using cannabis).

Seattle’s Elysian Brewing Co. introduced its Dank Dust IPA in 2022, a variant of its flagship Space Dust brewed with terpenes. Locally, Worthy Brewing Co. also released a beer in 2022 named Terpelicious, a hazy IPA with a description that implied the addition of terpenes though I never had confirmation of that.

For Silver Moon’s Cross Joint, I reached out to the brewery to learn more about the process behind it.

The recipe was developed by Ben Kinzel, Silver Moon’s manager of brewing operations. He started with a standard IPA featuring Citra, El Dorado and Sabro hops, all varieties known for their fruity qualities.

“I wanted a good fruit forward, tropical IPA,” he said via email.

Terpene flavor mimics Pineapple Express strain

He chose a terpene product named Pineapple Express to enhance this profile, from California company Abstrax Hops.

“It comes as a liquid concentrate,” said Kinzel. “All their ‘strains’ are botanically derived, which to my understanding is essentially taking a known (cannabis) strain’s terpene profile such as Pineapple Express and reverse engineering it using terpenes distilled from non-cannabis sources (fruits, flowers, etc).”

Eight ounces of the liquid terpene were added to the 10-barrel batch as it was transferred to the brite tank.

“I chose to go a little lighter on my dry hopping addition because I knew we were going to get a huge aromatic kick from the terpenes,” he said. “Even with that, I was surprised by how strong the terpenes came through.”

Cross Joint is 6.3% alcohol by volume with 60 IBUs. I acquired a growler to review and experience how the terpenes influenced the beer.

Flavor is fruity and dank

The first thing I noticed is the fragrant, dank aroma even as I poured the beer into a glass. It’s quite pungent, unequivocally a fresh green cannabis character, herbal and minty. The herbal component leans in a culinary direction, with subtle notes of thyme and rosemary.

The flavor profile is similar, pungently green and herbal, with a definite dank cannabis-like character overlaying a subtle tropical fruit hoppiness. There’s a good bitterness that’s earthy and plays into the herbal aromatics, and it lingers without being harsh. There are notes of tobacco and perhaps alfalfa along with the bitter herbal quality going into the finish.

Cross Joint delivers on what I expected for a terpene IPA, with a good drinkability, particularly for those who like hoppy ales. It sounds as though Silver Moon’s customers agree.

“We’re excited by the enthusiastic response from the folks who have tried Cross Joint so far,” said Kinzel. “We’re hoping to continue to brew and refine that recipe over the course of this year and see what other complementary and unique flavors we can get from these new ingredients.”

If you’re interested in exploring terpene-driven beer, Cross Joint is a good introduction and it is available on draft at Silver Moon’s downtown pub at 24 NW Greenwood Ave.