Tailgating Without the Beer Bloat

By the second quarter of a good tailgate, the traditional plan has already put a six-pack's worth of foam, fizz, and roughly 900 liquid calories into everybody's stomach. There is another way to run game day, and it fits in a jacket pocket: a THC drink mix.

This is the play for the parking lot crowd that loves everything about tailgating except how the tailgating feels by kickoff. One pouch, poured into the drink you already brought, turns it into a 10mg sip with zero calories, zero sugar, and zero alcohol added.

Where the bloat comes from

No lecture, just the math. A standard beer runs about 150 calories, and a tailgate is rarely a one-beer event. Six over an afternoon is around 900 calories of carbonated liquid, sitting on top of the brats and the seven-layer dip. The carbonation stacks volume on volume, which is the heavy, sloshing, third-quarter feeling everyone pretends is normal.

A THC drink mix changes the input. The pouch itself adds nothing to the count: zero calories, zero sugar, no carbonation of its own. Your drink is whatever you choose, an iced tea, a lemonade, a plain water, and the pouch is only the 10mg riding along in it.

The swap, in one move

Tailgating logistics are cooler logistics, and this is where the pouch runs up the score. Beer for a group means cases, ice, weight, and a cooler that is full before the food gets a say. Pouches for a group means a sandwich bag.

Twenty-four cans is a full 28-quart cooler plus the ice to keep it cold. Twenty-four pouches weighs about a pound, needs no ice at all, and hands the cooler back to the burgers. Every drink station a tailgate already has, the gallon of tea, the lemonade jug, the soda run, becomes the mixer.

Three tailgate drinks that work

The Lot Palmer

Half iced tea, half lemonade, over ice in a stadium cup, one Flavorless pouch, stir with the straw. It is the PoolSide Arnold Palmer in parking-lot form, and it disappears into the crowd of everyone else's drinks.

Cola, upgraded

Any cold can of soda, poured over ice, one Flavorless pouch, gentle stir to keep the fizz. Tastes exactly like the soda, because the pouch has no flavor to add.

The Mango kickoff

Lemonade plus one Mango pouch over ice. This one does change the flavor, on purpose, and it is the closest thing the lot will have to a beach.

Running the drink station on a THC drink mix

The setup takes five minutes and makes the whole afternoon smoother. Bring a gallon of iced tea, a gallon of lemonade, a bag of ice, a sleeve of cups, a sharpie, and the pouches in one zip-top bag. Guests build their own drink, and any adult who wants theirs boosted pours their own pouch and writes a star next to their name on the cup.

The sharpie star sounds fussy until the third quarter, when cups have migrated all over the table. Boosted drinks staying clearly marked and self-poured is what keeps a THC drink mix easy to host with, and it is the habit worth teaching your crew in week one of the season.

Pacing a four-hour tailgate

A tailgate is long, and edible-style THC is patient. That combination is exactly where people overdo it, so run it like a clock manager.

One pouch is 10mg, a full serving. If you are newer to THC drinks, half a pouch is a 5mg start, and the folded-over half keeps for the second half. Pour your first one early, then give it real time before even considering another. Effects vary with your body, your tolerance, and how much brisket is involved, and drinks can take a while to fully land. The score you are protecting is feeling good at the final whistle, not the first quarter.

The rules part, quickly

Three things, then back to the fun. This is for adults 21 and over, full stop. THC does not go into the stadium: bags get checked, outside drinks do not make it through the gate, and venue policies mean the pouch stays at the truck. And most important, THC and driving do not mix, so the ride home gets planned before the first pour, same as it should with beer. The designated driver's drinks stay pouch-free all day.

Also worth ten seconds: hemp-derived THC rules vary by state, so know your local situation, especially for away games across state lines.

Game day FAQ

Will anyone know my drink is boosted?

Not by looking. A flavorless pouch in an iced tea looks and tastes like an iced tea, which is a feature at a family tailgate.

Do the pouches need to stay cold?

No. They are shelf-stable, so they ride in a pocket or the glovebox. Only the drink you pour them into wants ice.

Can I mix a pouch into a beer instead?

No. THC and alcohol together make effects much harder to predict. Pick one for the day.

How many pouches for a group of eight?

Bring eight and let each adult decide. Some will use a whole pouch, some half, some none, and that choice staying personal is the whole point of the format.

What do I drink during the actual game?

Nothing boosted. Outside drinks and THC do not go through the gates, so treat the pouch as a parking lot ritual and switch to stadium water once you head in. If you poured one late in the tailgate, remember it may still be arriving while you find your seats.

What about cold weather tailgates?

The pouch does not care about the forecast, but skip mixing it into hot drinks. Heat is hard on the emulsion. Cold or room-temperature drinks are the lane.

Keep reading

• What is a THC drink mix?
• The PoolSide THC Arnold Palmer, step by step
• PoolSide vs THC seltzers
• Proof: third-party lab results

For adults 21 and older only. Keep out of reach of children and pets. Do not drive or operate machinery after use. Do not use if pregnant or nursing. Do not combine with alcohol. Availability and shipping eligibility vary by jurisdiction. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. PoolSide products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.