Why Colorado Tokers Love Sour OG

I’m not going to waste time complaining about my life — everyone has to eat shit sometimes, and my diet is relatively free from that substance — but the tidal wave of feces lapping on my shores last week broke records. Financial, medical and relationship issues all culminated in one massive dump, and just like that, I was officially over being an adult. I needed an age-cation.

Shopping for a strain to help me escape into a land of Nickelodeon cartoons, comic books and ice cream sandwiches for a weekend, I came upon Sour OG. A product of San Fernando Valley OG Kush (SFV OG) and Sour Diesel, Sour OG has been bypassed by Girl Scout Cookies as everyone’s favorite OG-sativa blend, but the fifty-fifty hybrid’s presence in Denver dispensaries should still be respected. The number of pot shops carrying the strain is usually in the double digits, with several wholesale cultivators also growing the strain.

Sour OG can showcase both of its parents’ best qualities. Intense, sour whiffs of Diesel’s rubbery funk are mellowed out only by dank, earthy notes of Kush. The strain’s high follows a similar pattern for me, pushing my spirits up with focused, creative enthusiasm as I’m YouTube-ing Tex Avery cartoons, only to lull me back into the dirt within a couple of hours. The intense highs and lows of Sour OG definitely qualify it as a hybrid, but it’s not as even-keeled as Flo or Hercules, so stay away from this strain until at least the afternoon if you have any daytime responsibilities.

Sour OG rose to prominence thanks to the Cali Connection, a California seed bank that crossed Sour Diesel with SFV OG, a West Coast phenotype of OG Kush. Originally called 818 Headband (after an area code in Los Angeles), the sour, earthy hybrid quickly gained popularity, but users began calling it Sour OG as it spread out of L.A., and Denver has taken to the latter moniker. A few shops such as Frosted Leaf and Kind Pain Management carry strains and concentrates labeled 818 Headband, but Sour OG’s name is on far more menus around town.

I’ve seen Sour OG at Ballpark Holistic Dispensary, the Healing House, High Level Health, Lightshade and Oasis Cannabis Superstore; OG Medicinals sells it elsewhere wholesale under the Willie’s Reserve brand. My favorite cut of the strain comes from OG Medicinals, which carries dank whiffs of soil and gasoline and a high that takes me on a ride back into the ’90s — but that ride always ends with my head landing softly on a pillow.

Looks: Expect a bright color with moderately dense cone- and pebble-shaped nugs. Lime-green calyxes and bright-orange pistils nearly glow thanks to the milky trichomes, recalling the strain’s Sour Diesel mother.

Smell: Lovers of the old-school will appreciate Sour OG’s classic mixture and the way it showcases its heritage. The beginning scent of gasoline, complete with skunky and sour notes, is balanced out by a sweet, floral and earthy back end.

Flavor: Sour OG carries tart, funky flavors, with sweet floral notes that stick to the sides of your tongue; earthy tastes of Kush round it out.

Effects: It’s a fifty-fifty hybrid, all right, but much more of an oil-water combination than anything. The beginning of the high, creative and energetic, is extremely different from its later hours, which are sedating and hunger-inducing. Medical benefits can include treating mental anguish, exhaustion, headaches, glaucoma and eating disorders.

Home grower’s take: “I’ve pulled this in less than two months before, but I’ve never gotten amazing yields from Sour OG. Pretty easy for a basic hydro setup, and it doesn’t stretch too much, but it’s hard to get as much value from it as other strains. Shit smells amazing, though. Just keep water handy when you smoke it, because it’ll dry you out, for sure.”

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