21st Amendment Holiday Spiced Ale

Brewed by 21st Amendment Brewery
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
San Francisco, California USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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On tap at the brewpub. Dark orange/light brown, very little bubbly head. Some cinnamon and nutmeg in aroma. Mouthfeel is very watery. Unbalanced malt and spice taste - way too much cinnamon. I didn’t really like this at all. Given the fact that this brewpub only had 3 beers on tap (I didn’t try the blonde), the service wasn’t very good, and the 2nd beer at the food tuned my stomach, it is safe to say this was my least favourite of all the brewpubs I visited on my trip to San Francisco.

On tap at madMex in cranberry. cola color, no head but some lacing, i liked the malty and mellow flavors. the Ale is a little thin and the spices come across quite bitter at end, but still very pleasant.

Dark beer with some mahogany hints around the edge. Foamy beige head. Malty nose with some sour funk. This beer tastes like something unwanted took over. There is some spice flavors and a dark sugar sweetness, but the sour tang over powers the other flavors. I wonder if it is supposed to taste like this.

22oz traded bottle from 2009. Pours a very murky, dark brown with a thin, khaki head. Light aroma with a little spice, banana and a hint of sour fruit. Nice flavor of roasted malt and just enough spice to make it interesting. Pleasant.

Reddish dark brown with a fizzy head. Cinnamon nutmeg and clove aroma and taste with an almost tart spicy finish.

Welp, this vaults me into the top 5 raters for 21st Amendment, which is a decent honor to have since they are an underrated brewery. Yes, I realize that nobody cares about this in the slightest. No, I don’t care that you don’t care. Yes, I know you don’t care that I don’t care that you don’t care. And so on. Had this on tap at 21st Amendment on New Years Eve. The description is wrong - this beer is not a copper color, it’s dark brown with reddish hues to it. A small off-white head sits on top but fades pretty quickly. Aroma is heavily spiced with some caramel and roast. Flavor is lots of winter spices (cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg), caramel, roasted malt, and molasses. Medium body and just a little booze in there, but not more than you’d expect for an 8% beer (which is how it was listed on the menu, although RB has it at 7%). Overall an above-average holiday beer.

On tap at 21A
Appearance: Dark brown with a off white head, some lacing
Aroma: Holiday spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.....
Taste: Tastes like it smells. Alot of spice, but not over the top.
A nice balanced beer for the holidays.

22oz bottle. Clear reddish brown. Lots of ginger and spice and everything nice. A bit too bitter on the finish. Solid.

Draught at pub. This is a great holiday ale. Just the right amount of spice, not overdone like so many others. Allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove with a little fig. Good warmer.

UPDATED: DEC 21, 2007 Draught at the brewpub. Clear dark ruby, small head. Distinct spicy nose with nutmeg, chocolate and spruce. Medium bodied with clean mouthfeel. Lightly roasty and richly spicy with orangey notes. Low-medium bitterness. Like most beers from this brewer the flavours are really good, but the mouthfeel is too clean and hard.

This beer wasawesome! Too many ’holiday’ brews use too litte spice - not 21st. This bold tasting brew had a cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg goodness. Bold but not over the top. Frgrant hops helped balance the spices, and I enjoyed the orangish color of this brew.