21st Amendment Hop Crisis!

21st Amendment Brewery
Brewed at Cold Spring Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Francisco, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Can from bleeng. Thanks Rick! Pours an average cheddar orange with a knock-you-on-your-butt grapefruit sap poured over a pine-soaked orange rind. Flavor is a malty strawberry orange smoothie with a light finish of Ruby Red grapefruit. Peels the proverbial paint off your palate, but in a good way. I’d prefer less malt presence but that’s it. Otherwise, an aggressive but approachable beer that, despite the high ABV, never let’s itself become a boozy mess. Well made IPA.

Can. A smooth and complex Imperial India Pale Ale. Strong citrus, mainly grapefruit, and bitter flavors. Heavy sweet malt in the background. Lasting finish that is dry and mildly bitter. Solid brew. Tasty.

12oz can, after being somewhat disappointment from the breweries other IPA’s, this double IPA certainly made up for it in taste of hops. The imperial really didn’t come through, maybe on the finish, didn’t expect the 9.7%abv., (well hidden), but great hoppy flavors, well-balanced, hints of oak flavor, citrus, medium body, hopped bitter finish. I would buy of case of this brew!

Clear honey golden coloured body with a bit of a copper and orange glow and a very thick off-white head with some pretty ugly lacing. Aroma of tons of alcohol, a bunch of fresh hops, grapefruit, pine, apricots and a deep, cloying smell that shows a lot of character - even in the nose. Full-bodied; Pungent hop flavour at first with a bit of candy sugar, apricots, alcohol then finally showing a good heavy dose of grapefruit and piney notes at the end. Aftertaste shows a lot of alcohol, a ton of malt and body, a bit of an earthy and toffee sweetness and finally, a strong prolonged bitterness from the hops at the end. Overall, a nice imperial ipa that focuses mostly on the hops, then on the malt - so it really is an IPA, not a slightly hopped american strong...this one has the order the right way, plus its in a small format size, and it’s a can! I sampled this twelve ounce can purchased from Total Wine in Alexandria, Virginia on 20-July-2011 received in store on my birthday, 30-June-2011 sampled at home in Washington on 13-November-2011.

pours a clean light orange color. relatively small head that disappears quickly. some citrus hops come through the nose with a hint of booze as well. very sweet hops in the taste the oak aging gives it a nice edge but i wish i could taste the non oak aged version of this... it is a bit oily as well. solid beer but i was maybe expecting a bit more...

Joint tasting with Strykzone. Pours a transparent amber color with a really robust white head. Nose of grapefruit. Medium body and a very resinous mouthfeel. The flavor is strong with lots of citrus and bitterness. Finishes the same. Really a lot going on here. Excellent.

12 oz can from Hayduke. He, Rick, and I shared it via facebook chat. This poured clear and golden with a bit of copper. The nose was citrus fruit and caramel. Flavor was also citrus with a bit of floral. Caramel was nicely balanced. ABV was not fiction! Some wood and vanilla came through in subtle notes. This was nice!

Can from a recent trade. Thanks! Okay double ipa. Quite resinous and sweet, not really my thing. I guess some of the sweetness comes from the oak aging which I’ve never really enjoyed with my ipa’s. Quite oily and thick palate.

12 oz can thanks to Jimmy! Bright gold, hazy and well carbonated. Small white head. Sweet, resiny nose. Taste is a bit lemony, with well defined sweet then bitter hoppiness. Alcohol is slightly noticeable towards the end. A bit sticky. Full body. Drinks nicely but just a tad overcarbonated.

On tap at Cine in Athens, GA. I had low expectations due to the kitschy packaging of their canned beers, but this proved both more flavorful and more drinkable than expected. Russet orange and almost still, this looks and feels less lively than a typical dipa, but gives plenty of sweet-tart blood orange flavors on the palate to make up for its liquor-ish appearance. The finish has plenty of hops, but is not overly bitter. Overall, this is a good example of the style, roughly comparable to 90 minute ipa (and so just short of the Hopslam and Pliny standard of excellence).