21st Amendment Imperial Jack

Brewed by 21st Amendment Brewery
Style: English Strong Ale
San Francisco, California USA

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Tasted on tap at the 8th Annual Triple Rock Firkin Fest on 4/9/2011. This Imperial ESB pours a slightly cloudy medium brown amber color from the firkin. The aroma is malty, sweet with some wood and bourbon. A medium to full bodied ESB. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are herbal. Lots of bourbon flavors present, but not overpowering. Nicely balanced. Soft carbonation. The wood chips/bourbon works extremely well with this beer, the ‘firkinazation?” and wood/oak combine for a very tasting beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

My Bottom Line:
Sweet, fruity malts and leafy, spicy hops suffuse this strong ale’s slick body.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam covers the cloudy dark red.
-There is but a splash of alcohol heat in the background.
-I have to admit that even though this was competently executed, I thought the recipe was rather boring.
-Bananas and litchis peek through the flavour profile once in a while.

On tap at the brewpub.

on tap-pours a tan head and dark amber color. Aroma is wood, medium malt, some earthy. Taste is orange, wood/grain/medium malt, some earthy.

Draft. Rich amber beer with a light cream colored head. Toffee and light cocoa aroma. Cocoa and caramel flavor with light hops. Medium-plus bodied. Caramel and cocoa lingers with light mineral notes.

On tap at the brewpub pouring hazy amber with copper hues and off white head. The aroma is modest in strength providing a pleasing combination of malts, grains and malt roastiness. The taste is far more adventurous than the nose with robust notes of caramel malts and malt roastiness. By midway the hops surface with floral and spicy bitterness. Into the finish a tasty malt induced dark fruitiness and grainy to roasty malt dryness close off the experience.

Draught at the brewpub. Orange with a medium white head. Malty aroma with a nutty side and some fruity caramel. Just a light whiff of earthy hops. Sweeter english malt base with some caramel. Lightly fruity, lower on bitterness, with an amber crystal malt character. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. I figured that this would just be a barleywine after reading the description, but it really does work the higher-alcohol ESB thing. Interesting and pretty good, though not something I would pick first considering the strength of their other offerings.

From tap at the brewpub. Pours dark brown, slightly unclear with a small tan head. Aroma is dark toffee malt with a nice fruity hops note. Bitter and sweet caramelish flavoured. Smooth malt mouthfeel and with a nice drying bitterness following into the finish.

Tasted at brewery. Copper brown with a fizzy head. Sweet malty aroma with some citrus notes. Brassy, malty, citrus taste with the alcohol well hidden and a nice smooth palate.