Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Brew Free or Die IPA by 21st Amendment Brewing


By the time you read this, several days will have passed due to my editor, aka my wife, has left me to visit her aunt, uncle, and brother in Oklahoma. In her absence, my brother and I are trying to repair a fuel line in my Toyota econo-box which required that I spend seventy bucks on a piece of rubber and plastic about 12 inches long.

In order to cut the pain of being without cash and a car, today I decided to break open the last can of a group of sample beers from the 21st Amendment Brewery, their “Brew Free or Die IPA”.

Popping the top off the always interesting and well-designed cans from this brewery, the beer poured a crisp and clear orange hued beer that danced with the bubbles of active carbonation. About a nickel’s width head formed, and retained for the length of the beer’s consumption.

The nose is warm, and bright with the aroma of grapefruit and perfume like hops.

As the light, somewhat refreshing beer hits my palate, a medium-bodied grapefruit forward flavor is experienced. Unlike a lot of American brewed IPAs, there is not an all-out assault of bitterness on the drinker’s tongue, but more of a background suggestion is created by a mild malt backend that brings out some orange-like character in the beverage.

While the bitterness does develop a bit more as the beer is consumed, 21st Amendment Brewery has created a very well balanced and crafted beer. This IPA easily has a place in my top 10 list, and would also be very approachable for the American macro lager drinker that is reaching out to discover real beer. 

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