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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

21st Amendment Fireside Chat


I am a sucker for craft beer in a can. I am an even bigger sucker for very good craft beer in a can, which is why any new offering from 21st Amendment is a must buy. The San Francisco based brewpub has quickly gained notoriety for their brews. I have been able to chase down and review their India Pale Ale, Watermelon Wheat, and Back In Black. When their new release, a spiced winter ale called Fireside Chat showed up on the shelf of my local craft beer store, there was no doubt as to what I was buying.

Fireside Chat poured a brownish color with ruby hues and a finger width, tan head. The nose is malty, with spices, and a little dark fruit that might be heading towards the sour side. The body is smooth, with some spices, yet light for a winter ale. There is a slight offness/sour notes that dont seem to beling in a spiced winter ale. The finish offers a little dry bitterness.


Overall, this is a below average beer. It is mild for a winter ale, as I was expecting a bigger backbone. The main problem here is the sour like notes that appeared in the nose and stayed throughout the rest of the beer. I can't imagine this is what 21st was aiming for and if it was I am a little confused. It may be a bad batch of beer, which is possible but quite unusual for a canned beer. 21st Amendment has earned my trust so I will give this another shot but the beer that came out of this particular can was not very good at all.

2 comments:

Lost said...

It sounds like you may have gotten a bad can of the stuff. I detected no sour in the flavor, and I find that misplaced sour flavor is often a sign of a beer-gone-bad.

I personally think this is a fantastic winter warmer...possibly my favorite.

That all said, each person's pallet is different from the next, so maybe the beer hasn't gone bad and you simply don't like it! :)

-Lost

Dave Stokley said...

Disappointed to read this. I've got a can of this in my fridge for my upcoming 12 Beers of Christmas series on my blog.

Did you ever have a chance to try it again?

Incidentally, I reviewed their IPA on my site and was underwhelmed by that too.