21st Amendment Brewery’s Brew Free or Die IPA is yet another craft beer in a can that gets a nod as a session-able IPA. 21st Amendment Brewery is based in San Fransisco, but the beer is actually brewed in Minnesota; I watched an interview with Shaun O’Sullivan, the company’s brewmaster, who said that he likened brewing the beer at another companies brewery was like bringing his own ingredients to a borrowed kitchen. This example of an American IPA clocks in at 75 IBU’s and 7.0 ABV. The can provides the following description of the beer, ” An India Pale Ale with a solid malt backbone and hoppy flavor.” Let’s move on to the pour to see if that’s true.
I poured this 12oz. can into a pint glass fairly aggressively and observed a perfect 2 finger dense head form over top of a beautiful copper colored brew. Decent lacing was present as well as I worked my way down the glass.
The aroma of this beer is slightly hoppy but with a definite malty bready character in the mix as well. Although this beer is not a hop bomb in the aroma, the hint of citrusy and slightly piney hops certainly works well enough to let you know this beer is an IPA.
A taste of this brew reveals bitterness up front (more bitterness than the aroma let on) with a definite malt backbone towards the back of the tongue to round out the flavor profile. Flavor notes include some tropical fruit, and sweet cereal grains from the malt. A touch of alcohol is present once in a while, but doesn’t detract from the brew’s excellent balance. Mouthfeel is about right for an IPA with a bitter but clean finish that lingers slightly, very nice.
Overall, I found this beer to be balanced, smooth, and a highly drinkable example of an IPA. While this beer does nothing new, it certainly does the session-able IPA justice. With its easily portable container, roughly $11.00/6-pack price point, you would do well to give this beer a taste. I went through a 6 pack of this a few months back and recently grabbed another 6 pack for this review, and immediately noticed the beer seemed more bitter than the last time I tried it. I then read a comment from Shaun O’Sullivan about actually using consumer feedback to dial in the recipe. I think its paid off, as 21st Amendment has refined this beer into a more bitter forward but balanced session IPA. B+
Beer Geek Nation Rating: B+
Beeradvocate: B+
Ratebeer: 96
Available in the following states:
AK, CA, ID, MD, MA, MN, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, VA, WA, DC
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