21st Amendment Brewing

Posted in 21st Amendment Brewing, Seasonal Return

21st Amendment Watermelon Funk is back for another summer

21st Amendment Watermelon Funk

Back for another fun summer in the sun is 21st Amendment Watermelon Funk. The beer was first canned in June of last year. 

The brewery’s Hell or High Watermelon Wheat making an appearance on shelves means warm weather is finally here. Prior to Watermelon Funk’s debut last year, the San Francisco based brewery had been “funking with greatness” in small batches. The now well-known Hell or High Watermelon Wheat beer was kettle soured Lactobacillus Planterum bacteria, resulting in the perfect complement to the slightly sweeter melon sibling.

…bright, tart, citrus notes, this beer finishes with a spicy farmhouse character from its French Saison yeast strain.

21st Amendment Watermelon Funk is brewed with 100% pure watermelon puree. Look for it nationally again in 12-ounce cans and draft for a limited time.

Style: American Sour/Wild Ale (w/ Watermelon)
Hops: Magnum
Malts: 2 Row, White Wheat

Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: June 2017
Latest Return: Late May 2018

6.7% ABV

Posted in 21st Amendment Brewing, New Releases
Posted in 21st Amendment Brewing, New Releases

Lupulin powder heavy 21st Amendment Tasty IPA debuts in September

21st Amendment Tasty IPA

21st Amendment Tasty IPA debuts nationwide in September; a collaboration with a local homebrewer.

Mike “Tasty” McDole, an award winning homebrewer partnered with 21st Amendment on this “tasty” release. The 6.8% alcohol by volume India pale ale features Citra and Mosaic lupulin powder, along with Eukanot hops. This commercial recipe was spawned from McDole’s own homebrew test batches.

If you’ve seen the movie American Beauty, substitute the girl on the cover for McDole, hops for rose petals, and you have the can art. Incidentally, the design was drawn by Mark McDole, Tasty’s son.

“If you like hops, and you love IPA, you’ll definitely enjoy this beer… even in spite of the naked guy swimming in hops on the front of the can. In all seriousness, this beer is delicious. The lupulin powder is made from the “heart of the hop,” where the hop resins and oils reside, giving this beer bright, fresh flavors and aromas of tropical stone fruits and pine, with a hint of spiciness.” – Shaun O’Sullivan, co-founder, and Brewmaster

21st Amendment Tasty IPA will be available in 12-ounce cans and draft as a limited release.

Style: IPA
Hops: Eukanot
Lupulin Powder: Citra, Mosaic

Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Distribution: AK, CA, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, MA, MD, ME, MN, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, VA, VT, WA, Washington D.C.
Debut: September 2017

6.8% ABV

Posted in Brooklyn Brewing, 21st Amendment Brewing, Beer News, Funkwerks, Headlines

Brooklyn Brewery purchases equity stakes in 21st Amendment, Funkwerks

New York based Brooklyn Brewery has taken minority stakes in both San Francisco’s 21st Amendment Brewery (21A) and Fort Collins, Colorado’s Funkwerks. The trio is creating a combined sales team.

The baseline purpose of this deal is competition. The beer industry in the United States is rapidly changing as big beer companies, like Anheuser Busch InBev and Heineken, are purchasing craft breweries, plus the growth of private equity-backed breweries.

Rather than shop for a buyout, it is time to join forces.

Brad Lincoln, co-founder of Funkwerks tells Beer Street Journal that their brewery only has two salespeople, both in Colorado, yet ships to seven states. “We can’t afford more employees to compete in the markets that sustain us,” he said.

It’s a known fact that sales generally increase in distribution territories that have salespeople. 21A ships to 24 states, and boasts a 20 person sales team. Brooklyn touts nearly that many for just New York City.

The search for a solution rather than a cash-out led Lincoln to his close friend Dave Duffy, who is the vice-president of business development at Brooklyn Brewery. “Brooklyn is seasoned in brewery partnerships both here and abroad. They understand the challenges,” Lincoln said.

Yesterday, Michigan’s Short’s Brewing announced Heineken backed Lagunitas is buying a minority share in their brewery for similar reasons. Both Lincoln and Scott Newman-Bale of Short’s said nearly the same thing about their new financial associates: “They are a partner that will leave us alone and let us be us.”

Per Lincoln, “This is how we grow, fight, and compete, and eventually – grow.”

Throughout the rest of 2017, Brooklyn, 21st Amendment, and Funkwerks will be hard at work creating a national sales platform, slated to go live in January 2018. The idea of sharing brewing operations (ex. 21A brewing at Brooklyn) has been thrown out there, but no immediate plans to do so.

The equity percentages or value of Brooklyn’s financial investment were not disclosed.

Posted in 21st Amendment Brewing, New Releases

More Fruit: 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die Blood Orange IPA ships

21st Amendment Brew Free or Die Blood Orange IPA

21st Amendment Brew Free or Die Blood Orange IPA. The name pretty much speaks for itself.

Fruited India pale ales are very much on fire. Consumers have voted with their dollar- they love citrusy IPAs. That’s why Brew Free or Die Blood Orange IPA, a variant of their year-round beer, is now available in cans. The San Francisco, California based brewery has been developing this recipe for more than a year.

“Blood oranges were a totally new ingredient for us, and it was a lot of fun to play around with different approaches of where to add it into the process, and how much.” The result? A tangy, thirst-quenching, IPA with distinct flavors. “We want craft beer drinkers to understand that while this is a new and totally different beer, it has a great lineage, but when you crack open that can and get that first whiff of blood orange and hops… Oh man, it’s a thing of beauty.” – Shaun O’Sullivan, Brewmaster & Co-Founder

The base recipe is built off of the brewery’s’ year-round Brew Free or Die IPA with Citra, Mosaic, and Chinook hops, at 2.5 pounds more per barrel. Plus blood orange of course.

21st Amendment Brew Free or Die Blood Orange IPA will be a 12 ounce can and draft release, starting in March, 2017.

Style: IPA (w/ Blood Orange)
Hops: Citra, Mosaic,Chinook
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.

Distribution: CA, OR, WA, AK, ID, MN, OH, MA, NY, IL, NJ, DC, NV, DE, MD, FL, VT, RI, PA, NH, ME, VA, GA, SC, NC.
Debut: March, 2017

7% ABV

Posted in 21st Amendment Brewing, Headlines, New Releases

21st Amendment El Camino (Un) Real, a 3-way Cali collab

21st Amendment El Camino (Un) Real

21st Amendment El Camino (Un) Real, a three way collaboration with Firestone Walker and Stone Brewing will soon return.

The last time the world saw this collaboration was in 2011, when Stone Brewing released 12 ounce bottles of the unique beer. El Camino (Un) Real is a dark ale, brewed with fennel seeds, chia seeds, peppercorns and figs.

The name plays a massive importance in this beer. El Camino Real is a 600 mile stretch of road in California that connects 21 Spanish Missions. Missionaries and Native Americans grew crops like chia and fennel along the stretch. 21st Amendment El Camino (Un) Real brings three California breweries together in one can, plus a little history to boot.

Offering a glimpse into what many feel is the “real” California, the El Camino Real wends through the state’s coastline, mountains, fertile farming valleys, and traffic-heavy urban and suburban areas. And of course, you’ll also find the 21 California Missions, reminders of Father Junípero Serra’s and the Spanish missionaries’ attempts to convert the indigenous California residents to Catholicism.

21st Amendment El Camino (Un) Real is a 12 ounce can and draft release. Cans debuted at the brewery’s taproom the week of October 17th. National distribution to follow.

Style:            (w/ Fennel Seeds, Chia Seeds, Peppercorns, Figs)
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Debut: Mid-October, 2016

9.5% ABV, 76 IBUs

Posted in 21st Amendment Brewing, Seasonal Return

21st Amendment Marooned On Hog Island is back in the can lineup

21st Amendment Marooned on Hog Island

21st Amendment Marooned on Hog Island, the brewery’s oyster stout, is back in the lineup once again.

The California based brewery creates a stout brewed with rolled oats and chocolate malt, plus 200 pounds of Sweetwater oyster shells from Hog Island Oyster Company.

““More than just a fun tale of a like-minded collaboration, this oyster stout is also deep rooted as a traditional style produced in England, where oysters are plentiful and there is not shortage of stout on that island nation. Marooned on Hog Island is our new world interpretation, created with our neighbors at Hog Island Oyster Company just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Tomales Bay, and it is nothing short of spectacular,” – Nico Freccia, co-founder

Hog Island Oyster Company was started by two passionate guys John Finger and Terry Sawyer, much like 21st Amendment was. The salinity in the brine and the calcium of the shells give this beer a slightly salty touch to this stout

The new San Leandro brewery expansion allowed 21st Amendment Marooned on Hog Island to be re-brewed for the first time since 2012.

Style: Stout (w/ Oysters)
Hops: Magnum, Willamette
Malts: Crystal, Carafa, Chocolate, Rolled Oats

Availability: 12 oz Cans, Draft. Seasonal.
Distribution: CA, OR, WA, AK, ID, MN, OH, ME, NH, VT, RI, MA, NY, NJ, DC, CT, DE, MD, PA, VA, GA, FL, NV, NC, SC or IL.

Latest Return: September, 2016

7.9% ABV