21st Amendment's Fire Side Chat and Back in Black

Tonight just a quite night at home so just kicking back and going to have a couple beers from 21 Amendment Brewery in San Francisco, CA http://www.21st-amendment.com/.  You may wonder how I found these beers since I am in the Quad Cities and they are way out in California, well they have a contract brewery in Cold Springs, MN so they distribute in  Minnesota.  So that is where I pick them up.

First up Fireside Chat, which is a winter spiced ale, ok so what if winter is over with I still am going to drink it.  It pours with a thick creamy tan head on top of a deep amber beer.  The aroma that meets the nose is a blend of spices, which they do not disclose, but I believe include cinnamon, cloves, ginger and perhaps nutmeg.  Also there is a touch of caramel notes coming from the malts.  They say they use cocoa nibs, but I am not picking up much from them.   The flavors first hitting me are pruny dark fruit and rich toffee, caramel flavors.  It is a full bodied beer as well as a wee bit strong checking in at 7.9% ABV.  It is a good beer but to me not a great beer, something I am glad I tried but would not go out of my way to get.  For me it is just too many spices and they are too strong for my palate.  Don't get me wrong I would not pass on this beer if some one gave me one, I just would not put it high on my must have beer list.

Second up is Back in Black, a Black IPA, ok no rant tonight.  This is a dark almost black beer with tan long lasting head that is not as creamy as the Fireside Chat.  Aroma is of the ubiquitous Northwest American hops with a subtle dark roast.  As far as taste this is almost unique amongst BIPAs it is well balanced between the hops and the dark roast.  This is a BIPA I could actually have a couple three of and still not be overwhelmed with.  It checks in at 6.8% ABV which is far from a session beer but makes it more drinkable than Fireside Chat.

Overall 21st Amendment makes some really good beers, but they are not in my top level of great breweries.  Maybe a visit to their brewpub would change that, nothing is better than drinking fresh beer from the breweries' own taps.  I look forward to some day making it out to San Francisco area to try some of these breweries that are mere legend to me here in the Midwest.  So if any one wants to kick in some dollars just let me know and I will guide you on how to send it to me.  :)

QC Beerguy