21st Amendment Back in Black

Brewed by 21st Amendment Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
San Francisco, California USA

Draught at TJ’s: Aroma of hops, grapefruit, and tangerine. Poured amber in color with a medium-sized, off-white head that diminished but lasted throughout. Clear. Sparkling. Very good laving. Flavor is medium bitter and lightly sweet. Tastes of hops, crystal malts, light pine, grapefruit, and light caramel. Medium body. Lightly dry texture. Average carbonation. Bitter, dry, hop finish.

GABF 2009, day 1: Dark chocolate complemented by big, piney and grassy hops. Some burnt/roasted charcoal in there, too, adding a nice background layer. Decent black IPA.

the beer pours an opaque dark brown with purplish highlights and a good creamy mocha head that leaves excellent lacing. I’m not really sure how to rate the appearance of an intentionally dark IPA, which was certainly not to style, but I like how it looked. The aroma was very close to the IPA, strong, rich hop aromas of pine and spruce with a tinge of citrus and herbs. The flavor brings the dark malt into play with subtle roasted notes underlying the strong hop flavors. I’ve only had one other dark IPA that I can think of, Stone’s 11th/Sublimely Self Righteous, and while they have different hop bills, they’re similarly delicious. It’s a great variant on the style but oddly rare among commercial brewers, although the homebrew community seems to have embraced it.

At brewpub. An excellent black IPA. Dark, black color with nice tan head. It really has an amazing floral, citrus aroma. The dark malts and sweetness really come through in the initial taste followed by huge citrus, grapefruit hop flavor and an enjoyable bitter finish. Final hop flavors are more piney, than citrus. Great beer.

Cask at Real Ale festival. Looks like chocolate milk from all the trub in suspension. They didn’t let this cask settle. Lots of bitterness. Brown foamy tan head. Decent, but a little too bitter.

Dark brown with a fizzy tan head. Roasty citrus aroma and watery taste with a grainy finish.

Pours attractive dark brown with a thin tan head. Full tart citrus nose with some earthy hops as well. Same in the flavor with a clean and dry finish.

Draught at the brewpub. Dark brown with a lasting light beige head. The aroma is a total pink grapefruit bomb with some fresh cut white fir (I just cut some down the day before, so it was in my head). Great smelling beer. The flavor is much like their regular IPA (on tap, not the pathetic cans) in that is very strong on the citric hops and dry in the finish, but with enough malt in the body to carry things. The dark malt adds a touch more sweetness in the front, and light chocolate that gives a nice compliment to the hop flavor. Not the most "black" black IPA that I have had, but the balance seems about right. Very good overall, riding on the back of that explosive hop aroma.