Two good times: Drinking Watermelon Wheat and watching Orioles win
Had two pleasant experiences over Labor Day weekend.
No. 1: Went to Camden Yards and watched Jeremy Guthrie and the Os' beat the Texas Rangers 7-0.
No. 2: Had a can of 21st Amendment Hell or High Water Watermelon Wheat beer while sitting poolside. Nothing like drinking a beer after swimming laps.
I was skeptical about watermelon beers. I have had some horrible ones made by breweries in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
But this one, brewed in San Francisco, was OK. It had good citrus notes, from the watermelon puree, and yet still had body that tasted like beer.
It would not be my first choice of beers, and $9.50 a six-pack is somewhat pricey.
But when conventional wisdom said that the O's and Guthrie were finished, and that there is no good watermelon brew, conventional wisdom was proven wrong. I have not sampled 21st Amendment IPA.
Anybody else have this watermelon beer?
What do you think?
Is this the only watermelon beer you like, or are there others you prefer?
Photo: 21st Amendment Brewery
Comments
The Melon Dog beer they had at Dog Pub this summer wasn't too bad. A little Jolly Rancher; I do prefer some of the other ones they have there, but it wasn't too bad.
Posted by: Sarah | September 8, 2009 10:24 AM
The wife and I saw them this Friday and had to pick a 6ixer of each up. The IPA is a damn fine one, as for good canned beer goes, I would but it above Oskar's IPA.
Then on to the watermelon. We had it with us around 2 different groups of people. The best compliment I could get from those tastings was "I couldn't drink more than one."
More than once it was compared to low-quality iced tea. In the end it was agreed that if you bought a 6pack of it, at least you would always have "emergency beer" deep in the fridge somewhere.
Posted by: Chw | September 8, 2009 10:53 AM
This one is currently on tap at Max's. My wife nervously ordered it on Saturday night and was pleasantly surprised; it was very sweet, but still tasted like a beer. If you like fruit beers, I suspect you'll very much enjoy this one.
Posted by: Mitch | September 8, 2009 11:03 AM
Haven't tried it yet. But to those who've had this and Red Brick Station's watermelon beer ("Cerveza Sandia) - which do you prefer?
21st Amendment's "Brew Free or Die!" IPA is a damn good IPA in a can.
Posted by: Brad | September 8, 2009 1:05 PM
I've heard nothing but good things about the Two-One-A on the Brewing Network. Heard it was being distributed in VA, glad to see it's in MD too. Nothing here in TX, but next time I'm home in MD I will pick some up. Cans travel well on the plane!!
Posted by: Aisha | September 8, 2009 10:25 PM
First disclaimer, I am a big fan of the 21st Amendment and always visit when I travel to San Francisco.
That said the beer you drank wasn't brewed in San Francisco. The 21st Amendment is a small brewpub with just enough production space for it's own needs. The beer you drank was brewed in Minnesota by a contractor, not that there is anything wrong with it. Shaun O'Sullivan regularly travels to Minnesota to keep on top of his contracted beers and they meet his quality standards.
There is nothing wrong with the contract beer model Pete's Wicked was one and so is the Hebrew line. Just an issue of accuracy of reporting, but this might be precourser for a good article on contract brewing.
Posted by: Thomas | September 9, 2009 9:35 AM