21st Amendment

I've been drinking 21st Amendment's Brew Free or Die for awhile now, ever since 99 Bottles got it in on tap. It's a pretty solid IPA - nice citrus and floral aroma, sweet initially on the tongue, then followed up with some killer hops. It's not super dry and has a well-balanced body and overall I'd totally recommend it.



Given my seal of approval for this particular brew, I've been trying out some of the other offerings from 21st Amendment.

The second type I tried was the Back in Black from a can. It's called an "India Black Ale", which is a bit odd, but I can dig it. I was a little surprised to see it served up in a can (grabbed out of the backpack of my local bartender and handed to me as a gift within his own bar where he probably should have been trying to get me to purchase beer, but let's put that aside). Regardless of the can, the beer was alright. I say, the more flavor the better, and this baby has a powerhouse of malts with a killer hop backbone to really knock you out. It's a pretty crimson-black in hue with a short lived tan head and you could say it's like a chocolate covered grapefruit with a cup o' charred joe on the side. Hoppy citrus, malty chocolate, and bitterness all around. Yet, still with a good balance and somewhat smooth. It's, ya know, aight.



Well, turns out Trader Joe's is serving up 6-packs of Brew Free, Back in Black, and Fireside Chat now, so I grabbed me the FDR themed brewsky and went to town. It calls itself a spicy winter ale, and I guess I would agree with that. It smells sweet and spicy and upon tasting it is creamy and smooth, but with the liveliness of cinnamon and nutmeg and a bit of fruity zest. It's not the greatest spice-infused winter ale I've ha, but it's pretty damn decent. The only thing that sucks is that it's $9 for a 6-pack of can of any of these beers from TJ's. Not the best deal.

Boatswain Twin Screw Steamer Double IPA

It's been awhile since I've posted anything here. Don't worry, I've been drinking loads of beer; I just have also been overwhelmed with jobs and school. But here we return with a beer I just bought from Trader Joe's.



I bought the 22oz bomber Boatswain Twin Screw Steamer double IPA from Minhas Craft mainly because I had never tried it, nor anything from this brewery, and it was a big, potent bottle of booze for 2 bucks. Can't beat that.

I was pleased with how it poured - a nice copper color, but with a slight head that quickly dissipated. Stick your nose in that baby and you might be surprised. I swear it smells like bad whiskey. The booze really comes through, but it surprisingly smells nothing like any IPA or double I've ever whiffed. I kind of think it smells like tecate...

The taste goes right along with this. The bad liquor feel translates from sniff to sip and although it's hoppy-bitter, it's also corn syrupy sweet. There are just a lot of unpleasant flavors coming through here with little pleasantness to balance it out.

So, in the long run, this is a cheap, boozey beer at around 8%, but it really ain't tasty... But it's $2!

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery

The Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery is not in the mountains. This was a disappointment. At first. To me the greatest possible thing in the world would be a brewery in the mountains. But, hey, the westside ain't all that bad.

Anyway, this is a great bar/brewery. They allow dogs inside and out and have the bar right next to the brewery which is easily ocularly accessible. I like to come here on Mondays and Tuesdays for all day happy hour, which gets you $3.50 pints of fresh, micro-brewed beer made right next door - can't beat that. They serve food from Kelly's at exorbitant prices, so I would come with food already in your belly.

So, the beer. Honestly, I'm not too crazy about any of the beers here. The IPA is passable, the double that I recently tried was slightly better, but the People's Porter is like sour, stale coffee and the Devout Stout tastes like beef jerky. I kid you not. Their amber is lackluster, but with no real problems aside from if you require flavor with your beer and the best thing about the Wilder Wheat is the homage to a local landmark. But, I can drink the beers here and I really like the vibe, so I'll take a meh pint for three bucks and change.