Tuesday, May 18th 2010 Brew Free! or Die IPA (21st Amendment Brewery) Cans of this beer are now available on Virgin America flights which makes Virgin America even cooler than it was previously (which was pretty cool). If only more airlines would serve good beer! From the 21st Amendment site: "BREW FREE! OR DIE IPA is brewed with some serious west coast attitude. This aromatic golden IPA starts with a sucker punch of six different hops to the nose, quickly balanced by a solid malt backbone. Our top selling beer at the pub, this IPA starts big and finishes clean leaving you wanting more." Here we go...
Pour - peachy or tangerine to orange in color with some nice auburn highlights when held to the light. Clean and clear with a thin wispy head.
Aroma - lots of lemon and orange peel, actually this reminds me a bit of Froot Loops. It has a certain sugary citrus aroma that brings me back to Saturday morning cartoons and my brother and I watching Smurfs and/or Snorks. I digress. Some sweet malt is apparent as well but that sharp hop profile is quite distinct.
Taste - one sip and I'd say this beer is full-flavored and then some. Sweetness coats the tongue but then the hops set in a big way. Lots of pine and citrus but its not over the top. After the barrage of hops the maltiness takes over and leaves you with a sweet yet tongue numbing feeling in your mouth. The hop profile in this IPA is rather unique and its definitely a lot more complex than other American IPAs. Check out the "hop bill" at the bottom. They use six different hops in this brew!
Overall - hey, I like it a lot! Its a very solid IPA and has a flavor that reminds me of Berkshire Brewing Company's Lost Sailor IPA. Lots and lots of flavors both of the malt and hop variety. Also, at 7% this is an IPA that packs a punch!
Would I buy more of it? - possibly, although there are a lot of great canned IPAs nowadays.
Note - 21st Amendment is a brewpub right near the San Francisco Giants' AT&T Park. If you ever get the chance to make the trek its definitely worth it as they have great food and a lot of beers on tap that aren't available in cans.
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