It's hard to believe...

It's hard to believe that prior to October 1978...
the phrase "Brew Free or Die!" could very likely have appeared on a picket sign anywhere across the country. That's because prior to Jimmy Carter signing bill H.R. 1337 into law that October, home brewing was illegal. A few decades down the road and look how far we've come!

With a cold six-pack in my fridge I realized I didn't really know all that much about 21st amendment brewery so I spent some time browsing their website. What I found was not just a great resource for the story behind 21st Amendment, but also a great resource for the history of craft brewing in America:

What is the 21st Amendment?

Around the turn of the 20th century, in the year 1900, there were thousands of small breweries operating across America. When Freccia and O’Sullivan were researching old San Francisco breweries (trying to find a cool name for their new brewery), what really made an impact was the discovery that there were about 40 breweries operating just within the city limits of San Francisco (by comparison, today there are eight with a population more than double what it was in 1900). They realized that the brewery captured the essence of the neighborhoods of San Francisco. They were the local gathering places. Places to exchange ideas, debate politics and philosophy. Places for families to come together on weekends. Places that provided something unique—hand crafted beer that was different at every brewery and that defined the taste of a neighborhood.

In 1920, Prohibition wiped out this culture and put the “local” out of business. For 13 years, social interaction was largely driven underground, to the speakeasies, where regular citizens became a nation of outlaws.

But with the passage of the 21st Amendment, repealing Prohibition, we, as a society, were able to begin the slow climb back to reclaiming the essence of the neighborhood gathering place. At the 21st Amendment, they celebrate the culture of the great breweries of old, making unique, hand crafted beers, great food, and providing a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere that invites conversation, interaction and a sense of community.

Ahhhh good beer bring people together... Doesn't it make you fell all warm and sentimental inside!

Alas, this is a beer review, so what did I think of their immaculately-well packaged product? As it was a six-pack, I had six chances to taste this beer and pull from it the flavors and components. It's with more than a little disappointment that I say that after 6 tries, I still can't think of anything memorable about this IPA.  It was a bit steely (with higher than normal acidity) but other than that, it was a very average craft IPA. Average for craft beer is still pretty good (hey, the average NPA player is still amongst the best basketball players in the world, right?) but it was still a bit disappointing.

I give it a 1/3rd Pint Glass.

Prost,
-D.Lux