Beer cocktails seem to be all the rage these days, and why not?  Beer provides a complex set of flavors that can be blended into a drink to create something unique.  21st Amendment is diving head first into this trend, but with the added advantage of using beer brewed in house.  The result are drinks that  use beer as a central base to build the cocktail.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a cynic going in – why ruin a perfectly good beer by mixing in other things? Nevertheless, Chase, a new manager and the head of the beer cocktail program sat me down, and mixed a few tasty tipples.  Would I be convinced of the power of the beer cocktail?

First he fixed me a “2nd St. 75″ which is a play on a French 75.  It’s made by shaking together Gin, simple syrup and lemon juice, then their own watermelon wheat is floated on top.

This cocktail goes down very, very smooth.  It’s a bit sweet for my taste, but not so overpowering that I didn’t finish the whole glass. The watermelon wheat adds a nice carbonated touch in place of the champagne in a classic ’75, although the actual flavor of the beer is very subtle in the final drink.  My first thought was that my girlfriend would love this.  But I don’t mean that to say it’s a “chick drink” – it much too complex and interesting to be put in the same category as a Midori sour.

Next up, the “Tropical Storm”

The storm is made with lime, pineapple rum, watermelon wheat beer, and a splash of homemade ginger beer. The ginger beer is what really stands out.  It’s powerful stuff, made in back by brewer Jesse. The herbal concoction ads an almost anise quality to the aroma, but in the taste the coconut rum comes more forward.  Light and refreshing, this tropical drink taste much like it appears.

Both of these drinks, which incorporate 21A’s watermelon wheat beer are what I might call safer choices.  They avoid super strong beer flavors by using a lighter, fruitier beer.  Chase then mixed me something a bit more challenging.

The “Second Wind” is made using a bit of simple syrup, Sambuca, cold coffee and Brew Free or Die IPA. It’s easily the most complex and challenging of the cocktails they’re offering, and the most out on a limb.  The predominant aroma is the Sambuca, whose anise aroma overrides the hops in the IPA, or the roast in the coffee.  The taste is more balanced but still dominated by the Sambuca, with the coffee adding a slight stringency, countered by the syrup, and the IPA adding a nice hoppy finish.

Last, I was fixed an as of yet unnamed cocktail that’s still being worked on.  It’s something of a beer-garita, made with elderberry syrup, tequila, lime, and their Bitter American IPA.  This was my favorite of the bunch – it was nicely balanced, without anything running wild over the hops in the beer.

So, am I converted?  I’m not sure yet.  Afterwards I had a pint of the always great Double Trouble IPA – a big hop bomb. I found it hit the spot more for me than the cocktails did.  But I, and my beer snobbery ways, are not really the audience for these drinks.  What they are is a great alternative for those who are not such fans of beer, but still come to 21A before a Giant’s game, or with a beer loving friend. Taken in that light, they are very successful – they taste good, and are unique drinks that take advantage of the unique toolkit available behind the bar at 21A. Plus, these are only the first foray – it’s a developing list, that will change to match the seasons and the taps.  Chase has a few more tricks up his sleeve.  I can’t wait to see what happens with this, his hop tincture.

There is a cocktail hiding behind that bar to please event the most ardent of hop heads.  More beer cocktails means a longer drink list to accommodate all palates – even mine.

Tags: 21a, 21st amendment, beer cocktails

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 at 4:17 pm and is filed under Reviews, Taste Test. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.