Hell and High Watermelon Wheat

21st Amendment
San Francisco, CA

Available: CA

The 21st Amendment Brewery is named for the amendment to the constitution that repealed Prohibition in 1933.

Alcohol (vol.): 5.2
Alcohol (wt): 4.1
Color: 6
Bitterness: 17
Original gravity: 1047

This light slip of a sip is traditionally among the first kegs to blow at the annual Oregon Brewers Festival, held in late July along Portland’s waterfront. And no wonder: crisp, spritzy, refreshing and a bit tart, it’s the perfect foil for both big, cloying festival beers and hot summer days. As hazy light golden as July sunshine, Watermelon Wheat is made with 400 pounds of fresh-pressed watermelon per batch, imparting a nice hint of watermelon sweetness.
- Lisa Morrison

This hazy yellow beer with a fluffy white head is a really noisy pour. Pop the can and just listen to those bubbles bursting. There’s no need to hunt the watermelon — it’s there immediately in the nose and taste — but the fruit is really not as dominant as expected. What we have is a rather bitter wheat beer, with a gentle tartness, a creamy, nutty cereal note and a strength that’s somewhat underplayed. I’m not convinced that watermelon actually works in a beer, but there are sure to be others who disagree.
- Jeff Evans

Lisa Morrison
Morisson, aka the Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever and wherever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.

Jeff Evans
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and one of Britain's best-known beer writers.

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