By Joel Williams
Published: February, 2007
Shaun O’Sullivan, Head Brewer at 21st Amendment in San Francisco, remembers a day in the year 2001 when one of his employees happily remarked how great it was that the place was packed at 2:30 in the afternoon. It sounded like great news for the new establishment. Actually, it was the sound of the dot coms crashing. Yes, the bar was packed, but it was a pink slip party, and all of the people had just been laid off.
O’Sullivan has been brewing professionally in the Bay Area for 14 years, first working at Triple Rock in Berkeley and at a couple of other local brewpubs. But he wanted to take a chance on running a business of his own.
I decided that everything I did in brewing was with the idea of opening my own establishment, O’Sullivan says. So, he and a partner worked to open 21st Amendment in August of 2000. They had to weather the dot com bubble burst, which caused most of their South Beach neighbors to disappear, and, for the first few years, it was not an easy ride. O’Sullivan remembers, It was really vibrant and then the dot com thing died off right around 2001 and then we had 9/11 and the economic downturn… It was probably the worst time to open a restaurant down here.
It’s a unique success story for such a turbulent time, but 21st Amendment takes chances and creates some unique beer.
On tap, there is a nice variety of house beers and a couple of guest taps available. Their St. Martin’s Abbey Ale is a fine example of the Belgian Trappist Ale style that is traditionally made by monks. It has a beautiful and delicate nose that has hints of berries and plum and the Belgian ale yeast gives it a slightly sour and lactic flavor that compliments the rich maltiness.
The most unique beer at 21st Amendment, and probably in the Bay Area, has to be the one-of-a-kind Watermelon Wheat. This American style wheat beer is made by adding 400 pounds of fresh pressed watermelon to each batch. The end product is a light, refreshing beer with the taste of the true essence of watermelon, not the overly sweet artificial watermelon candy flavor. It’s extremely popular at the pub. And, in fact, their Watermelon Wheat is consistently the most popular beer at the Oregon Brewers Fest — so popular that they put it in a retail package, and not one you would expect from a small brewery. 21st Amendment’s Watermelon Wheat was put in cans! There are also six-packs of their 21A IPA, a West Coast style IPA with an aggressive hop bitterness and aroma and 7.2% ABV.
Traditionally, premium beer has always been packaged in bottles. For so long, people associated can beer with bad beer, O’Sullivan says, because their first experience with beer was probably bad beer; and, it was in a can.
Years ago, canning beer affected the quality of the original product and produced unwanted flavor characteristics, especially if canned in tin or steel. But today, canning technology has vastly improved due to the efforts of major breweries and soft drink companies. Now, there is a water-based polymer coating lining inside the can to protect the product from interacting with the aluminum. Plus, there are several advantages to using cans over bottles. It’s a smaller, lighter package that cools quickly and protects the product from light, which is one of beer’s worst enemies.
Although six-packs can be found on store shelves in Portland, OR, don’t run out to a local store expecting to find cans of 21st Amendment beer just yet. There are a few legal loopholes that still need to be navigated before they can get their local distribution license, which O’Sullivan expects to be completed by this summer. Until then, the only place in California to buy their canned beer is on site at the San Francisco establishment.
The 21st Amendment Brewery, located two blocks north of AT&T Park on 2nd Street, is named after the amendment to the United States Constitution that put an end to Prohibition in 1933.
Since 2003, 21st Amendment has teamed up with Magnolia Pub & Brewery in the month of February to present Strong Beer Month. Between the two breweries 11 strong beers with alcohol levels hovering around 10% ABV will be featured throughout the month. Special kegs and casks of vintage and barrel-aged beers will appear at different times. Try all 11 of the unique offerings and keep the special commemorative glass.
MEET THE BREWERS NIGHT
21st Amendment 563 2nd St., San Francico
(415) 369-0900 www.21st-amendment.com
21st Amendment hosts Meet the Brewers Night, an event sponsored by the San Francisco Brewers Guild. Enjoy a pint in a casual atmosphere, and meet San Francisco brewers. Feb. 15, 6-9PM
Joel Williams was a professional craft brewer for over seven years at several breweries. He earned a Diploma in Brewing Sciences in 1996 from the world-renowned Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago.
