21st Amendment Brewery’s ‘Bitter American’ A tribute to unsung, unwitting heroes everywhere

After a long day at work, the average American might feel a little bitter at the curveballs life threw his way—but cracking open a Bitter American will immediately improve the mood. And seeing the astronaut chimp on the can will put average troubles into perspective—let’s face it, if you’d been rocketed into space against your will, you might be a little bitter, too. Bitter American is 21st Amendment Brewery’s newest seasonal, an extra pale ale, available now through March. This is the third in 21st Amendment’s series of canned craft seasonals, which also includes Hell or High Watermelon Wheat and Fireside Chat.

Bitter American was first created at 21st Amendment’s pub in 2006 as a response to the trend of “extreme beers” – complex beers high in alcohol and often including unusual ingredients. 21st Amendment wanted to offer the opposite: a “session beer,” or lower alcohol beer that would encourage patrons to enjoy a drinking session with friends (a staple in British pub culture). This beer packs a lot of hop and malt flavor into a refreshingly low alcohol (4.4% by volume) brew—making it the perfect session beer to enjoy with friends.

“What I love about Bitter American,” said Nico Freccia, co-founder, “is that it is the antidote to the strong, dark, intense beers of winter. Winter beers, like barleywines, are incredible styles, but after a while the palate needs a rest. Bitter American provides that.”

“The secret to Bitter American is achieving a balance between malt flavor and hops while using a smaller grain bill,” says co-founder and Brewmaster Shaun O’Sullivan. “If you just add more hops into a session beer grain bill, you get an unbalanced mess of overwhelming bitterness. Our secret is the use of a special, imported English heirloom malt called Golden Promise. This malt has a rich, full body and distinctive flavor that gives the beer a complex, caramelly and toasty flavor. Against this backdrop, we are able to hop generously to achieve a hop flavor and aroma that belies the strength of the brew.”

As Freccia likes to say, “Go ahead. Give one, or three, a try.”

Bitter American is available in cans and on draft starting this week at quality bars and stores in all 15 of 21st Amendment’s current distribution territories, including CA, OR, WA, AK, ID, MN, OH, MA, NY, NJ, DC, MD, PA, VA, and GA. For up-to-date availability, events and promotions, visit www.21st-Amendment.com.