Hell Or High Watermelon Wheat Beer - 21st Amendment Brewery

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.33/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Someone sent me a can as an extra from the West Coast. Hey its an extra and they hadn't thought that fruit beers are not normally my thing. Pours a light pinkish tinge colour with quick fizzing disapearing head. Mild sweet aroma. The taste is acceptable for a few gulps, light mouthfeel. This isn't real watermelon put in the tank.

Serving type: can

11-27-2010 23:47:39 | More by northyorksammy

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.53/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Muddy lemon with a significant yeasty blurriness. The ivory colored crown maxed out at several fingers and looks good enough, both after the pour and as it descends. I like the lack of clarity and the attractive array of frost-like lace.

If I use my imagination, there *might* be a whiff of watermelon in the nose. Otherwise, the beer smells dull and not very distinctive, like an especially tart 'n tangy APWA. The flavor has some serious work to do. As is often the case, warming opens things up enough for the next highest score to be granted.

Hallelujah! Hell Or High Watermelon Wheat Beer actually tastes like the fruit for which it's named. This is one unique beer. It gets high marks for having just the right amount of fruit flavor and for tasting natural rather than artificial. I guess that's what happens when 400 lbs of melons are used per batch.

The base beer is less than outstanding. There isn't much malt, it tastes a bit grainy and there's a little too much bitterness. Maltier and sweeter would be better, as long as the amount and quality of the watermelon juiciness remains the same. The finish is kinda, sorta crisp and quenching.

Although it isn't wonderful, the mouthfeel has just enough going for it to be considered above average. It's light-medium, is firmer than it is smooth and is generously bubbled. Not bad... not bad.

Hell Or High Watermelon Wheat succeeds because it tastes authentically watermelon-like. That's a good start. Here's hoping that 21st Amendment isn't completely satisfied and continues to tweak the recipe. Thanks to Georgiabeer for the opportunity.

Serving type: can

08-29-2008 12:10:08 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +23.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I got a can of this one as an extra recently and decided to open in it up with lunch the other day. Served cold and poured into a pint glass, this one was enjoyed on 08/30/2009.

The pour was very nice, light with a big fizzy white head on top. Lots of carbonation was visible throughout the session, really a very lively looking beer through the light yellow color. Aroma was light, small hop notes, hints of light candy, like a jolly rancher almost with a light touch of grain. Same goes for the taste. Clea, crisp and very refreshing it was an easy session beer for me. Very light, with a candy like aftetaste, it really did taste like they brewed it with a jolly rancher, just really had that kind of flavor. Not much aftertaste and to be honest it went down like water for me.

Overall nicely done. I would go here again, why not. A bit light for me to really call it a fruit beer, but I have had some damn nice fruit beers lately. Still more then decent though.

Serving type: can

09-01-2009 00:59:34 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

3.45/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

On-tap at 21A

A: The beer comes with a small piece of watermelon affixed to the glass (a la an orange/lemon with hefeweizens of ill-repute). The beer is a slightly hazed straw color.

S: The nose definitely exhibits some watermelon, but it is more watermelon rind in nature. A bit of sweet, bread malt underneath.

T: Plenty of watermelon flavor, so at least it lives up to its name. Mostly watermelon rind and watermelon jolly rancher with just a hint of wheat.

M: The body is on the lighter side with plentiful carbonation.

D: I don't know how much of this I'd actually be interested in drinking at a time, but it's not a bad beer. Quite refreshing and better than some of the other beers that were on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

07-30-2010 06:57:50 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.18/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pale yellow with a thin white head that recedes fairly quickly and does not leave much lacing behind. Nose is pretty one dimensional with watermelon dominaing. Semi-sweet but not overly ripe. Taste is similar, although a bit of the wheat characteristics make heir way through. Feel is a bit light but well carbonated. Drinkability is decent, and this is better than many other fruit forward APWAs.

Serving type: can

09-29-2010 12:08:32 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

2.55/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

12 ounce can - $5.25 at Taco Mac in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours out a hazed, light yellow body with a small, quickly evaporating, white head.

Smell: Huh. No more than a very nominal wheat character and the purported fruit addition provides for a mere hint of greenish, vegetal tones. You could've said it was zucchinis and I would've gone along with it.

Taste: Lightly sweet, minor taste of wheat malt. Faintly grainy. Near nil bitterness throughout. Thin trace of watermelon husks which holds until the flat, yawnworthy finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Sorry, but this one just didn't do it for me. It's difficult for me to be particularly interested in a bland wheat ale with a boring watermelon character. Bummer.

Serving type: can

07-23-2010 14:35:17 | More by ChainGangGuy

brentk56

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a dirty pale lemon color with a very modest head; not much in the way of retention or lace

Smell: Oddly enough, I pick up a bit of spice cake with a chocolate dusting; the watermelon is present, but hidden beneath the other aromas

Taste: The watermelon comes through much more so upon the taste, with hints of the chocolate powder and spice cake being much less pronounced than in the aroma; after the swallow, the flavor fades but the hints of watermelon reappear at the very end

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: The beer grew on me; I like that it is not sweet and has some underlying complexity; I doubt I would seek it out very often but kudos to the brewer for developing a signature recipe

Thanks, hoppymeal, for the opportunity

Serving type: can

10-24-2008 00:32:50 | More by brentk56

UCLABrewN84

California

3.48/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap for the 4th Anniversary event at Blue Palms Brewhouse in Los Angeles, CA.

Pours a hazy orange with a foamy bone colored head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of wheat, grain, yeast, spices, and some slightly fruit (but not watermelon) aromas. Taste is much the same with a very mild watermelon flavor on the finish. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is refreshing but the watermelon presence is mild and hard to pick out in my opinion.

Serving type: on-tap

08-14-2012 01:25:24 | More by UCLABrewN84

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

2.2/5  rDev -31.9%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 2

Can: Poured a light yellow color ale with a small pure white foamy head with minimal retention. Aroma of watermelon and light wheat malt is weird and not really enticing. Taste is a mix between some watermelons which is more dominant then expected with some light wheat malt. Body is thin with light carbonation. Boring thin wheat with light watermelon flavours.

Serving type: can

02-04-2013 01:50:07 | More by Phyl21ca

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev +17%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

21st Amendment's Watermelon Wheat Beer pours a hazy orange body with a bit of a pinkish cast and golden highlights. The creamy white head holds fairly well, and it leaves some initial splatters and splashes of lace about the glass.

The aroma is quite bold, and displays fresh-cut watermelon rind.

The flavor is a little more fruit-like, a touch sweet, and remarkably authentic. It starts sweet, reveals its watermelon character, and then fades readily from the palate with just a little bit of melon flavor left behind.

It's interesting and quite easy to drink, but a bit one-sided. However, it makes a great summer beer, and would probably be great at backyard barbeques!

Serving type: can

05-04-2007 22:43:59 | More by NeroFiddled

WesWes

New York

3.43/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a hazy gold color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is average. It has a light, pale and wheat malt scent along with a strange breadiness and a weak watermelon aroma. The taste is decent. It has a smooth pale and wheat malt flavor with a mild watermelon character. It's got a weird taste to it, but I guess it's the fruit. I'm not used to watermelon flavored beers. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is an above average beer, but nothing I would buy again.

Serving type: can

12-22-2009 00:24:20 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

3.28/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a can into a snifter. This was a gift from Matt, thanks. Beer is yellow and hazy, forms a thick white head (I poured it hard) that falls away into a thin head of small white bubbles. The initial head left some lacing on the glass. Its a little under carbed but it looks OK.

Aroma has a slight Jolly Rancher watermelon character to it...general sweetness. Kind of simple.

Clean, finishes nicely, medium body, grainy in the back, that's fine, some sweetness up front with the watermelon in the middle. Its about what you'd expect a watermelon wheat to taste like. Second taste, mouthfeel is fine, drinkability is fine. Nothing special, I like this brewery but this beer is just OK.

Serving type: can

04-25-2010 01:22:25 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

3.58/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a hazy light yellow color with a white head. The aroma is mainly wheat but I also get a nice bit of light watermelon. The flavor is wheat, juicy watermelon and a light bit of tartness. Light to medium mouthfeel and medium mouthfeel. A nicely done fruit beer that doesn't taste artificial or overpower you with sweetness.

Serving type: can

07-23-2011 03:54:50 | More by Mora2000

metter98

New York

3.23/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is pale yellow in color and poured with a thin white head and quickly faded away.
S: There are light aromas of wheat with hints of watermelon in the smell.
T: The taste is similar to the smell, except that the watermelon flavor is a bit more prominent.
M: It feels light-bodied and watery on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The beer definitely goes down very easy but has an unremarkable taste. It would be a good choice for a hot summer day when you are just looking for a cold beer but not much else.

Serving type: can

09-09-2011 18:39:39 | More by metter98

MasterSki

Illinois

3.23/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Thanks to Jason for sharing this one. You can tell how much he likes me as this was the first beer he offered upon my return to Chicago. Served in a Jester King snifter.

A - A finger of white foam fizzles to a thin ring, leaving minimal lace. Hazy orange body.

S - Initially I thought this smelled pretty bad. Stale hops, lightly rotten fruit, and cloying malt sweetness. However, as it warmed up I actually got more of the advertised watermelon flavor and it got a bit better.

T - Taste is a marked improvement. Watermelon, light wheat and grain, and some sugary malt sweetness. Perhaps a bit saccharine, but fairly enjoyable for what it is.

M - Medium-light body, smooth pleasant medium-low carbonation. Pretty clean and refreshing.

D - Once you get past the aroma, there's a decent beer waiting. Still, not something I'd want to bother with again. Markedly inferior to the watermelon lambic hombrew someone brought to RBWG 2010.

Serving type: can

06-16-2011 16:31:53 | More by MasterSki

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.38/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12oz can into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep yellow color, with a thin white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of wheat, watermelon, citrus, light caramelized malts, citrus and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out fruity and a little bready with a strong watermelon sweetness followed by wheat and a hearty malt character. There's a mild hops presence that brings some balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly bready.

M: Smooth and crisp, light-to-medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, mild kick, this a decent fruit beer to drink for a while, but unless you're in the mood for the watermelon flavor there isn't much to this beer that would make me want to drink it otherwise.

Serving type: can

09-11-2009 02:33:03 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.35/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

This is the first Watermelon beer I've ever had. The color was hazy and yellow the aroma was sweet and had the natural aroma of the watermelon. The flavor was a little of te light side. It wasn't that bad but I think that if a watermelon wedge was added to this while drinking that it would amp this brew up and make it a lot better.

Serving type: can

03-27-2011 20:33:31 | More by Knapp85

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.38/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Got this from PEBCAK, cheers Adam!

Pours an effervescent, semi-hazed straw/gold with 3 fingers of pearl colored head. Zero head retention & lacing

S: Grassyness & phenols

T: Green melon, grassy hops, slight dryness & hints of strawberries up front. More melon & grassynessas this warms, pluss some phenolic character. Finishes wet with grassyness & a touch of melon

MF: Light bodied, effervescent

Drinks easy, but only about 2 of these even on a warm evening are my limit, maybe worth a flutter again at a future date. I am not sure what the fuss is on this one is...

Serving type: can

06-20-2009 03:49:10 | More by russpowell

Halcyondays

California

3.88/5  rDev +20.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. can,

A: Pours a hazy, cloudy yellow with a medium white head, good retention, no lacing, looks a lot like a witibier.

S: Lots of watermelon, smells a little on the artificial side, but not to bad, it's a nice smell.

T: Big bite of watermelon and sour candy bite at first. Flavour turns wheatier and away from the fruit flavour to finish, dry cereal.

M: Definitely on the acidic side, about the same pH I'd reckon as orange juice, very crisp and refreshing, has a soda quality about it.

D: Not bad at all, a great summer beer, the idea of mixing watermelon with a wheat beer base certainly works here.

Serving type: can

08-07-2008 02:55:28 | More by Halcyondays

emerge077

Illinois

3.03/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Into a tumbler it pours a pale golden orange color. Some feeble foam clings to one side, a loose texture to the bubbles. Visible carbonation, murky clarity.

Smells like any other "wheat beer"... bland and somewhat grainy. Not much discernable watermelon, though there's an indistinct fruity note to it.

Some watermelon flavor, though accompanied by a bland watery character, more like the white rind than the sweet red fruit. Light astringency, the mouthfeel is basically nonexistent. Probably not something i'd revisit personally. Cool new can design though.

Serving type: can

10-06-2011 06:16:48 | More by emerge077

Gavage

New Jersey

3.05/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: flat looking yellowish orange color with some spots of foam on the surface.

Smell: light watermelon aroma is all that is detectable.

Taste: very mild wheat profile with soft watermelon tones and little to no bitterness. Pretty one dimensional in my opinion.

Mouthfeel: lighter in body. Mildly crisp throughout and a brief watermelon aftertaste leaves the mouth quickly.

Drinkability: this one did not do it at all for me as I had a hard time finishing the glass. Some props go out for a fruit beer in a can.

Serving type: can

11-03-2009 13:17:44 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

3.38/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours clouded golden with a foamy white head that slowly descends to a thin, lasting cover. Dotted lacing slides down the glass.

The smell is grainy and bready. Didn't quite catch watermelon enough to peg it as that without knowing on initial smell, but a subsequent smell, before tasting, gave a clear, strong watermelon presence.

The taste is bready/yeasty - a bit too much so with watermelon. There is an herbal touch of hops - subtle, but more than typical of the style. There is a wheat tang in the finish. The short-lived aftertaste is of having bitten a watermelon rind while drinking a decent American Pale Wheat.

It is watery thin overall, though clean and not too fizzy.

At least it is not artificial fruit syrup, and has a bit of (largely washed-out) character. It's a bit too yeasty and thin/watery. Interesting as a novelty (second watermelon beer I've had). One drinks fine, but wouldn't reach for another (even in a "watermelon mood").

Serving type: can

05-30-2009 14:12:40 | More by jwc215

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.33/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12oz can, procured somewhere in Southern Idaho last month. I like the lounging Lady Liberty image on the label, where she's lifting a gargantuan watermelon from a passing barge in San Francisco Bay.

This beer pours a hazy bright medium golden hue, with two fingers of frothy, foamy white head, which leaves little in the way of persistent lacing around the glass as things melt away. It smells of fruity wheat grain, melon-like, I suppose, with a fair amount of dry yeast. The taste is soft sweet wheat malt, and frozen watermelon fleshy fruitiness, with a bit of grassy hop bitterness. The carbonation is quite low, the body light, but not without weight, mostly of the fruity variety, which renders things rather smooth. It finishes off-dry, and clean, the initial eponymous fruit punch (heh) petering out.

While not a bad beer overall, the focus on the watermelon as guest starring ingredient has predictably feeble results - an echo of an already delicate flavour doesn't add up to strong, memorable flavours. That said, agreeable enough for days like this (+30 degrees), where ease of drinkability and cute advertising rule.

Serving type: can

08-21-2011 23:31:44 | More by biboergosum

tempest

Pennsylvania

2.85/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Picked up a single at Princeton Liquors. This is my second watermelon beer, but isn't as good as that Roy Pitz I had. While generally clean and interesting, the flavor isn't terribly pleasant - coming off like triscuits and cucumber salad. Sure, it kinda tastes like watermelon, but it's like the rind and seeds got ground up in added into the juice. No fun.

Serving type: can

01-08-2010 22:55:09 | More by tempest

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.68/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Can label reads agitate before opening, what's wrong with waiting to agitate while the beer is in the last couple inches of the bottom. I just had the draft Live Free or Die IPA at Mad Mex so instead of the canned IPA I opted for a six of this and a four pack of the Monk's Blood since I've never seen or heard of that one. This one pours a clouded lemonade esque golden sunshine hue with bright white head forming and dissipating quickly. Minimal speckled lacing is left on the sides of my glass. Aromatics offer up a tame laid back sweetness from the sharp citrus wheat back bone. Fruity watermelon layers with pretty much absent hop additions. I like the low alcohol fruit vibe kick every now and again. A chalky yeast and minimal floral note wrapped within the watermelon puree, this stuff smells inviting and not candy sweet which is definitely a good thing. Flavor is light with juicy edges almost like bubblegum edges to it, but the watermelon puree acts as a refresher in this mix. Some hard mineral water action with a yeast wheat infused malt backbone, really straight forward flavor. Mouthfeel is a bit sticky but not syrupy in anyway smooth ample carbonation levels, it's nice to see this available in the Burgh at Giant Eagle Marketplace. Drinkability was easy going a refreshing summer time beer that I'm sure will go over with the ladies out there. For me it was worth the experience but this isn't something that is going to replace the session IPA or pale ale anytime soon.

Serving type: can

02-20-2010 21:24:38 | More by WVbeergeek