Sneak Attack Saison - 21st Amendment Brewery

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -23%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.25

I feel like I got a mouthful of junk with this one. It's a big soapy, spiced mess. I literally feel like I am chewing on something, which in this case is not good. Feel is weird. Overall, this is a prime example of an American brewery failing at making a saison; this is nowhere near what a saison can and should be. Stick to what you can do well and leave the other stuff alone.

Serving type: can

03-13-2013 02:58:25 | More by RblWthACoz

Jason

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz can with a freshness date.

LOOK: Hazed pale yellow, thin ring of lace

SMELL: Semi-agressive cardamon, peppery, faint juicy fruit, medicinal, grassy

TASTE: Spicy, smooth, slick, nutty yeast, grassy, medicinal, herbal, ghost-like ginger, green peppercorn, bready, semi-dry spicy finish

A good Saison, don't know of many canned Saisons which is cool and all but on the flipside it does detract from the crispness I look for within this beer style. This pulls away from the flavor a bit as well, perhaps I am used to the bottle conditioning and big dryness in most.

Serving type: can

01-08-2013 03:31:00 | More by Jason

Billolick

New York

3.69/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

In a can, with dating info on the bottom. Purchased for $2.49 a can at DeCicco's in Ardsley, NY.

Pour is lightly hazed, yellow/dull golden, loose off white head, with minor blobs of lace here and there..

Heavy cardamon spiced up nose, with some background pepper

Spicy up saison in a can. More cardamon, pepper, ginger and light citrus.

Near over spiced, sort of a heavy handed take on the style. Not my favorite saison, but on a hot summer day....

Serving type: can

03-06-2013 01:24:49 | More by Billolick

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Yay craft beer in a can, cause everybody likes it in the can... although I have a feeling this will be a generic American saison, which is not my style of saison, but can't count the flavors before the can is cracked. Canned on 12/16/12, don't you love dating cans!

Big fluffy fizzy almost 2 finger head fades semi quickly with a bit of lacing, over semi clear but sediment laden watery looking pilsner color.

Nose brings some light watery saison aromas, a little grainy toasty malt, lemony, lemon grass, cracker, little bread dough, light saison spices, somewhat floral and effervescent.

Taste starts surprisingly with a little farmhouse funk, saison earthy Belgian yeast like funk but not a lot, then into the grainy malts with more cracker flavors, a little dough, some pilsner malts with a nice toasty wheat, and toasted hay, a light wheat flavor and complexion. Saison brings light spices as well, with a little lemony citrus fruit , coriander, clove, etc, and finally a cardamom bite which adds an interesing complexity. Then hops cut in, of course... it's 21st A, a lemony grassy and slightly spicy and chewy hop profile that gets fairly bitter. The hops, besides the lemony flavor, brings an interesting terroir earthy like flavor, perhaps some sorachi ace hops... Finish is dry, quite dry, decent bitterness with more lemony earthy spicy hops and a bit grassy, as well as saison grassy flavors, wheat, more spices with even more of the cardamom coming through, and a bit more farmhouse funk lingering.

Mouth is med bodied, decent carb that gets fluffy and almost overcarbonated as it goes.

Overall not bad, a bit surprising as I expected an "American" boring saison with some light pilsner, watery lemon, and hint of spices. This had some of that, but even some nice farmhouse funk, a decent malt profile with toasty pilsner and wheat, the lemony flavors get a little overbearing, and the hops get a little too bitter for a saison, but that's typical for 21st A. Cardamom comes through lightly but nice in conjunction with the saison spices. So a decent saison that comes in a can so i can take it on trips easily. I wonder if the few months in the can helped the funk develop.

Serving type: can

04-19-2013 02:08:17 | More by jlindros

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +24.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

At long last, a return to The CANQuest (TM), a misguided misadventure that seemingly knows no bounds.

From the CAN: "Farmhouse Ale brewed with Cardamom"; "38 IBUs"; the boat making the crossing is named "Endless SOMA", which is San Francisco-speak for South Of MArket (Street), which is where the brewpub makes its home. Clever!

The Crack & Glug was its usual joyousness and I went with an inverted Glug to celebrate the occasion. I had about a finger of fizzy, foaming, bone-white head initially, but it quickly reduced to wisps. Color was sunshine-yellow with NE-quality clarity and I almost wish that I had opened this over the bitterly cold weekend when no sun was evident. Nose had a definite yeast-borne mustiness along with a lemon-citrusiness and a spiciness that I could not identify, but which was probably the cardamom. Mouthfeel was medium but the spice and the yeast interacted to created liquid alum! Jeez-O, man, but this was dry! Arid, actually. It had a lemony citrus bite initially, followed by a jolt from the spice, then the yeasty mustiness took a shot at my palate. Finish was gaspingly dry, leaving me reaching for more. This could be like the snake eating its tail in terms of circularity. One sip begets another and so on ad infinitum. I would not want a steady diet, but this would be great in the summer.

Serving type: can

01-30-2013 00:21:35 | More by woodychandler

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.06/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Picked up the can tonight at the COOP.... Poured into my HotD goblet while boxing up some beer... Short lasting white head leaves little in the way of lacing... the brew is a slightly hazed very pale straw yellow.

Nose is a cardamom bomb.... The spice just overpowers everything else. Light phenols show with warmth.

Slight "beery" pale malt flavor on the palate... but the spice takes over quickly and never allows for anything else... Cardamom lingers forever on the palate. As things come up in temperature, I get more pale malt and some yeasty phenols.. perhaps some pear esters.

Body and carbonation are right for a saison, but never would I have pegged this as a saison based on any other sensory element.

Just not for me. 3.25/3/3/3.5/3

Serving type: can

01-28-2013 04:12:39 | More by JohnGalt1

mactrail

California

3.44/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Light bodied, prickly and tasty Saison. Pale lemon amber in the tall Saxo glass. Handsome foam with plenty of carbonation in the mouth.

This seems more innocuous at first, but it does have a lot of the dry yeastiness. Some lemony taste as if it was flavored like a Witbier. Quite a bitter finish. Seems to loose some significant sudsiness in the glass. Pleasant enough and certainly a far better bargain than many more pretentions Saisons.

A Saison in cans! From the sixer of 12 oz cans bought at the Jug Shop in San Francisco.

Serving type: can

02-08-2013 04:22:13 | More by mactrail

ccrida

Oregon

3.13/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into my large Gulden Draak tulip, Sneak Attack is hazy pale yellow with crackling, frothy white head that leaves light, but foamy lace.

Smell is bit on the robust side with the cardamon spice and herbal hops, but not too pungent. Nice sweetness to the cereals. A little pithy minerality that is spot on for what I look for, and love about the style.

Taste is pretty acrid from the spice, on the start and particularly on the finish. A flash of sweet malt mid-palate. A bit medicinal.

Mouthfeel is dry, a little slippery. Seems a touch thin, perhaps it's just the forced CO2.

Drinkability is OK in that it's light and crisp, but the spice is too much for me to really session. I wish I'd noticed that on the box before I grabbed the six-pack.

Serving type: can

03-07-2013 02:39:37 | More by ccrida

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Pours a lightly hazy yellow with a white head. In the aroma, cardamom, lemon citrus, and small tart earthiness.. In the taste, lemon citrus and cardamom, with a small tart and dryer end. A small spice bite and a lighter bodied mouthfeel, with a dry cardamom and lemon citrus in the aftertaste. Dry and small earthy tartness, big lemon citrus, just above average.

Serving type: can

01-24-2013 21:05:37 | More by OWSLEY069

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

2.95/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

LOOK: Pours a cloudy pale golden color. White head forms and leaves a bit of lace on the snifter.

SMELL: Wheat, hay and a light Belgian funk with some bubblegum/banana like esters. Grassy.

TASTE: Light tartness supported by a wheat malt base. The can says its brewed with cardamom, and it is very strong in the taste with a seedy, peppery, poppy like dryness. Very mild bitterness and a spice bite. There is a small citrusy acidity that is the saving grace for the flavor. Yeast phenols are muted for the most part.

FEEL: Light bodied, fairly drinkable since its so light and packs in the flavor. The cardamom in the end just becomes overbearing in the finish and leaves a seedy oil coating on the palate. Some tasters have detected a numbing sensation, I concur.

OVERALL: Very average and over spiced. I'd probably quite enjoy it if they left the cardamom out of the recipe entirely. Cardamom. That's the sneak attack here. Mediocre but beats a trip to the dentist.

Serving type: can

01-30-2013 05:08:34 | More by Stinkypuss

tdm168

North Carolina

3.83/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A - pale, golden yellow with a thin lacing of bubbly white head

S - huge Belgian yeast funk, some faint spice, some faint fruit

T - white grapes, Belgian yeast, big fruitiness, funky, a mild bitter finish

M - crisp, well carbonated, medium bodied

This is a decent saison. It's rather typical in flavor, but that's ok if a saison is what you're seeking. This is a sound, balanced beer with a solid drinkability. If you enjoy saisons this is worth finding and trying.

Serving type: can

02-02-2013 02:09:45 | More by tdm168

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Not really sure what this one looks like since I drank it from the can but I can assume it's a bright hazy yellow with a 1/2 inch of fizzy white head.

S - Smells of subdued cardamom and spices, decent bittering hops, and some wheat.

T - Not very traditional but I will be damned if it was border line session-able! Just the right amount of hops, wheat flavor is constant and cardamom/spices take a backseat. Also the yeast isn't chalky and comes in rather fruity.

M - Light and bubbly, went down quicker than a Saison should.

Overall I guess I just accepted that is is a bastardized American version of the style. If they were going for drink ability this beer is a winner!

Serving type: can

02-01-2013 00:48:42 | More by DrDemento456

flagmantho

Washington

3.79/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Poured from 12oz can into a tulip.

Appearance: yellow hue with a bit of haze and a strong effervescence. Head is a single finger of frothy, fizzy white foam which seems to be falling pretty quickly. Not bad, but nothing special here.

Smell: sweetish malt with almost a wheaty character, along with a mild farmhouse funk. The spicing is readily apparent, although to me it didn't read as cardamom immediately; I admit I had to look at the can to see what it was. All in all a pretty nice aroma.

Taste: good malt flavor, again with a very wheat-like taste to it. Lightly funky and a little bit grassy with a little bit of a tongue-numbing quality that has got to be the cardamom. Bitterness also seems a little high, although within the style and relatively balanced. An interesting beer.

Mouthfeel: here's where Sneak Attack shines! Despite the medium-light body, the well-integrated carbonation yields a fantastically smooth and creamy texture. Wonderful!

Overall: I like this beer, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it again. For an offbeat brew in a can, though, this one is worth a try.

Serving type: can

01-28-2013 23:32:56 | More by flagmantho

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a golden color with a 1/2 inch head, lots of carbonation. Smell is of spices, some fruits. Taste is good. Lots of spices, cardamon standing out, some fruits, yeast, good flavor. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer.

Serving type: can

02-22-2013 06:30:00 | More by tone77

Reidrover

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz tin into a pilsner glass, bought from Fred Meyer in S.Salem. $8.99 a sixer. Clear corn oil yellow colour, nice thick creamy white head. Attractive lively carbonation. peppery,yeasty aromas slight dough. nice Taste is moderately spicy wit a touch of bubblegum,some German white wine tones coming through. I likey. Mouthfeel is OK maybe a little too thick and under carbonated for style but still OK. Overall i enjoyed this one nice drink.

Serving type: can

04-07-2013 17:35:42 | More by Reidrover

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a can into a tulip, the beer is a bright, clear, vibrant, goldenrod colorin with no head whatsoever. Aromas of roasted grains and belgian yeast initially, with a sweet, rich spicing from the cardamom. Almost has a buttery, saffron characteristic, too. Flavors are tangy and spiced, with the cardamom blending with nutmeg and cinnamon to achieve a mild warming component. Toasted grain backbone, with a fruity, funky profile from the yeast. Slightly charred and buttered popcorn aftertaste, with a slick, clean, slightly frothed finish. Very tasty beer, throwing a different spin on the Saison style.

Serving type: can

02-01-2013 01:38:52 | More by GarthDanielson

tigg924

Massachusetts

3.84/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: 1/4 inch head, clear, gold in color, high carbonation

Smell: huge pepper smell and hay

Taste: pepper dominates, hay, flowers--maybe lavender, dry hops at the end

Mouthfeel: sweetish start with a big bitter end, light bodied with high carbonation

Overall: I really like the powerful pepper here and the flower is nice as it warms up. The end is a bit bitter for the style, but I still like this one as a more affordable saison. I could sip on a couple as the weather started to warm.

Serving type: can

02-25-2013 14:22:46 | More by tigg924

morimech

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy straw color with barely one finger of head that quickly settles to a thin skim of suds. A nice amount of spotty lacing is left down the glass.

Aroma is a combination of yeast esters and cardamom. In fact the cardamom is a little strong for me and would of been better at a lower level to let more of the beer aromas to come through.

I prefer the flavor much more than the aroma. Nice fruity ester and dry malt flavor that the cardamom compliments. Still feel the cardamom is too strong. Nice dry finish that I prefer in my saisons.

Body is very light. Lively carbonation in an otherwise unremarkable body.

Not the most impressive saison. Enough of the Belgian yeast comes through to make this a worthwhile effort.

Serving type: can

02-13-2013 22:51:10 | More by morimech

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.73/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a Nostradamus flute glass. Pours a light golden amber with a half finger white head that dissipates to a thick film and ring around the glass, leaving lacing. Aroma dominated by cadamom and cloves with light bready yeast and wheat, hint of wild yeast. Flavor is subdued and dry; light lemon, biscuit malt, cardamom, developing a slight sweet flavor then finishing dry with mild wild yeast and bittering hops. Light bodied as to style. A non-assertive saison style ale that is refreshing, but not memorable.

Serving type: can

04-10-2013 01:20:30 | More by LiquidAmber

JayQue

Virginia

3.55/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Tasty enough beer, just not a great Saison. Pours a hazy pale gold color from a can into my pint glass. A hard pour gives you a decent size delicately bubbly white head. Average retention and a little lacing.

Smell is primarily lemon zest and some cardamom. Pleasant.

Taste is more of the same. Lemon zest is most prominent. Spices are cardamom and black pepper. What is missing is the musty, yeasty funk that has been described as "horse blanket" or "barnyard". To me that funk is an essential part of a great Saison.

Mouthfeel is crisp and refreshing.

Overall, a good summer beer, but if you are looking for a top shelf Saison...this one isn't it.

Serving type: can

03-06-2013 01:30:03 | More by JayQue

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Pale yellow in color, very light haze. Airy white head sticks and deflates. Crowned nicely. 3.75

Coriander, cardamom, pepper, yeast funk, light peppermint, and almost an aroma of treacle. Strange, but likable. 3.5

Herbal, like the nose. Cardamom is right there along with white pepper, grapefruit pith and rind, light nuttiness, and a few trapped malt sugars. Lively and spicy with big herbal notes and barely definable citrus. Flatter in the finish. 3.75

Drinks lighter and refreshingly so, but with a tad too much sweetness. Carbonation is big and fluffy. Warrants a more careful approach, as it can burn you out too quickly if you try to guzzle. 3.5

Canned saisons. Steps in the right direction. Not exceptional, but good enough to approve. 3.75

Serving type: can

02-03-2013 02:17:32 | More by thecheapies

BeerLover99

New Jersey

3.46/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

A: shiny, golden bubbly body, trace white head, slight lacing

S: lemon peel/grassy, Belgian yeast, floral, light spice

T: lemon peel/grass, yeast, malt, floral, mild bitter/semi-dry finish

M: med/light body, bubbly/semi-dry mouth

O: Nice; enjoy 21st Brewery. Good intro Saison,
but could be improved.

QUITE NICE; NOT MUST HAVE!

Serving type: can

01-24-2013 19:55:28 | More by BeerLover99

bsp77

Minnesota

3.89/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Serving glass: Poured from can into Tulip.

Appearance: Hazy straw color with stark white head and some clingy lacing.

Smell: Banana, straw, grass, cardamom. Fairly spicy and dry aroma overall.

Taste: Mostly matches the aroma, with banana, pepper, lemon, straw and hay. Fairly spicy and bitter finish - more bitter than most Saisons. However, it does not quite have the depth of flavor to make this top notch.

Feel: Moderately high carbonation with a relatively light body. Finish is quite dry.

Overall: A very nice Saison. Since it is lighter and more bitter than many others, this would be better as a summer beer, rather than releasing it late in winter. I won't ding the score for being released at an odd time, but I wish I could have this while mowing the lawn.

Serving type: can

02-16-2013 21:39:06 | More by bsp77

CHickman

New York

3.28/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

Pours a slightly hazy bright yellow color with a snow white foamy 1-2 finger head that faded at a moderate pace and left decent spotty lacing.

Smells of clove, ginger (apparently that’s the cardamom listed on the can), grass, cinnamon, herbs, spices like potpourri, wheat, lemon and dried flowers; this is all spices and zero malt or hops in the nose. Fans of potpourri will really dig this nose; fans of basic beer smell will not.

Tastes of strong ginger up front, followed by clove, wheat, dry yeast, herbs, grass, cinnamon and spices like coriander, pepper and potpourri, lemon, hay and dried flowers; a hint of toasted grains and floral hop peek through, but just like the nose the flavor is all spices with the ginger/cardamom being the dominant aspect. Not my cup of tea, but some people may like this.

Mouthfeel is light and zesty, with high fizzy carbonation, a medium body, and a grainy semi-dry finish that leave nothing but the ginger taste in your mouth; feels like having a piece of fresh ginger that comes with sushi.

Overall this was interesting, but this is a one-time beer for me. Not my flavor profile of choice and not all that enjoyable to me.

Serving type: can

03-29-2013 03:06:16 | More by CHickman

AdamBear

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A-pale yellow with a thin white head. lots of bubbles

S-bitter grassy grains. slightly tart. some corn. strong decent scent.

T-comes in with a fruity tart flavor of corn and grassy grains. fairly bitter. Actually I had this once before and i hated it, but i had an extra can so i decided to just drink this one quickly but it's a lot better than i remember. it's actually a very decent drinkable saison. the flavors are all there and are pretty strong. it's quite savory. matching strong after-taste

M-medium creamy carbonation with a creamy finish

O-this is a good, easy drinking saison. it drinks a lot lighter than the abv suggests. i don't know why but i had it once and it was terrible, but right now i'm loving it. honestly one of the better saisons i've had from an american brewery. especially surprising from 21st amendment.

Serving type: can

01-20-2013 18:25:35 | More by AdamBear