He Said

Brewery Beer Style ABV Overall Rating

21st Ammendment He Said Baltic Porter 8.2% 7/10

21st Ammendment Brewery and Elysian Brewing got together this year to produce one of the more intriguing packages of pumpkin beer I’ve seen. Together, they created two beers, and packaged them in a single four pack of cans. One is a Baltic porter brewed with pumpkin, caraway, and cinnamon. The other is a Belgian style tripel brewed with pumpkin, galangal, and tarragon. Both are delicious.

These beers being packaged together suggested a black and tan to me, though porter and tripel don’t exactly sound like they’d go well together. Still, I obliged. The end of the first porter, and the beginning of the first tripel I carefully poured together. And it really wasn’t very good. I suggest not doing this. The beers are far better on their own than they are together.

Pour: Black with some dark brown edging, and a great fluffy head.

Aroma: Cinnamon and pumpkin with sweet chocolate malts and a bit of saltiness. A strange aroma, with the pumpkin and spice taking over.

Taste: Again, the pumpkin and cinnamon are right up front, but now more of the chocolate comes through, with a touch of coffee. There is a certain bitterness to the flavor, which comes in at the end nicely. Still, the pumpkin is the focus, as it should be.

Overall Rating: 7/10. A decent porter, though I’m not entirely sure the pumpkin works as well as I might like. I wouldn’t mind trying the porter behind this beer with no pumpkin added.

Brewery Beer Style ABV Overall Rating

21st Ammendment He Said Tripel 8.2% 8/10

Pour: A bright and clear golden yellow, with a delicate head that leaves no lacing.

Aroma: The pumpkin in this one doesn’t overpower the aroma. I get all those good tripel smells. There’s Belgian yeast funk with banana, clove, and citrus all over the place. The pumpkin sort of sneaks in at the end.

Taste: Caramel sweetness, with some alcohol warming, and that Belgian yeast up front. The pumpkin makes itself apparent as well, with cinnamon and clove spiciness backing it up. There is a slight bitter twinge that hits me rather well, and a nice dry finish.

Overall Rating: 8/10. I like this one much better than the porter. The pumpkin and spice seem to add quite a bit more to the beer, and it balances out nicely. I never would have thought to make a pumpkin tripel.