REVIEW 37: HELL OR HIGH WATERMELON

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  21st Amendment Brewery

STYLE:  Fruit/Vegetable Beer

ABV:  4.9%

PURCHASE:  Six-pack of 12-oz. cans, $12.99.

SERVING:  12-oz. can, poured into pint glass. My standard first pour of 20-second duration yielded an initial head of roughly 3 1/2 inches. A slower pour on the second round produced about two. A fast (10-second) dispensation for Round 3 ended up with suds dominating the glass; this is obviously due more to the container being a can than to the beer being what it is. That said, in no case was the head too dense; it was rather rocky, with merely average retention.

APPEARANCE:  Foggy, yellowish-gold with the usual white head. Lacing is very minimal; more like intermittent dashes. Overall appearance is meshing of translucence and cloudiness. 

BOUQUET:  Watermelon is not noticeable in the aroma. Wheat and citrus notes are, however; this is a wheat beer in addition to being a fruit/vegetable brew. Lemon zest is prominent, and if you strain a bit, a slight pepperiness is traceable as well.

PALATE:  Okay, now I sense some watermelon. That said, it is held in restraint. Carbonation hits instantly, increasing until the finish yet remaining manageable. Very thin body for a beer. Mouthfeel is fairly one-dimensional until you swallow, when a prominent lemon rind quality enters the picture to balance the "watermelon seltzer" tone. Grains--even wheat--are not significant taste-wise. Zesty aftertaste that is more lemony then watermelony--if "watermelony" is a word, which I doubt.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  With a name like "Hell Or High Watermelon," you would think watermelon is the most noticeable aspect. But that's not the case.

Remember, back in the day, there was a drink called "Sport?" Mountain Dew--or should I say Pepsi-- made it. It was their answer to Gatorade, 10-K, and the other sports drinks of the day. It was even advertised in a commercial where the clock was running out on a football game, and the about-to-be-victorious team was about to dump an entire dispenser of it on their coach. But they reneged, noting, "Nah, it tastes too good." Memories.

That's what this beer reminded me of. It's a spiked thirst quencher, like your standard light beer. Take that light beer, squeeze in some fruit juice, and you're set. No reason to splurge on this at microbrew prices. That said, as with most thirst quenchers, it's not bad; rather amiable, in fact. What's more, is how easily it goes down: Like a drunk--okay I won't go there. I like to use the word, "poundability," instead of "drinkability." Well, the poundability factor here is off the charts; a sixer of this went right through me, although I must admit I'm still not done pissing it out yet. 




GRADE:  C