Hell or High Watermelon - 21st Amendment Brewery

Wandering around the grocery store, I stumbled upon this: Hell or High Watermelon, a new wheat beer from 21st Amendment Brewery that is brewed with watermelon juice. Hell or high time I had a new favorite cookout brew, I thought as I picked up two frosty ones and checked out.

While the beer isn’t bad, it just didn’t do it for me. It’s a bit bitter and unbalanced at first taste and a little lean on the flavor profile. I was unimpressed. It did, however, improve dramatically with each sip and amounted to be some pretty decent steamy summer suds.

This watermelon wheat had me thinking cookouts: hot dogs, corn on the cob, freshly cut watermelon and seed spitting and, most importantly, beer in the can.

I remembered past cookouts, the best ones, and how it was always the ice-cold beer in the can that really got me going. The occasional bottle was nice, but the can- reaching into the ice water to get it, the chill of the aluminum, the snap of the pop top, the condensation on loosely gripped fingers, the crisp bite of the first sip and the satisfying crush of the empty just before chucking at the back of a friend’s head- it just couldn’t be beat.

Ahh, one for the good days

The nostalgia of the can is undeniable. With craft beer so ferociously on the rise again and all bars worth their salt taking notice, the can, it would seem, has been crushed by the bigger “better” bottles: the classic 12 oz., the 22 oz. brown bomber and the 750 mL corked and caged champagne.

But I remember the chill, the crisp taste, and all that came with that first frosty can at the cookout. I miss the towers, the trash piles, the crumpled silver glints, the hollow plink, and I say beer me! Breweries seem to agree. Better and better beers are being canned everyday (Oskar Blues, Surly, 21st Amendment, Moose Drool, Caldera, I’m looking at you). It’s only a matter of time until the can is back, and in a big way. In the meantime, I’ll keep looking for the perfect cookout brew and I will not rest until I find that canned satisfaction. I will not rest until I find the one, the ultimate, the cookout brew that CAN’t be beat.

Ginger Man growler

It is nice, eh? Especially when filled with Firestone Walker Red Nectar, available for the first time in New York this month. Poured here into a fine, red mustachioed pint.

Red Nectar mustachioed pint

Read on for details on this tasty new resident:

Paso Robles, CA, (June 16, 2009) – Firestone Walker Brewing Company, brewers of Nectar Ales, announced the first major expansion of Red Nectar in years. The brewery is partnering with Union Beer Distributors in New York to bring their award winning beers to the state.

“We’re very excited to partner with a great beer distributor to bring a California classic to New York,” said Proprietor David Walker.

Red Nectar, an American amber style ale, will be available on draft and in 12 ounce bottles beginning in July to select accounts in New York. This will mark the first time that Red Nectar will be available in New York. Nectar India Pale Ale is expected to also be available in July.

“Union Beer has consistently strived to bring the best beers from around the globe to the New York metro area, and the full line of Nectar Ales fits perfectly into our portfolio. The craft beer market here has quickly evolved into one of the country’s best. Our consumers have high expectations, and we are thrilled to offer them the highly acclaimed and delicious Nectar Ales line of beers, ” said Robert Hodson, Union’s Sales and Marketing Manager.

First brewed in 1987 in Arcata, California, Red Nectar is one of the pioneering beers of the craft beer movement in the U.S. First brewed by Humboldt Brewing Company, Nectar Ales were brewed under contract by Firestone until the brand was purchased in 2004 by Firestone Walker Brewing Company. Nectar Ales was named “Mid-Size Brewing Company of The Year” at the 2003 Great American Beer Festival.