21st Amendment Brewery

21st Amendment Brewery is a brewery located in San Leandro, California. Their original location is a brewpub and restaurant in the South Park neighborhood of San Francisco, California, two blocks from Oracle Park. The brewery's name refers to the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which repealed Prohibition.

21st Amendment Brewery
IndustryAlcoholic beverage
Founded2000
Headquarters2010 Williams St
San Leandro, California, US
ProductsBeer
OwnerNico Freccia
Shaun O'Sullivan
Website21st-amendment.com
San Francisco Pub
San Francisco Brewhouse

History

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The brewery was founded in August 2000 by Nico Freccia and Shaun O’Sullivan. The two had developed the idea for 21st Amendment brewery while attending a brewing class together at UC Davis. O’Sullivan had previously worked as an assistant brewer at Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse in Berkeley,[1] 20 Tank Brewery and Steelhead Brewing in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Business Times wrote that it "made a name for itself as a local brewery and restaurant where SoMa techies could lunch and Giants fans could gather before a game."[2] It has been voted "Best Brewpub", "Best Burger" and "Best Happy Hour" by the San Francisco Press.

Prior to 2015, 21st Amendment's retail beers were canned in Cold Spring, Minnesota.[3] In 2012, 21st Amendment planned to case 45,000 barrels of beer, up from 28,000 in 2011.[2] In 2014, plans were announced to open a production facility and tasting room in San Leandro, California.[4] The production brewery started brewing in 2015 and currently has capacity at 150,000 - 180,000 barrels. In 2018 the company was named by the Brewers Association the 26th largest craft brewery in the United States.[5]

In 2023, 21st Amendment Brewery expanded its operations to include co-packing services for other beverage brands. The expansion featured the installation of a packaging line, along with a DC Evans tunnel pasteurizer.[6]

Beers

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21st Amendment's slogan, "Celebrate the right to be original," is displayed on many of their cans, 6-pack and 4-pack carriers, posters, merchandise and website.[7]

They brew and can several year-round beers including Brew Free! or Die IPA, Blood Orange Brew Free! or Die IPA, Blah Blah Blah Double IPA, El Sully Mexican-style Lager; seasonal beers including Hell or High Watermelon wheat, Tasty IPA, and Fireside Chat winter spiced ale; and limited-offering Insurrection Series beers. Historically, this included beers like Hop Crisis Imperial IPA, Monks Blood Belgian-style dark ale, Marooned on Hog Island oyster stout, and He Said Belgian Tripel/He Said Baltic Porter. They also offer a rotating assortment of beers that are available on tap only.[7]

The 21st Amendment has also brewed a few of their brands at F.X. Matt in Utica, New York as part of their partnership with Brooklyn Brewery. The 21st Amendment also is part of a sales platform with Brooklyn Brewery and Funkwerks out of Fort Collins, Colorado.

Awards

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Name Style Year Competition Award
Holiday Spiced Ale Winter Warmer 2001 Great American Beer Festival Silver
Shot Tower Stout Stout 2003 Great American Beer Festival Silver
Double Trouble Imperial IPA Imperial India Pale Ale 2007 Great American Beer Festival Bronze
Diesel Imperial Smoked Porter Smoked Porter 2009 Great American Beer Festival Bronze
Hop Crisis! Imperial India Pale Ale 2010 Great American Beer Festival Silver
Imperial Jack - Imperial ESB Other Strong Beer 2010 World Beer Cup Gold
Amber Waves Amber Ale 2011 Great American Beer Festival Gold
Bitter American Session Beer 2012 Great American Beer Festival Bronze
HQT Indigenous Ale 2011 Great American Beer Festival Gold
HQT Indigenous Ale 2012 World Beer Cup Silver
MCA Stout 2013 Great American Beer Festival Silver
Toaster Pastry Double Red 2015 Great American Beer Festival Silver
MCA Stout Session Beer 2015 Great American Beer Festival Silver
Down to Earth Session IPA 2016 World Beer Cup Silver
Toaster Pastry Double Red 2016 World Beer Cup Bronze
El Sully - Mexican-Style Lager American Cream Ale 2016 Great American Beer Festival Gold
El Sully - Mexican-Style Lager American Cream Ale 2018 Great American Beer Festival Bronze
Emperor Norton's - Sweet Stout Sweet Stout or Cream Stout 2019 Great American Beer Festival Silver
El Sully - Mexican-Style Lager American Cream Ale 2023 World Beer Cup Bronze
Amendment Lager - Light Lager American Cream Ale 2024 World Beer Cup Gold
El Sully - Mexican-Style Lager American Cream Ale 2024 Great American Beer Festival Silver

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The 21st Amendment Story". Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "South of Market brewpub ales hit grocery shelves". San Francisco Business Times. May 25, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  3. ^ "We've Survived Our First weBEERnar!". October 16, 2008. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  4. ^ Parr, Rebecca (February 18, 2014). "21st Amendment to open major brewery, plans restaurant in San Leandro". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  5. ^ "Top 50 Breweries of 2017". Brewers Association. March 14, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  6. ^ "21st Amendment Co-Packing Services".
  7. ^ a b "21st Amendment Brewery | Independent Craft Beer". www.21st-amendment.com.