Fireside Chat

Brewery: 21st Amendment Brewery

Style: Winter Warmer

• ABV: 7.9%

  Size: 12 oz can

  Website: http://www.21st-amendment.com

Adult Beverage knocks one back with FDR tonight, sampling a Fireside Chat–in a can–from 21st Amendment Brewery. This one’s a winter ale–perfect for a snow-threatening night–with spices added, so I’ve got the fireplace lit and vintage jazz on the radio…

Fireside Chat pours the same dark brown as the hardwood floors in my living room, but sits degrees darker, with a thick, frothy tan head that leaves the glass looking like a Sanskrit column. Molasses and spices on the nose; smells like gingersnap cookies. Syrup brash and bittersweet on the tongue. Slow carbonation and bitter, creeping tobacco burn. Warming, but leaves the palate wanting. Unpleasant finish–way too bitter (and yet, I feel compelled to finish it… For Science!)

Fireside Chat is a little bit of a head-scratcher. I like bitter; this goes too far. It’s an effective winter warmer, but at what cost?

Besides, FDR was a martini man.