Thursday, January 26, 2012

a good beer is hard to find

Joe Wilson
Since our return from Fort Collins, Sean and I have been experiencing Good Beer Withdrawal. Colorado is like the promised land, only instead of milk and honey it's flowing with Craft Beer. It's not that we don't have it in Ohio, just the selection is slim and it's at least double the $2 price tag it was out west. So the other night on the way home I stopped at one of our favorite little specialty beer shops and, lo and behold, they had 21st Amendment Brewery's Fireside Chat Ale. 21st Amendment is a brewery out of San Francisco aptly named to celebrate the repeal of prohibition. All their beers are sold in cans: a fresher and more sustainable packaging. The Fireside Chat Ale is a spiced winter ale that warms your frigid bones in these gloomy January days.
Joe Wilson
Almost as creative as it's brews are 21st Amendment's names and accompanying illustrations on the cans and packaging. Fireside Chat features a smiling and smoking FDR having a cheerful conversation with an elf by his hearth and, as with most of the brews that come out of 21st Amendment, it's named for something in American history. Back in Black, a (delicious!) black IPA boasts a drawing of Paul Revere, lantern held high, riding a motorcycle. The Brew Free or Die IPA shows a monolithic Abe Lincoln breaking free from Mount Rushmore. I found myself wondering who was behind these creative cans and these detailed illustrations. The answer is Joe Wilson, a UK based illustrator who is known for his meticulous pen and ink work. You can check out more of Joe's work at his site or a fuller portfolio here. As for the 21st Amendment, you can pick up a six pack at any liqueur or wine shop that carries specialty beer for $8.99. Enjoy! -hil
Joe Wilson

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