Two iconic San Francisco Bay Area craft beverage purveyors, 21st Amendment Brewery and Peet’s Coffee, team up for 1966 Coffee IPA (6.8% ABV, 50 IBUs), a first-time collaboration beer to celebrate the region’s rich history as a leader of innovation and culture. The limited-edition offering will be released nationally across 28 states starting February 1, 2020. (BEER LOCATOR). Part of the 21st Amendment’s acclaimed “Insurrection Series,” the beer is handcrafted with Peet’s Ethiopian Super Natural and comes in 12-ounce cans of six-packs and draft.
In 1966, the Bay Area was a hive of activity surrounding the experimental music scene with its swirly rock poster art, Vietnam War protests, and civil rights marches. In the midst of this, an unassuming immigrant named Alfred Peet opened his coffeebar at the corner of Walnut and Vine in Berkeley and changed the way Americans, and the world, thought about coffee.
Today, the 21st Amendment brewery in San Leandro, Calif. is a hop, sip, and why not some more hops, from the Peet’s Roastery in Alameda. It was only a matter of time before the two Bay Area pioneers came together to brew a classic Bay Area collaboration beer for the masses to enjoy.
1966 Coffee IPA pours a pale gold with tight white bubbles, aromas of fruity blueberries and bright citrus notes from Columbus, Citra, Amarillo, and Centennial hops. The accent of rich coffee is balanced with malt structure and defined bitterness all giving this West Coast IPA a phenomenal flavor profile.
“Rather than the traditional dark beer with coffee, we wanted to have fun with the melding of hops and coffee, paying attention to the coffee varietal and manipulating the roast level to nudge the subtle flavors from the bean for an incredibly unique IPA,” says Shaun O’Sullivan (Co-Founder and Brewmaster, 21st Amendment). “Working closely with Peet’s Roastmaster, Doug Welsh, we settled in on Peet’s Ethiopian Super Natural with its lemon, bergamot, and blueberry characteristics perfectly complementing the hop flavors.”
“Don’t expect dark roast,” said Doug Welsh (Roastmaster, Peet’s Coffee). “We iterated every roast style imaginable, with a target profile of maltiness – matching the beer – a kaleidoscope of floral aromatics and the piquant acidity and glacé citron of exceptional Ethiopia. Hops, meet your coffee cousin.”
Peet’s Ethiopian Super Natural Coffee is incorporated several ways in the brew, including “dry-hopping” with whole beans, for an IPA that is truly groovy. With can and package artwork developed by 21st Amendment’s in-house designer Ben Kinzer, the design for 1966 Coffee IPA nods to popular 1960s Bay Area psychedelic rock poster art. Past and present Peet’s Roastmasters, including Alfred Peet himself, along with other fun references, are creatively depicted.
As part of the brewery’s “Insurrection Series,” the brewers and design team alike flex their ingenuity with 1966 Coffee IPA to create a golden coffee IPA packaged with the heart and soul for which the Bay Area is renowned.
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