Toaster Pastry India Style Red Ale

Review Date 2/22/2016 By John Staradumsky

           

Everybody knows (well, every self-respecting beer geek anyway) about Rogue’s line of donut beers, Voodoo Donut Bacon Maple Ale being one example. Not to be outdone, the 21st Amendment brewery of San Leandro, California has a beer inspired by another breakfast pastry, the noble Pop-Tart. Of course, 21st Amendment Toaster Pastry India Style Red Ale doesn’t use any non-traditional ingredients to achieve an image on the palate of a Pop-Tart, and the brewery does have another reason for modeling their beer on such an iconic American convenience food. I’ll let them explain, from the can label:

Our first beer out of our new brewery is an homage to its former life as a toaster pastry factory. Biscuit malts give the beer a slightly nutty, crust-like flavor, while pale and dark Crystal malts create the mouthfeel and flavors reminiscent of strawberry jam. Calypso and other experimental hops give this ruby ale a welcome bite, plus a few more in the hop back for a toasty-sweet aroma.

Ingredients from the website:

Bittering Hops: Warrior

Flavor Hops: Centennial, Ahtanum, Amarillo, Mosaic

Yeast: American Ale

Malts: Two Row, Baird 70-80 Dark Crystal, Weyermann Munich 2, Weyermann Carafa III, Castle Biscuit

21st Amendment Toaster Pastry India Style Red Ale has an alcohol content of 7.6% by volume with 74 IBUs. I paid $6.99 for a 19.2 ounce can, which is my biggest gripe about the brew.

21st Amendment Toaster Pastry India Style Red Ale pours to a ruby red color with a medium sized frothy head and a robust grapefruit citrus nose. Taking a sip the beer has a combination of caramel, biscuit and stewed malt flavors that do somewhat give the impression of crusty toaster pastry and berry jam filling from the fruity stewed malts. You have to work your palate a bit to get that image, but the can label helps to deposit the suggestion. The beer is grapefruit citric hoppy in the finish with a touch of resin, and it’s indeed long and dry with its bitterness. That doesn’t fit the pop tart theme so much, but this is still a very decent beer, tasty and enjoyable if overpriced.

Now for the gripe. Sure, this is a very tasty India style red ale, but there are a lot of others out there that are just as good in my book and cost a lot less. Sierra Nevada Flipside is one that comes to mind, and I can get a six-pack of that for a buck or two more than 19 ounces of this beer. Half star demerit for the high price here.

Would I buy Toaster Pastry again? Probably not, unless I saw it on tap. Hey at $6.99 a can you can't blame me if I won't be popping this tart again.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??

 

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled, Canned

(D)=Draft





 

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