The weather is getting warmer and that means it is time for the return of one of my favorite warm weather beers, 21st Amendment's Hell or High Watermelon. I have never talked about that particular beer on this blog because it is my guilty pleasure beer. I call it that because every family member, friend, enemy and general acquaintance I have given a can to seems to think it is absolutely terrible. At first I was confused and disappointed by this. I thought, “how could anyone possibly dislike this beer?” Hell or High Watermelon is perfectly refreshing on a hot day. The watermelon flavor is light and does not overpower the beer as a whole. Eventually I gave up, or just ran out of people willing to try it, not sure which came first. Now I just keep the beer in the fridge for myself and welcome its return each year. I also find myself looking forward to trying other watermelon beers in hopes of finding one I enjoy more and/or one that might be more of a potential summer crowd pleaser. That is what caused me to purchase Lost Coast Brewery's Watermelon Wheat Ale and start writing this blog.
Lost Coast Brewery out of Eureka, California was a brewery I fell instantly in love with in my early days of craft beer drinking. I loved their Downtown Brown Ale, Indica IPA and Eight Ball Stout, as well as their creative bottle artwork. It has been a long time since I have had any of those beers. Still, I felt enough good will towards Lost Coast Brewery to pick up their Watermelon Wheat Ale and give it a shot. Unfortunately, that good will only could go so far.
Perhaps, there is no better way to put it than that Lost Coast's Watermelon Wheat Ale is terrible. I really wanted to like it but I just could not. The aroma was nice, mostly watermelon candy and a hint of malt. The nose did not come close to the first sip and that is where things went off the rails. The sweetness of the artificial watermelon candy started things off before giving way to a metallic, spicy, extremely chalky, astringent finish. The chalky finish paired with the artificial fruit flavoring makes this beer seem almost medicinal. Outside of the aroma, there is nothing good going on here. Each additional sip I took I kept looking for something that resembled a refreshing summer beer. I did not find anything of the sort and was disappointed by a brewery that helped build my love of craft beer. Sadly, any good feelings of nostalgia I had went down the drain along with this beer.
Overall a 1/5. I may not understand why someone would dislike Hell or High Watermelon but I definitely understand why someone would dislike this beer.
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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!
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