21st Amendment Brewery

21st Amendment Brewery is a brewery located in San Leandro, California. Their original location is a brewpub and restaurant in the South Park neighborhood of San Francisco, California, two blocks from Oracle Park. The brewery's name refers to the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which repealed Prohibition.

San Francisco Pub

San Francisco Brewhouse

21st Amendment Brewery

San Leandro location
Industry	Alcoholic beverage
Founded	2000
Headquarters	2010 Williams St San Leandro, California, US
Products	Beer
Owner	Nico Freccia Shaun O'Sullivan
Website	21st-amendment.com

History

The brewery was founded in August 2000 by Nico Freccia and Shaun O’Sullivan. The two had developed the idea for 21st Amendment brewery while attending a brewing class together at UC Davis. O’Sullivan had previously worked as an assistant brewer at Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse in Berkeley,^[1] 20 Tank Brewery and Steelhead Brewing in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Business Times wrote that it "made a name for itself as a local brewery and restaurant where SoMa techies could lunch and Giants fans could gather before a game."^[2] It has been voted "Best Brewpub", "Best Burger" and "Best Happy Hour" by the San Francisco Press.

Prior to 2015, 21st Amendment's retail beers were canned in Cold Spring, Minnesota.^[3] In 2012, 21st Amendment planned to case 45,000 barrels of beer, up from 28,000 in 2011.^[2] In 2014, plans were announced to open a production facility and tasting room in San Leandro, California.^[4] The production brewery started brewing in 2015 and currently has capacity at 150,000 - 180,000 barrels. In 2018 the company was named by the Brewers Association the 26th largest craft brewery in the United States.^[5]

In 2023, 21st Amendment Brewery expanded its operations to include co-packing services for other beverage brands. The expansion featured the installation of a state-of-the-art packaging line, along with a DC Evans tunnel pasteurizer, enabling the company to offer enhanced production and packaging capabilities. This development allows 21st Amendment to meet the needs of various beverage clients while maintaining its commitment to quality and innovation.^[6]

Beers

21st Amendment's slogan, "Celebrate the right to be original," is displayed on many of their cans, 6-pack and 4-pack carriers, posters, merchandise and website.^[7]

They brew and can several year-round beers including Brew Free! or Die IPA, Blood Orange Brew Free! or Die IPA, Blah Blah Blah Double IPA, El Sully Mexican-style Lager; seasonal beers including Hell or High Watermelon wheat, Tasty IPA, and Fireside Chat winter spiced ale; and limited-offering Insurrection Series beers. Historically, this included beers like Hop Crisis Imperial IPA, Monks Blood Belgian-style dark ale, Marooned on Hog Island oyster stout, and He Said Belgian Tripel/He Said Baltic Porter. They also offer a rotating assortment of beers that are available on tap only.^[7]

The 21st Amendment has also brewed a few of their brands at F.X. Matt in Utica, New York as part of their partnership with Brooklyn Brewery. The 21st Amendment also is part of a sales platform with Brooklyn Brewery and Funkwerks out of Fort Collins, Colorado.

Awards

Name	Style	Year	Competition	Award
Holiday Spiced Ale	Winter Warmer	2001	Great American Beer Festival	Silver
Shot Tower Stout	Stout	2003	Great American Beer Festival	Silver
Double Trouble Imperial IPA	Imperial India Pale Ale	2007	Great American Beer Festival	Bronze
Diesel Imperial Smoked Porter	Smoked Porter	2009	Great American Beer Festival	Bronze
Hop Crisis!	Imperial India Pale Ale	2010	Great American Beer Festival	Silver
Imperial Jack - Imperial ESB	Other Strong Beer	2010	World Beer Cup	Gold
Amber Waves	Amber Ale	2011	Great American Beer Festival	Gold
Bitter American	Session Beer	2012	Great American Beer Festival	Bronze
HQT	Indigenous Ale	2011	Great American Beer Festival	Gold
HQT	Indigenous Ale	2012	World Beer Cup	Silver
MCA	Stout	2013	Great American Beer Festival	Silver
Toaster Pastry	Double Red	2015	Great American Beer Festival	Silver
MCA Stout	Session Beer	2015	Great American Beer Festival	Silver
Down to Earth	Session IPA	2016	World Beer Cup	Silver
Toaster Pastry	Double Red	2016	World Beer Cup	Bronze
El Sully - Mexican-Style Lager	American Cream Ale	2016	Great American Beer Festival	Gold
El Sully - Mexican-Style Lager	American Cream Ale	2018	Great American Beer Festival	Bronze
Emperor Norton's - Sweet Stout	Sweet Stout or Cream Stout	2019	Great American Beer Festival	Silver
El Sully - Mexican-Style Lager	American Cream Ale	2023	World Beer Cup	Bronze
Amendment Lager - Light Lager	American Cream Ale	2024	World Beer Cup	Gold
El Sully - Mexican-Style Lager	American Cream Ale	2024	Great American Beer Festival	Silver

See also

• List of California breweries

References

1. "The 21st Amendment Story". Retrieved April 22, 2013.
2. "South of Market brewpub ales hit grocery shelves". San Francisco Business Times. May 25, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
3. "We've Survived Our First weBEERnar!". October 16, 2008. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
4. Parr, Rebecca (February 18, 2014). "21st Amendment to open major brewery, plans restaurant in San Leandro". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
5. "Top 50 Breweries of 2017". Brewers Association. March 14, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
6. "21st Amendment Co-Packing Services".
7. "21st Amendment Brewery | Independent Craft Beer". www.21st-amendment.com.

External links

• Official website