San Francisco, CA: After nearly a year in seclusion, 21st Amendment Brewery’s acclaimed beer Monk’s Blood is now available for a limited time. Monk’s Blood’s most ardent worshippers may want to drink one now and cellar one for later, as whispers around the monastery have indicated that the beer will go into extended seclusion after 2012.

Brother Shaun (Brewmaster and co-founder Shaun O’Sullivan) said, “We have so many things happening in the brewery right now, it’s time to let Monk’s Blood take a break so we can play a little more with some other really special brews.”Monk’s Blood is an 8.3% alcohol, dark Belgian-style ale brewed with eight malts, Belgian candi sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean, dried local black mission figs and aged on oak for a flavor unlike anything you’ve ever had from a can. It is part of 21st Amendment’s Insurrection Series, a limited edition, once-in-a-while, four-pack release of a very special beer that rises up in revolt against common notions of what canned beer can be. How special? Monk’s Blood was voted the best local microbrew in 2011 by the SF Weekly, and top 25 Beers of 2010 by Draft magazine.

Brothers Nicolas (co-founder Nico Freccia) and Shaun developed the beer as a homage to the monks of Belgium’s monasteries who have been brewing some of the world’s great beer for centuries. “During times of fasting, the monks subsist solely on beer, which they refer to as ‘liquid bread’,” notes Brother Nicolas. “Beer, quite literally, is in their blood.” Freccia and O’Sullivan traveled to Belgium to develop the recipe for this special beer, visiting small, traditional breweries in the hop fields of west Flanders, not far from the famous Trappist abbey of Westvleteren.

Monk’s Blood is available in cans starting this week at quality bars and stores in all 17 of 21st Amendment’s current distribution territories, including CA, OR, WA, AK, ID, MN, OH, MA, NY, NJ, DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, GA and NC.

About 21st Amendment Brewery

Who the heck are these guys? Hey, we’re Nico and Shaun. We live for great beer. In 1920, there were thousands of breweries across America making unique handcrafted beer. The passage of Prohibition wiped out this great culture. After thirteen years without beer, the states ratified the 21st Amendment, ending Prohibition in America. At the 21st Amendment Brewery, we celebrate the right to brew beer, the freedom to be innovative, and the obligation to have fun. www.21st-Amendment.com – @21stAmendment – Facebook