HeBrew Bittersweet Lennys R.I.P.A

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Francisco, California USA

Poured from a 22oz bomber and served in a tulip. This beer poured a dark, hazy amber with a one-finger thick head of creamy beige foam. Great retention and lace. The aroma of the beer consisted of sugary caramel malt, some rye spiciness, grapefruit rind, and oranges. The flavor included strong, upfront rye spiciness, caramelized sugar, light tea, bitter grapefruit, peach, and a shot of alcohol. The mouthfeel was thick and full-bodied. Minimal carbonation. Hoppy, malty, and spicy...tasty stuff. A well made big beer.

Bottle pours hazy amber with thin, quick diminishing white head. Aroma is mild citruis hops. First taste is sweet malt, then hops bitterness. The finish is bitter hops. Alcohol is well hidden, and this is a really good RIPA.

Pours a glowing reddish orange with a thin off-white froth (poured again a bit cooler and had a big beige creamy foam instead). Sweet aroma of honey, rye, and lots of hops. Sweet and chewy malts, followed by grapefruit and finishing earthy bitter with some lasting rye. Full bodied, sugary mouthful, soft larger bubbled carbonation. The bitter aftertaste just stays forever and I love that pungent rye taste. The depth of flavors is awesome, but it may be a tad too sweet.

Thanks to my cousin Wes for a bottle of this beer! Poured a deep chestnut amber body with a thick off-white head. Caramel malty rye wheat and monster fruity hops lashing. Smooth for a big-ass IPA. Very nice beer. One of my favorite He’Brew brews.

This was a nice surprise. Pours a dark, cloudy amber color with a healthy, creamy, off-white head that lasts forever. The nose is heavy caramel with subtler notes of grape and toasted rice in the background. There is very little hop aroma despite an obviously healthy hop bill. This hop bill comes exploding out in the bitterness which seems to envelop the tongue immediately. More difficult to discern is the syrupy sweetness that underlies the forefront bitterness. The finish reveals an ever-so-slight hint of the rye used in the malt profile. Despite its subtlety, or maybe because of it, this rye undertone is quite pleasant. Mouthfeel is heavy and creamy, almost as if the beautiful head is incorporated into every mouthful. A most enjoyable brew, this rye "IPA" could have just as easily been labeled a rye barleywine. Whatever the label, I’ll have another!

Hazy amber with a thin off-white head. Aroma of caramel, sweet malt, fruit citrus and floral hops. Taste of alcohol, citrus, pine, floral hops, sweet malt, daicetyl and mild sugar. Semi sticky with a mild bittersweet finish. Overall, a decent beer for my frist from the Hebrew line.

Pours dark amber with a mostly maintained wispy tan head. Aroma of citrus and caramel, mango and tangerine. Taste is citric hops, tropical fruit, mango, toffee, and grapefruit. Full bodied, more resinous than bitter, soft carbonation. Very mellow for a big IPA, although I can only guess how long this has been sitting at Liquor Barn.

20080915 Bomber, Spirits on Sunset. Deep copper-red color beneath lasting tan head of tight foam. Aroma is light caramel, prune juice, herby hops. Reminds a bit of a couple year old Bigfoot and I’m thinking this is not, in fact, a new batch. Was a little surprised to have seen it on the shelf, so maybe it’s just old. At any rate, the beer is big, malty, not too sweet, with a late, aged hop bite reminiscent overall of an aged barleywine. It’s mellow, pleasant, and very tasty and there’s no question I’m heading back for more.