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

Peach-copper colored brew sports a smattering of slo-mo bubbles and foam as dense as a loaf of bread. Actually quite mild scents of caramel, pinetree, orange-and-clove pomander, gin, and banana. Almost-cloying sweet flavor is amended by toffee, vanilla, and bitter apple. Uber-fruity Lifesaver candy and spearmint finish. Palate: thick! Very low carbonation. Though appropriately bitter, the aftertaste includes jagged themes of ashtray, hot vinyl, and oily creosote. Alcohol is hidden... as is any rye character. Little to no identifiable hop flavor. Overall pleasant enough beer, but as a 2IPA it is utterly average and confusing... an anvil-jawed barroom brawler with a lollipop and a pink bonnet. Would have rated higher as an American strong ale.

Pours a medium-dark, burnt orange amber color. Thick looking, slightly hazy body. Large, spongy, off-white head with decent retention. The head eventually settles to a 1mm film. Random splotches of lacing look like solar flares protruding from the sun. The aroma shows big caramel and toffee malts, accompanied by rye grains and citrus hops. The flavor is again quite malty, with caramel and buttery toffee comprising the base. Orange and pine hops add nice bitterness. The body is pretty thick and syrupy, though a touch of cream adds a smoothing element. Very well balanced. Short, bitter citrus finish with no astringency. Really nice beer.

deep amber color, spongy meringue head. smells of ripe orange with an intriguing sting. bitter like sucking on the raw flower, it sticks with the rye to the back of my throat, and warms my head into a fever. tastes dusty, like it needs to be rinsed off and polished, but i like beer like this. unapologetic flavor.

Great name. Strong beer. Very hoppy. This is obscene. The bottle story is funny, but the font was -2. I do like the idea of famous jews beer. This made my mom and mother in law squirm. It was powerful, but it seemed to mellow as you sipped.

On tap at Blind Tiger in NYC. Not a very strong aroma. Some hops and sweetness. You can smell a little alcohol as it warms. Transparent deep red color. Small tan head. Really interesting flavor. Lots of bitterness with some alcohol. Sweetness, maybe some plum.

Amber coloured with am offwhite head. Hoppy aroma. Spicy flavour with some nice maltyness. The rye shines through and is really tasty. Some more hops thrown in there, nice IPA, not as big as they make it sound.

Amber, reddish colour with a dense off white head. Hoppy, fruity and light malty sweet aroma. Malty, light caramel sweet flavor with hoppy fruity notes. Dry, hoppy fruity finish. Very wellbalanced beer.

Deep copper pour with off-white creamy head. Initial smell is dominated by malt, hops are there as well but don’t play the dominate role. A bit of alcohol also tries to make its presence known. Flavor is Big. Massive malt flavors. Lots of carmel and a little spice. The hops are equally as big. The big bitterness compliments the malt nicely. The hops bring some florals and pine to the flavor. Nice full mouthfeel. Bitter finish with some heat.