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

I had this before and I have a bottle in the fridge I am going to review later.

22 oz. bottle that I was finally able to procure. Poured deep, burnt orange with an off-white head that dissipated leaving soapy splotches of lace. Spicy rye and citrus nose. Flavor is of big rye malt. Silky mouthfeel but just a touch thin. Extremely sweet, dry finish with a touch of warming alcohol. A nice IIPA but not my preferred take on the style.

Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark caramel-orange colro wtih a huge orange-beige head. The aroma was dry floral hops and light sour malts. The flavor was dry, bitter and fruity hops with a light piney hops, chocolate, caramel, spice and pineapple underneath. The finish was long and bitter with notes of grapefruit and pineapple. The mouthfeel was moderately thick. Well done.

A Mes rate. Bottle at the Rake.
Excellent amber body with a really good off white head. Superbly conditioned as well. Fruity malt, good bitter hoppage and a slight cheesy funk, which is nice. A strange blend of sugar and bitter. Faint alcohol and maybe a little ethanol in the finish but it’s not enough to spoil it. Decent stuff.

pours a thick hazy amber, fine frothy beige head. thick spicy yeast aroma with a heavy cloying malt background and lingering alcohol. very doughy. spicy and abrasive flavor throughout, with sweet malt and maybe some dried fruit in front but all bitterness in the back. chewy and thick, nice carbonation and long bitter finish. it’s really just too bitter for me, but otherwise excellent.

Pours a dark thick brown & syrupy with a small head. Aroma is spicy & sweet malt.. The mouthfeel was very thick & syrupy & taste of spice. Very strong brew much more for an advanced beer drinker. The bottle said brewed with an obscene amount of malt & hops and it did seem a little obscene.

Spicy rye is strong in the nose complemented by a very pleasant mandarin-orange citrus hop character. Clear burnished copper coloured body is topped by a dense, fine bubbled, off white head that recedes to a lasting cover and coats the sides of the glass. Bitterness is somewhat overpowering up front but joined by a long and very sweet malt character. Resinous pine, orange and grapefruit hop flavours play well throughout but the rye character is somewhat lost in the flavour. Medium full body is quite sticky in texture despite strong carbonation. Bottle sampled courtesy of uhlan at the Fuller’s vertical tasting session.

Tap. Pour brown with a thin off white head. Interesting aroma, citrus hops, but malt sweetness dominated this double IPA for me. Thicker body and not as much bitterness. Smooth though, not as big of a hoppy punch as I was looking for.