HeBrew Genesis 10:10

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Formerly brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: American Strong Ale
San Francisco, California USA

Bottled. An unclear golden beer with a thin off-white head. The aroma is sweet and totally dominated by over ripe fruit. The flavor is sweet wtih strong notes of fresh fruit as well as lots of hops, somewhat of a hop soup, leading to a dry bitter finish. The alcohol burns slightly in the top of the throat.

Blind tasting at Papsoes place, another great session, thanks Henrik! Beer #3: Pours hazy orange with a fully diminished white head. Orange and grapefruit aroma, light woody dry note. Flavour is sweet and light acidic. Sweet caramel malt and a mild liqourice hops note lurking through. Goes into a dry and light woody finish. A bit too sweet for my liking.

# 3 Bottle. [Papsoe’s great blind tasting, thanks Henrik!] Average white bubbly head that mostly diminished. Fair display of lacework. Hazy amber color. Initial sniff gave the impression of sweet hoppy notes. Manly citrus, apricot and light grapefruit. Over the palate came strong notes of lovely bitterness, floral, grapefruit and again floral notes. Some underlying sweet malty and fruity feel as well. Medium to full bodied with a soft carbonation and light dry and alcoholic texture. Moderated sweet and bitter flavor in a well balanced way. Sweet floral finish with a light hoppy ending. 7-4-7-4-15 = 3.7 19-04-2008

Bottled sample via presario. Burnt orange in colour with medium carbonation. Aromas of lightly toasted malt, vague citrus fruit, and a bit of alcohol. Syrupy in terms of both flavor and texture. Tons of sweet malt, black pepper, mild citrus, earth, and something burnt. Very muddled.

Clear amber with a frothy tan head. Malty sweet fruity smell. Medium bodied with a very smooth mouthfeel. So-so taste of burnt malts, hops, and pit fruits which didn’t seem to mesh all that well. Decent enough i suppose...2807

2006 22 oz. bottle pours a hazy orange brown with a smallish head and very tiny bubbles - lace sheets. The aroma is yeasty and perhaps a bit sour or fruity - perhaps the pomegranate. Include a bit of vanilla in the nose as it warms. The flavor has a big caramel malty sweetness and fruity punch. I can taste the pomegranate. Anyhow, the flavor seems to impart some yeast notes, perhaps some hops are noticeable, but very faint - could be the age. The sweetness stands out as it warms. There is no real heat for such a high ABV. The palate is pretty full/sticky, yet still nicely carbonated. Overall, this is a fine beer, highly under rated. Having gone back through the ratings it looks like this was pretty harsh when young. It has aged well.

Dark amber colour with a cocoa powder brown foam. Very malty with a decent balancing act from the hops. "10 kinds of malt and 10 kinds of hops"? Still doesn’t seem that complex. It’s like a malty, salty, alcoholic cookie.

Bomber. Yeah, a little oxidation gets through and distracts from what the beer once was. I get both straw and raspberrie and pear in this along with some chocolate. There’s still a decent amount of hoppiness to go along with the fruits. Not worth cellaring.