HeBrew Jewbelation 5766 Ninth Anniversary Ale

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

Pours very dark brown. Creamy, Guinness-like head. Nose has chocolate and vanilla-like character. Flavor has rich body with caramel, coffee-like and malty notes. Bittersweet finish. Unique brew.

Bomber. Very deep clear mahogany pour with a short, creamy toffee head. Not a whole lotta excitement in the aroma... some chocolate, some coffee, and some alcohol were in there. Didn’t seem to live up to the 9 hops and 9 malts description. Flavor is of chocolate, caramel, toffee, and light earth from the malt bill, and the only noticable hop presence was some floral bitterness around the edges... well.. I got a used coffee grind bitterness as well. Rather unmemorable mouthfeel. Finish had some coffee bitterness and assorted fruity sweetness. Decent.

Kosher beer. Hmmmmm. Interesting. I get a lot of coffee in the nose and in the palate. Seems bitter, but not from hops. This is the first He’brew I have tried, and I’m not that impressed, but if nothing else this beer is unique. Worth a try, but it’s much better if it’s free. Damn, that sounds cheap. I think this Jewish beer is getting to me. Cheers! p.s. Seriously, jews rock.

The aroma’s not much to speak of. Alchohol seperates and becomes prominant but finds itself well balanced by a substantial body and flavor to back it up. Jews represent.

Bottle, from Julio’s. Consumed 1/7/06. Good nose, sweet. Dried fruits (plum/raisin/date) Molasses, chocolate. Clean orangy reddish brown. Ok head that faded quickly, very minor lacing. Bitter flavor, Roasty. Coffee, viney, had some initial soywhen cold, toffee/caramel, little of the burnt and grapefruit kickin around. Medium body, creamy smooth mouthfeel, bitter dry finish, htough it could be the abv making it dry. I was enjoying this and then I thought it could of been that much more unfiltered. Still a really good one that I’d be happy to have again.

From dhrjericho. Pours a dark brown color. Almost no head. Aromas of roasted malt, chocolate, molasses, and a hint of floral. Flavors chocolate, coffee, and a touch of hops. Medium bodied with a dry finish. A touch of alcohol comes out at the end.

Bottle @ Oliver Twist, Stockholm
A black thick pouring. Like a really black coffee in aroma. Full bodied with taste of dark almost burned hard toffee (knäck). Chocolate and filling. Slightly fruity aftertaste.

From 22oz. bottle in a Trappist glass. Pours a dark red-brown with a full head of coarse bubbles forming and dissipating swiftly. The drink had nearly no head outside of a few galactic swirls of white within a few minutes. The aroma was certainly the star of the show with nice lingering spices of cinnamon, dark chocolate, and cherries. The mouthfeel was vigorous but fell off with as much haste as the head made its exit. A little disappointing flavor profile judging against last years anniversary release. This one leaned more towards a thin stout than a barleywine but lacked the finish I expected from its deep coloration and nose. Oatmeal is clearly a salient feature here, as is chocolate and bourbon. A nice brew ultimately, though it lacks finesse.