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

The aroma has caramel malt, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, yeast, and hops. The appearance is dark brown with a large head. The flavor is bitter, well toasted, and very similar to the aroma. The palate is a little thinner than I expected but still this is pretty good.

Dark brown, with nice light tan head. Roasted flavor, sweet, with some hop bite at the end. Chocolately flavor, maybe some nutmeg or some similar spices in here. Sort of uninteresting, however. Someone before me described it as a hoppy porter, which might be about right.

This American Strong Ale pours an eclipse dark brown color from a 22oz bottle. Medium sized beige foamy head. Aroma is malt, chocolate, nutty and slightly sweet. A medium bodied American Strong Ale. Malts are caramel, fruity and sweet. Hops are earthy and citrusy. Kind of strange as there is NOT a lot of flavor in this beer, there is some bitterness at the finish but that’s about all. Like last years 8 malt/8hop version, this years 9 malt/9 hops version has a little bit of that train wreak quality to it. There are a lot of different flavors, but they are so muted that it seems to work. This beer has a lot of the flavor qualities of a Scotch Ale or a Baltic Porter. There is a touch of an alcohol bite at 9% ABV. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

From the 22 oz. bomber, this beer poured out deep chestnut brown in color that bordered on black. The head was light brown to beige and formed to decent two finger thick size, considering the strength, before slowly dissipating. The smell was woody, nutty, burnt, and little too alcohol laden. The taste was sweet toffee, with a herb like hopping, and a strong alcohol presence. A little sourness ands some soy sauce also crept in, until a hot and hoppy aftertaste wiped it all away. Not a highly complex beer, and felt lacking in body considering the amount of alcohol present.

12.23.05 Bomber. Deep, dark, mahogany pour glows with ruby hues below a lasting though small beige head. I’ve been trying to dissect this beer for over 16oz now and I’m not having much luck. Despite boasting nine malts, nine hops, yada yada, I’m getting very simple (although very pleasing) aromas and flavors of caramel, chocolate, hazelnut, and floral undertones. It actually reminds quite a bit of the Rogue hazelnut beer, if I recall. Soft and sweet on the palate, the beer is quite full feeling and yet sports a finishing spritz. Nice roasting with a hint of smoke far in the distance. It’s also very doughy underneath the roast, not unlike a brownie, I think. The alcohol is not too present until late and nearly at room temp as I get a retronasal heat that’s more of a rum cake treat than an uncomfortable bite. Despite the full feel and creamy beginnings, the finish is quite thin, sharply bitter, and maybe even abrupt. Nevertheless, I like.

Pours initially with a light brown, frothy, three finger thick head that sits atop a deep brown, almost black colored beer. The aroma is a mix of sweet caramel and chocolate notes. In fact the chocolate is probably the dominant aromatic note in this beer. The aroma is actually pretty nice, and I have not done it justice in describing it; it sort of reminds me of chocolate cake with a dusting of spiciness.

The taste is sweet and fairly full on the palate. Up front there are notes of raisins, sweet plums and a smattering of figs. This quickly moves to the finish which is a nice mix of chocolate flavors and a bit of roasted character. The roast notes remind me of coffee, and chocolate malt, though there is a significant amount of caramelized malt notes here which keep this brew fairly chewy and a bit sweet. This beer is definitely focused on the malt side of the spectrum. It does hit quite a few different malt notes, which keeps it interesting (from the dominant sweet chocolate, to the caramel and toffee notes, through to the hints of coffee).

This is definitely tasty, at times though I can’t quite help but think that it is fairly simplistic, but on the other hand something like a good Scotch Ale is all about the simple malt notes. In the end this beer is really quite enjoyable, and definitely a fitting addition to the holiday rotation of beers.

<font size=-4>Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson, AZ<font size=-1>

(draft) Tried some the other night and wasn’t impressed. Had a full glass tonight and still wasn’t impressed, but it certainly went down easier. For all the hops and malts used, I should have detected more complexity. Just a decent beer that does a very good job of hiding its high ABV.

shows alot of potential, has great, mouthfeel. Gives a strong flavor of carmael and toasted malts little hops but flavors of cocoa. A great beer for the Hanukah drinking group C’haim