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

very dark brown, moderate carbonation, very creamy and thick light brown head. aroma is very earthy with a little hint of must. flavor is dominated by raisins, figs and notes of chocolate. The alcohol is extremely well hidden. A good hoppy bitterness definitely comes through in the finish. A nice little beer here.

Bottle. Poured dark brown with an average fizzy brown head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate roasted tart fruit aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture. Medium balanced roasted flavor with a medium balanced small alcohol finish of moderate duration. My expectations where met with a good complex brew.

From a 22 oz. brown bottle with a blurb along the left side of label, no bottled/freshness date I could find. Made a decent appearance, poured a dark chocolate brown with a foamy beige head that settled into a thin bubbly lacing, minimal amount of sticking, good carbonation. Had a malty nose, roasted, chocolate and caramelized, a orangey hoppiness and brief whiffs of a fusel-like alcohol. A crisp malty, slick and smooth full bodied mouthfeel, above average drinkability. Big malty taste, roasted barley, chocolate infused coffee, a caramelized sugary, a twangy, orangey hoppiness the cuts underneath the malts, a subtle fusel-like alcohol warmth in the palate, a dry yeastiness, a dark rye breadiness and a dry dark malty finish. A decent strong/brown ale from He’Brew, tasty and in it’s way, balanced, worth trying.

22oz. Bottle. Pours a deep amber color with a decent sized lasting light tan head. Aroma of roast, citrus, sweet malts, and dark fruit. Flavor is roast, citrus, dark fruit, alcohol, sweet with a bitter finish. Good body, good brew.

Pours to a deep garnet body with a thick and very dense tan head. The aroma is sweetly roasty, dusty, figs/dates, raisins. The flavor is initially sweet and malty, then becomes more complex on the finish. Maple syrup, cane sugar, molasses, chocolate, walnuts, vanilla. The hops really aren’t apparent. Perhaps those are the spicy kicks I taste? The palate is starts off watery but solidifies into a full bodied beer, has lingering burnt roastyness, very creamy. I’d like it more if the burnt roastyness didn’t last like it does.

22 oz bottle shared with my brother prior to Granddad’s 90th birthday party. Very dark brown, opaque pour. Medium lasting brown head. Nicely sweet malt aromas. Toasted malts, raisons, molasses, and other dark fruit (dates?). The flavor is mice and malty (really rather dopplebock-ish). Molasses, roasted malts, burnt sugars (maple?) with a light sweetness and enough hops to balance the finish. Hints of dark dried fruit (again dates?). Full sticky body. I enjoyed this. I would not get a whole lot of this and I would not drink a ton of this, but it was a good and enjoyable beer.

(03.26.06) Beer sampling with Scott, Tony and Walt at DiCarlo’s, Mundelein, IL. One pint, 6 oz brown bottle as gift from Tony, Beer Manager at DiCarlo’s. 9% ABV. Poured amber with average sized white head. Soft carbonation. Toasted sweet malt in the nose. Medium bodied ale that starts with light malt sweetness and toasty malt flavor/burnt caramel flavors. Finishes with roasted malt aftertaste. No discernable hop presence. Smooth and flavorful, this malty ale is quite good. Thanks Tony!

Bought this in Seattle and brought it home to Japan. Bought it because the bottle made me laugh. So... Poured out black in our low light conditions, but deep red with a hint of haze when held up to the light. Tan coloured head that stuck around for ages. A pretty good whiff of hops in the head, but hard to pin down. Definitely some northern brewer in there! Lots of malt nose, heavy on the pale malt. Well, the taste was a surprise! This is one goooood beer. Very complex and rich taste, with a balance a wee to the malt side. Lots of that chocolately flavor from cellared hops, and a load of biscuit and choc flavour from the malt. Mouthfeel was strong and smooth, but not too heavy. Alcohol was almost undetectable until I stood up. This beer was a pleasure to drink and I wish I had bought a case instead of a single bottle!! Makes me proud to be one of the tribe!