HeBrew Jewbelation Eleven

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

Bottle. Head is initially small, frothy, brown, mostly diminishing. Body is dark brown. Aroma is moderately to heavily malty (molasses, caramel, roasted grain), moderately hoppy (resin), lightly to moderately yeasty (dough), with notes of fruitcake and alcohol. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Full body, syrupy/creamy texture, lively/soft carbonation, moderately to heavily alcoholic. A kitchen sink styled mess. Rough, crude, and disjointed, and borderline unpleasant to drink (hot, syrupy, abrasive, etc.). Another example of the American "quantity over quality" philosophy.

Pours a deep dark brown. Big tan head lasts a few good minutes.. Aroma is sweet malt. Tastes of very sweet malt with not a lot of hops. At least it may be hidden behind all the malt. Body is thick and robust. Really nice beer overall. Big and bold. Just looked at the bottle, 11% alchohol. No wonder. Actually, nicely hidden. Good beer.

Rich molassess, brown sugar, rum. Deep, dark ruby. Sweet attack, with excellent bitterness. Great full body, nice long alcohol finish, but maybe a bit too boozy. One of the better big winter beers out there...

I found this to be a truly wonderful beer in all aspects. That said, I must admit that I did have as a sort of celebration ale, or jewbelation ale if you will, after the Giants defeated the Cheaters in the Super Bowl. Excellent stuff.

Nice hint of spice, hops, and chocolate in the aroma. Pours an opaque dark brown, with a huge tan head. Really creamy mouthfeel, and complex flavor. Hints of chocolate, spice, caramel, and spice. Very drinkable for the ABV. And bonus points for the dial that goes to 11 on the label.

I really do not know what to think of this beer. Very syrupy and hop forward makes me think it is the start of a nice barleywine but, the heavily malted back bone of roasted grains, coffee, cocoa, and caramel screams imperial stout/barleywine mixed. The hop aroma is very resiny pine and grapefruit, and the alcohol makes a brief introduction, but does not stay long enough to be a bother. On second taste, I get so much doughy malt and hop bitterness I wonder if I am not drinking a barleywine, but there is that damn coffee and cocoa again. Love a lot of the flavors of this beer individually: the resinous pine and grapefruit, the coffee and cocoa and some small amount of fruit- and in the right beer this might earn a perfect mouthfeel, but for me this beer is kind of a mess. A tasty mess, but still a mess. --- I might need to re-rate this at a later date.

pours a dark-dark color with a dark tan head. It doesn’t really have a specific scent but is still appealing, do smell a bit of toffee. The taste is the same, VERY big but not to many distinct flavors. The palate is ok, a bit to syrupy like. Overall the flavor, look and smell are big and tasty. The only thing I didn’t like was how it was a bit syrupy but still a great beer.

22 oz bottle. Clear dark brown with a small tan head. Nose of orange and gingerbread. Medium body with a light carb tingle. Taste is caramel, grass and grapefruit. Lingering citric bitterness. Good but not a standout.