HeBrew Jewbelation Eleven

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

650 ml bottle from Bevmo. Darm brown with a fizzy white head. Aroma of caramel and citrus, taste likewise. Decent.

Soapy head, dark, reddish-brown body. Strongly bitter and hoppy, but no particularly hop stands out in the flavor. One could call it well-blended or just non-distinctly hoppy, which I think is the case. I’m beginning to like distinct hop flavors in my hoppy beers, like one likes single malts scotches. This beers isn’t doing it for me.

Here is normally where I would bitch about the poor quality of hebrew beers, and curse myself for shelling out the money for trying yet another adjunct-laden piece of garbage - however, this is not the case with this one - is it a great beer? - hell no - but it has its moments - it’s a tad bit sweet, but it has a nice bitter quality to it, with some earthy, almost tobacco-like notes - notes of dried cherries, herbs, brown sugar - hazelnut and maple syrup - some leathery and woody qualities - given the typically one-dimensional quality to these beers, this is surprisingly complex - however, that apparent swaltz corn-syrup sweetness does eventually permeate every other aspect of the beer - still, not that bad - that is, sadly, an accomplishment for these guys - they should stick to the lower-grav beers (ie. coney island lager).

8th Big Beers, Belgians, and Barleywines. Pours dark brown with a small, frothy, off-white head, lasting with good lacing. Aroma is average malt (bread, hay, straw, nutty), average hops (perfume, pine, spruce), average yeast (dough, leather) with notes of light alcohol and dates. Full bodied, creamy texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Average duration, moderate sweetness, acidity, and bitterness.

Bomber pours dark brown and opaque with a thick khaki head. Thick lacing is profuse on the glass. Aroma is pine and grapefruit hops and waves of caramel, chocolate, and dark malts. Thick and rich on the palate, well carbonated, almost creamy. Taste is complex. Dark roasty malt bitterness has a kiss of scorched caramel sweetness. Assertive hops presence kicks in early with a citrus rind and pine bitterness. A hint of fresh pulpy orange adds a nice note. Chocolate and coffee notes are picked up as well. Alcohol is present but well concealed. Pleasantly complex. Hebrew beers havealways been hit or miss with me. This one is a hit.

Pours dark brown, with a medium tan head and some lacing. Rich aroma of nuts, caramel, earth, figs, prunes, roasted malt, and tobacco. Viscous mouthfeel without being too heavy for the style. A nicely blended and complex taste. Bitter hops, nuts, peat, tobacco, and malt up front. It slowly moves into a warm, sweet, malt, caramel, honey, and resiny finish. Each sip seems to give a consistent taste, but with new flavors (if that makes sense). Hints of leather, grapefruit, pine, raisins, smoke, and grapes pop up from time to time in different intensity. An excellent beer.

bomber. pours a deep brown with little head... the aroma is full of plums and malts. Excellent body overall... nice and strong on the front of the tongue, while soft and full of character on the sides. The alcohol makes itself known, but does not get in the way of the overall flavor and complexity of this beer. Excellent finish which is slightly bitter and warming. The plums really stand out the most in the overall flavor. An excellent anniversary ale. Can’t wait for 12 years.....

Pours a deep, opaque brown with a creamy tan head that laces beautifully. First impressions, however, drop slightly with the nose. I can believe that they use 11 malts and 11 hops in this beer, because the aroma is a complete hodgepodge of different notes: nuts, cocoa, caramel, peat and a touch of dark fruit (raisins, perhaps) along with some earthy, spicy and faint citric hop notes. Medium-bodied and creamy with bitter hops and a hint of alcohol at the finish. Rich and malty up front with a hit of piny, earthy hops squeezing your tongue at the finish. There is a lot going on in this beer, and with each sip, I find something new: chocolate, smoked malt, dark caramel, nuts, tobacco, pine and citrus. I’m not sure that I’d call it delicious, but it’s certainly tasty. More importantly, however, this beer is unique; unlike any other that I’ve tried, this brew compels me to keep drinking, if only out of a compulsive desire to see what else I might taste in the next sip. If you can get a bottle, I would recommend that you do so, especially if you enjoy exploring new flavor combinations. This beer has them in spades.