HeBrew Jewbelation Eleven

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

Chanukah beer? OK, I’ll bite. 22 oz. brown bomber bottle. No freshness date seen. Poured out a deep opaque brown, with red highlights around the edges. Aromas are of rum soaked raisins, dried dark fruit, some berries. Flavors are berries, dark malts, burnt sugar, Special B malt, raisins, dried plums. Massive malt flavors, balanced by massive hops. Thick mouthfeel, rich & chewy. Best beer I’ve had from He’brew in a long time.

Overall he Hebrew line is pretty hit or miss for me, this one was a hit. Pours dark brown with a crimson hue and a tan orange-ish head. The aroma is sweet and malty with berries, abv warmth and some hoppiness. Medium / full body that’s a bit harsh with semi-sharp carbonation. The flavor starts with muddled malt with berry-like sweetness ~ it is very smooth and inviting. The finish has lots of hop bitterness and slight abv showing, it’s seen very moderately considering there is 11% in here. An overall good beer, especially for the price.

Wouldn’t you know it? I don’t get to my Chanukah beer until the celebration’s over! No matter, since I also have some Christmas brews that I’ve yet to drink. And I still haven’t found a Kwanzaa ale or lager. But, since I’m a liberal minded Pagan, I celebrate the Saturnalia every day! And what better way to celebrate than with a sturdy strong ale?
This beer is brewed with eleven malts, eleven hops, and has an eleven percent ABV. (It also took me eleven minutes to get this far in the rating.) Given all that, I was expecting a muddled mess. Instead of that, I find a very drinkable ale that hides it’s high alcohol level very well... as I had noted eleven times to my cats whilst I imbibed the contents of the bomber.
Very handsome pour, a deep yet clear mahogany body with traces of red around the edges. The head is tall, overflowing, creamy and tan colored. Much lacework here. The aroma is rich and malty, all kinds of malty, with a balancing earthy (what I would expect from eleven different hops) bitterness. Touches of old charred wood, too. And as it warms, some fruit and cigar smoke. The flavor is much more refined (Hah!), dark caramel, chocolate, tobacco, prunes & dates, pine needles (punningly, needless to say... but I did so eleven times as I cavorted about near the end of the bomber... [In my defense, it wasn’t the first drink of the day!]), pink grapefruit, tar, vanilla, lemon zest, and still-to-be-determined spices. The finish was a sticky blend of an earthy malty sweetness, a burning yew bitterness, and a low alcohol burn.
It’s okay.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Beverage Depot, Orland Park, IL<font size=-1>

Dark brown color; lingering lacy head. Aroma of the lovely earth with tastes of smooth brown malts, slight vanilla, jasmine and tobacco notes. Absolutely lovely for the connoisseur.

Outstanding American strong! It’s been a while for me since I really loved an offering in the category. Aroma was big..dark fruit, heavy dark malt and a bit of smoke. Pour was a beautiful deep dark brown with a nice 1 finger tan head. Taste was scary...does not taste like 11%. Nice and dark tasting with a ton of sticky dark malt, a bitter roasty aftertaste (with a slight lingering hoppiness) and dark fruit. The malt is the main stage here, and it is delicious!

This brew has a very distinct aroma. It pours a deep, dark brown, but not black. It’s got a very malty flavor that hides the alcohol very well. It doesn’t finish entirely clean, but nearly so. It’s very drinkable, & reasonably priced ($5), which makes it a regular in my bar fridge. Put it this way, my mother, who’s no beer fan, tried this beer, & liked it.

Pours deep red with a tan head. Aroma has notes of grapefruit, caramel, and dark fruit. Full bodied flavor has a rich maltiness with a roasted touch.

Pours very dark, a deep ruby when held to light, with a good tan head. The aroma reminds me of hazelnut chocolate, with some hops. Flavor is approaching a roasty porter (it has a bit of the classic smokiness), with a good amount of hops cutting through its very oily mouthfeel. This is a big, thick beer, with a taste to match - it comes on strong and doesn’t let up. I’m usually not a fan of darker beers, but this one works better than most I’ve tasted. Still, I think I probably would have preferred eight or nine malts to the eleven hops. </br></br> RERATE 10/28/09: Apparently my tastes have changed, because I like this significantly better now. Lots of roast, with darker malts - molasses, brown sugar, even some balsamic vinegar on top of the oak. Covers its 11% extremely well. Seriously tasty stuff.