HeBrew Jewbelation Twelve

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

It had a pretty nice finish that left almost a fruity feeling. It had a dark licorice taste at first but then a slight roasted profile. The alcohol was well hidden behind the flavor. I didn’t notice the high alcohol content until I looked at the bottle.

pretty crazy beer.... probably way better when aged. poured nearly black. intense collaboration of malts and hops. smooth finish... a little oily.

Bomber. Poured deep, reddish-tinted brown with a uniform, creamy cap of tan head.. nice color to it. The aroma picked up a healthy dose of citrus and herbal hoppage amplified by alcohol over a base of brown sugar, sweeter chocolates, and caramel.. overall the sweetness masked the heat well, and it was quite intriguing. The flavor didn’t have as much luck keeping the alcohol at bay, but that is to be expected.. sweet base of caramel and chocolate again, picking up some treacle.. bitterness was at least moderate with herbal notes, citrus, and spicy floral character.. alcohol rose on the edges and all the way through the belly.. hot at the end. Heavier-bodied and increasingly sharp as it progressed on the palate.. otherwise solid balance.. too much going on here to be entirely cohesive.

Nice dark black color. Wow, what a nice color for an ASA. Looks like a stout. I had this same thing with old viscosity i.e. thinking it was a stout when it was an APA. This beer has a weird mixture of hops and malts. This has a strange aroma indeed. As for taste, it mainly has a malt aroma with a hop after finish, but there is an overuse of malts and hops. There is a nice malt flavor, but the hops don’t come through because of this. I think using twelve hops is a bit excessive, especially if you can’t taste them that well. Nice smooth palate. Overall, this beer could have a better hop profile. It has a nutty taste, and the company did not use the hops well at all.

MMmmm this was pretty good. Pours a very dark deep brown with creamy head. Sweet malt, caramel, molasses, licorice, rum, and dried plums. Thick and mouth coating. I will have to get more of this.

On tap at Capital Ale House - Downtown on 01/20/2009. Very dark brown body with ruby highlights and a medium creamy brown head that persists. Sweet caramel and molassas aroma. Sweet caramel, molassas and rum-soaked fruit flavor with a mild hop bitterness lingering behind. Medium full body with moderate carbonation.

Bottle from Bev4Less. Creates a huge fat head on top a medium shade of black for the ales color. My nose is instantly delighted with a rich combination of slightly roasted black malt as well as a scent of cream and alcohol. The flavor is a blend of roast black malt with a black licorice sweetness and has a big alcohol finish. I was happy to have tracked down a bottle of this since i didn’t want to miss out on 12th anniversary.

(22oz. bottle) Pours a dark brown body with a small tan head. Aroma of pine, caramel, maple, raisins, plum, prune, toffee, and chocolate. Flavor of roasted malt, vanilla, pine, toffee, caramel, raisins, brown sugar, and chocolate. Extremely complex and would be nice to see how it matures with some age.