HeBrew Jewbelation Twelve

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

Draught at the red. Dark brown with a lacy tan head. Sweet, malty aroma with dried fruits and alcohol. Full, chewy body. Dark fruit, chocolate, caramel, grapefruit peel hops that struggle against the massive malts, and a smooth alcohol bite. Dark, but not roasty. Almost like a Belgian dark strong, but with more hops and less yeast spice. Definite sipper, with a strong alcohol presence, but it only works to dry up the huge malt backbone.

Fig-brown body with a quickly vanishing head that leaves behind a ring. Nice moderate medley of malts in the aroma and feint hoppiness. Bursts of chocolate make there way into the nose. Flavor far outclasses the aroma. Full, malty body that is complex and rounded with caramel, chocolate, light roastiness, figginess, and some candi sugar. Definitely a desserty beer that is on the sweet and rich side. Another dangerously drinkable wine that masks its potency well.

A big old caramel bomb at first. As it warmed up, I began tasting the malt complexity. Smelled of malts and caramel candy, had this buttery caramel texture and taste. A sipper for sure. Best served with some dark chocolate. Could have been made more bitter in my opinion.

Draft at The Ravenous Pig. The pour is dense and virtually pitch black, with a small, foamy, khaki colored head. A soapy wash leaves minimal, random spotting on the glass. Aromas include dark cocoa, scorched caramel, burnt marshmallows, figs, and candied dates. The nose is very malty overall, but some balance is offered by hints of earthy roast and hop notes. Flavors follow suit, massively sweet and chocolaty up front, with some coffee roast and earthy hop bitterness coming through on the back end. Burnt marshmallows play a huge role throughout. Big, full, and sugary on the palate, it gets to be a little cloying over time. There is a touch of alcohol burn after the swallow. Overall, I found this to be fairly well executed for such a huge beer, but it is basically a re-hash of Eleven and it did not need to be imperialized even more than it already was.

this pours rather viscous a black coffee color with a gold tint. it*s topped by a short lived somewhat tannish head which fades in a hurry to a film. it smells sweet and malty... chocolate, caramel, toasted nuttiness, earthy spice, raisins, molasses and something that reminds me of nice brandy. the aroma is very warming and welcome on a cold night in the desert (it*s like fifty here... freezing!). the palate is definitely on the sugary side but is counter balanced by ash/char and roasty bitterness. although i could probably not drink more than this snifter ... flavors of chocolate, roast, grassy spicy hops, ash/char, molasses, flowers and raisins. medium to thick body is a bit syrupy and lip coating.

this pairs incredibly well with a simple charred burger with mayo... 8/4.5/7/4/15/3.8

22oz bottle (Binnys Naperville)-Pours a black body with a huge tan head. Aroma of malt, sweetness, figs, and caramel. Taste begins with malt and alcohol. The alcohol lasts throughout the mouthful. This full bodied brew finishes with more maltiness. Overall, still very tasty and a little hot but another great brew from HeBrew. I dont think as good as 11.

Rich, sweet, bitter chocolate and roast aroma. Nice bottle, inky, quickly-fading head. Boozy, rum raisin flavor. Slippery mouthfeel. Alcohol sting on the finish, slight herbal/medicinal tones going away, with coffee acidity. Definitely let it warm. A big beer, for sure, but perhaps too much of a frontal assault.

Bottle. Pours black with an average, fizzy, light brown head, somewhat diminishing with good lacing. Aroma is heavy malt -cookie, caramel, toffee-, average hops -perfume-, average yeast -dough, leather- with notes of prunes and dates. Full bodied, creamy texture, average carbonation, and an astringent finish. Long duration, heavy sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness.