HeBrew Jewbelation Twelve

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

Drank December 2009. Sweet aroma (maybe trace of bubblegum?). Appearance very dark, but head did not last more than 5 min. Taste too complicated for my humble vocabulary, but VERY well balanced considering the level of malts and hops here. Palate is strong and enjoyable, long aftertaste that sticks to the roof of the mouth.

Bottle:   Deep brown, moderate beige head, frothy yet fizzy, dies quickly, sparce lacing.   Heavy malt aroma, some soy, charred wood, but also some heavy alcohol.   This smells like its gonna burn.   Yeah, very warming, malty, with some immature fig/date on this one.   Its like it needs to be sweeter, but its not.   The dark pitted fruit aspect is as if its no where near ripe.   Heavy in body, mouthfeel doesnt seem all that malty tho, seems moderate.   Finishes with heat, a little astringency, and almost certainly too young.   Its hot, but not too heavy, so agewise not sure what this one would do.   Decent, what I expected at least from the malt standpoint given the prior examples.   Could be sweeter... yeah.

Bottle an over the top ale. Pours a dark brune body with a yellow off white head. Malty with fruit esters, plums, raisins, figs, and butterscotch. Some light woodiness, and sugar cane. Pine and some earth tones. A huge beer with a massive warming. Nice.

Cask (I think) at the White Horse American Beer Festival, July 2009. Dark and rich. Good depth. Lots of chocolate. Also plenty of licorice. Subtle as a flying mallet but I rather needed that for the last beer of a long and boozy day. Crap notes. I’m sure I have some from a previous sample somewhere.

BGH: really delicious, but not too complex. Pours like a coke leaving a thin orange brown head ring. The nose is very dark and sweet, the taste is much of the same. Loads of raisin, plums, overall dark fruits. Somewhat creamy yet thin enough to session. Tasty brew, nothing over the top...

Tap @ The He’Brew Bash at the Blind Tiger NYC. I was fricking wasted by the end so some of these rates might be a bit odd. I noted it had less head than Jewbelation 11. I found it tingly and thin much like eleven however. Deep and rich with plenty of fruity malts but with very few hops.

Bottle. Dark brown to near black opaque pour. Short, dense beige colored head. Aroma is very sweet and malty with big fermented fruit, sweet malts, caramel, chocolate, alcohol and grains. Taste is more fruit (both fermented and dark) along with caramel, light chocolate, caramel, alcohol, dusty yeast and dark bready notes. Body is thick and chewy with a syrupy feel. Carbonation is light-medium and has softer bubbles. Ends with more dark fruits, alcohol, sweet malts, caramel, fermented fruit cocoa, and brown sugar.

pours black with no real head. aroma is blasting with alcohol and sweet malts. very heavy and thick sweet malt with some caramel and dark bitter chocolate. thick and cloying and massive booze. i think if the alcohol wasnt such an intrusive factor this would have rated better. needs much more time.