HeBrew Messiah Bold on Rye

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

Name: Messiah Bold on Rye
Date: October 17, 2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Taco Mac, Decatur
Appearance: opaque dark brown, fine beige head, sheets of lace
Aroma: tart fruity aroma backed by dark caramel sweetness, light oak
Flavor: sweet chocolate flavor, tart dark cherry, nice oak, touch of bourbon and vanilla sweetness, light bitterness from the oak combines with the fruity tartness to balance the vanilla sweetened chocolate
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Hand bottled from cask... Clear, dark ruby ale with a very small, creamy, off-white head. Earthy, woodsy, vinous nose. Medium-bodied and watery with tickling carbonation. Moderate caramel and darker malt sweetness flanking mild acidity and very low bitterness. Crisp, thin, clean finish. Thanks to redlight for generously hand bottling this sample!

On tap @ City Beer poured a clear dark brown with a small lasting creamy amber head. Aromas of rye, fruittiness, carmel, toffee and sour cherry. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooth with a lightly tart finish. Flavors of rye, sour cherry, light oak and light carmel with a smooth lightly tart finish.

Draft. Dark brown/black beer with an off-white head. Nice whiskey, malt, light roast aroma. Whiskey, malt, berry/stone fruit flavor with light roast. Medium bodied. Light roast, whiskey, malt, and fruit linger. Fruiteier than expected. Roast just works - doesn’t quite take away from the beer, but almost does.

On tap at the OTH (Oldsmar Tap House). It poured up very foamy and it took Tony a while to complete the tumbler fill. It ended up with a clear garnet body and quarter inch tan head with cool looking creamy looking lumpy layered foam top. The aroma was fairly light and consisted of mostly dry fruity wine notes followed by mild wood/oak and faint malts in the back. The taste was very similar. I had to strain to pick up the base beer notes behind the full fruity red wine like flavors, dry tannins and oak wood notes. At the finish the base beer started to show up but only in a supporting role bringing mild malty notes and even milder notes of citrus hops. Seems to be too smooth and mild a base beer for barrel aging. Or maybe it could be aged a little less to keep the beer notes from getting smothered.

Draft at Redlight Redlight. Pours a dark, transparent, beautiful violet color with a small, quick, beige colored head. Minimal soapy spots mark the glass. The aroma is really nice and complex. Brown sugar and dark fruits lay the malt base, while soured oak notes and vanilla turn things in the direction of an oud bruin. The controlled funk works perfectly with the sour mash whiskey overtone that permeates the nose. Flavors showed more sour brown notes with caramel and dark fruit tannins. Saturated, vanilla tinged oak and smooth, twangy whiskey are subtle, never overpowering. Medium bodied and moderate-plus carbonation, finishing on the dry side. Impossible to categorize, this brew is part American brown and part Flemish oud bruin, all with a wonderful application of the whiskey barrel. Very nice brew.

Draught. Pours a mostly clear amber with a large off-white head that left lots of sticky lace. Very pleasant aroma of oak, sweet malt, vanilla, and a few notes of rye whiskey. The flavor is definitely more about the rye than anything else. There’s some sweet malt up front, but from there on its mostly rye whiskey along with some mild oakiness. I don’t know what the abv is on this beer, but the rye makes it feel much higher than it is. An interesting beer, although it is a bit too heavily influenced by the rye; not so much the oak, but the whiskey itself.

Tap @ OTH. Lucky to have this on tap. Thanks Tony. Pours amber, huge foam, beige head. Aroma oaky. fruity with sugary notes. Taste, sweet and tingly to the palate. Light fruity notes (apple), hoppy, some sugary malts. Mouthfeel and palate get the nice touch of oaky, close to a brandy barrel. Hard to believe the beer was only 5.6%.