HeBrew Messiah Bold

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

Pours very dark reddish brown. Aroma of malt with sweet coffee hints. flavor has a hint of coffee. low carbonation and a dry finish. I was a bit skeptical because of the name, but the flavor is good.

Pours an extremely dark red... its clear, but too dark to see thru with a creamy dark beige head. Sweet bright malty aroma with light roast. Brown sugar and molasses and a touch of roast, very dry finish. A bit of hops show up in the aftertaste. Surprisingly this brown is tastier cold rather than cellar temp?

12oz bottle. Pours a clear dark brown with 2 finger tan head. Nose is roasted malt and light chocolate. Taste is smoked nuts, mellow dark fruits and light cocoa with a touch of sour coffee in the finish. Mouth feel is fairly watery. An ok brown - would be better if it had more body to it.

12 oz bottle from Lukas Liquor Superstore. Pours a very dark brown with a small, fizzy, off-white head that dissipates very quickly and leaves minimal lacing. Lighter, nutty smells with hints of citrus, berries, and roasted and sweet malts. Pretty watered down and boring taste. Some sweet malts, burnt roasts, nuttiness, and citrusy hints. Medium bodied with a dry and unbalanced bitter finish. Overall, not too good. Balance is pretty far off and the taste is just watery and boring. Not a recommended brown ale.

Bit of caramel. Light brown ale. Decent aroma. Your basic session beer from a good brewery.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a clear brown with some reddish highlights when held against a lamp. Moderate tan head that faded to a film after a few sips and left very light lace. Pleasant aroma of malt with a few notes of brown sugar as well. The flavor is mostly malt with a little bit of earthiness. Very little of the sweetness in the aroma is translated into the flavor. Dry with some light bitterness at the finish. A solid brown ale.

A vigorous pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a two-finger thick, darkish, tan colored head. The beer is a concentrated amber, dark brown color that shows a brilliantly clear, full ruby hue when held up to the light. Quite fruity smelling with notes of raisins, a bit of prune and dried berry notes. These notes have a backdrop of toasty, browned, whole grain bread crust and toasted saltine crackers. A serviceable aroma, that is not bad, but not all that remarkable either.

Lightly sweet tasting with a definite fruitiness that makes it taste like washed out raisin juice with a touch of prune thrown in. This finishes with some bitter toasted malt and hop notes that provide a touch of balance to the sweetness, though the sweetness does a good job of lingering on the tongue after the beer has left my mouth. Fairly light bodied, definitely quaffable, but the residual sugars to contribute a light viscousness that keeps this from being anywhere near water. Toasted grain flavors with just a touch of roast character to it at the back of this beer and some light toffee notes join the caramelized malt notes that are more at the front of each sip contribute to the malt focus of this beer.

A decent brown ale, that is focused on the malt and not much in the way of hop character. Not bad, I just don’t seem to have a lot to say about it, which seems to be what detracts from this experience.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Pours attractive deep brown with a thin cream colored head. Nose is sweet malt and molasses. The flavor is the same, with a lasting tang. Lots of molasses. Dry finish.